The Right Message… Now Let’s Do It

Today is a new day. Do you feel it? Yesterday someone described that either you were cheering or you were tearing during Barack Obama’s Inaugural address. I was the latter. Sitting on the lawn of the Capital and looking up at the building shining pristinely under a bright sun, I had the sudden recognition that the two million people spread out around me were not strangers but my fellow Americans, my fellow citizens.

That this building we were staring up at, imposing and regal, was indeed our House. That tired old phrase, “by the people for the people,” came to life for me yesterday.

I know there is no way to predict the future — and the skeptic in us will always question motive — but right now, I’d like to suspend that judgment and let the words of our new President resonate for a moment:

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

Yesterday Tami sent me an e-mail warning that anti-gay preacher Fred Phelps’ site has been visiting us:

Administrative Contact: Phelps, Benjamin. Domain GODHATESFAGS.COM, 70.184.229.59, 70.252.169.188

We decided not to ban them because, after all, where does all that hate really get you? Can you imagine so much energy spent stewing in one’s own anger? Spewing vitriol? What is the point? Don't they realize their hatred only emboldens us? We laugh at their foolishness as we keep each other's good company.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things... who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

I’m taking Obama’s words to heart because this is what we will continue to do here at Velvetpark. Let's put the promise of hope into action. As our nation moves to rebuild itself politically, financially, socially and culturally as a collective, I believe each community has the responsibility to do the same. The microcosm is a reflection of the macrocosm after all. On the news that OurChart will be going off line next Monday, and that OC will be redirected to the Showtime site sans a social network, to me, makes the point clearer than ever: Let's keep our community alive! I said this before — I think of my time at OC with fondness. We began something there that had not happened anywhere on the web before. We gathered to discuss and argue, to find kindred spirits and partners in crime. By finding community, ultimately we find ourselves. However, community doesn’t belong to a destination online; it exists in any place where we choose to gather. We create that destination, we make that choice. We are the creators and protectors of our own space. You have helped reignite the engines here at Velvetpark to create that community space, most impressively without the bells and whistles of corporate financing. And look at how quickly you did it. Again, thank you for your continued donations, which have helped us to keep going. I will give you more details on our plans just as soon as I can. If there is one thing I know about our community, it is that we are the doers, the risk-takers, and we are the makers of things. The commander-in-thief no longer rules our country; big business no longer owns our community space; it is all in the hands of “we, the people.” There is no one left to blame. We have no more excuses. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves and create the world we want to live in.