The posters are down, the lights are turned off, and weary yet energized delegates return home, ready to take to the streets.
Both parties arrived on the national scene at the end of a very long primary to select their candidates and to reveal their platforms.
I watched both conventions and was struck by the significant difference in tone, organization and quality of speakers.
In fairness to candidate Trump and his team, the Clinton team has a long history of planning campaigns, networking into broader diverse groups and a line-up of dazzling presenters.
Republicans could barely find notable people to stand beside the candidate. Donald Trump acted as a party of one, brushing off more experienced voices, so his convention was his party.
Looking towards November, the campaign will end, yet the disturbance will remain with us long after the ballot boxes are put away.
It’s this conversation we want to enlarge -- learning how to use our varied ideas and opinions in a changing shifting world. The change so many people are working to stop. The country is more authentic today than ever before, with many colors, life styles and beliefs represented at the table.
We can use this moment to create new opportunities for all people, only if we connect and create together -- beginning at the local level, where most ideas begin and get their start.
The decision is really between hope or fear, inclusion or exclusion. Using disturbance as pathways, we can choose hope over hate. Hope is the tool that reduces fear and opens the world to possibilities. I don’t know about you; I choose hope.
I’m Lou Ness, and that’s my perspective.
