Who is Responsible?
Let's talk about the question that is burning a hole in my own head and heart.
This email is a little less than extraordinary. It’s a quick and dirty little letter to your inbox to keep me at the forefront of your mind - but there isn’t a ton to report this week. In uncharacteristic fashion, I am even writing the letter and hitting send before I sit on it for a day for editing purposes.
You all have showered me in questions, which I take as a sign of trust. In the face of these questions, it became increasingly clear that my sticky-note-to-desk organizational (non)system or trying to go through my inbox at random to pull questions wasn't going to cut it, so I have spent the last week and a half trying to design the new automation system I am moving to in order to make the creation of content more streamlined. With questions like the ones you all are asking, I am deeply excited for the challenge and research ahead. I am also acutely aware of the fact that in order to answer these questions I have to create systems that allow habituation to play a bigger role in creative processes, so I can focus on research.
In regard to Russia and Ukraine, (because this is the most persistent question on readers minds) there is more explanatory content to come in the near future, including content on how you can help. This is still in the works, and will resume as soon as automation is up and running.
The question I am personally most persistently stuck on recently though is, “who is responsible?,” in regard to the war raging in Ukraine. I have answered the question “what is happening?” but the follow-on question to that is (and should be) “who is responsible?,” and it’s a question I haven’t been able to stop working out in my head. Asking this question has been like opening pandoras box of database searches and independent philosophical reflection and a little bit of heart work too. I think I have my answer, and as soon as I have a way of concisely explaining this, it’ll hit the platform. I’m still in the weeds of figuring out how I relate to this conclusion though, and candidly, that’s the hardest part.
Frankly though, if we want to change the world, to make it a freer one, one filled with more culture and nuance and independence and history and beauty, it’s the question we should all be asking ourselves right now…and it shouldn't be an easy question to answer.
As far as personal life goes, we are still watching the war taking place in anticipation, independently engaged in our own efforts around what is happening. Eric’s as busy as ever. I again am working to help coordinate support for migrants as they move westward. If I could burn a hole in the Headspace app (meditation) I would have by now. We run and love and research, and we do it on repeat. We have faith that one day the world won’t feel like this, but for as long as it does, here we will be, figuring it out alongside you.
Your Partner in Policy (and all the other radical life journey stuff),
Taylor Patrice
A COUPLE QUICK POINTS:
I’m now do informational posts on instagram, so for quick daily knowledge check out the new stuff.
This platform has now provided clothing, bedding, formula, and diapers to help support Ukrainians moving westward through Poland. If you want to help with this, check out the Crowdsourcing page on the website and indicate the intention of the support in the note. (Again, trust based system like we talked about in the last email.)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Blog and Podcast: https://policyoutloud.com
FB / IG / TWITTER / PINTEREST: @policyoutloud
See you soon! Thanks in advance for leaving positive ratings and reviews on the podcast channels and Facebook page if you love the content - it helps me grow because, well, algorithms…
Your Partner in Policy,