9/22/23

(Selection of)
Healing Community In The Age Of Collapse, A Love Letter To New Chattanooga
These times are more than challenging. Institutions erode daily, divides run deep, and our
systems are failing us all. We cannot afford to think that business as usual can solve the
complex problems we face.

For most of us, uncertainty breeds more than caution. It is damn near panic-inducing. Yet we
MUST have the courage to change course individually and collectively.

For far too long, far too many voices have been excluded, and minority interests left
unconsidered if not ignored. The paradox of who we are the shows us that lasting solutions start
from within communities of the oppressed themselves.

It is time to map unjust systems and institutions and re-imagine new ancient structures that
provide equity, care, and justice. A just new system that benefits all people...not just the
privileged.

We must hold ourselves accountable to grassroots wisdom and leadership. To move from
gatekept silos to shared purpose. To see ourselves together as a New Chattanooga, bound
together in flesh, vision, and values.

This will be a reckoning. We are compelled to speak truth, build trust, and stand up for
belonging. To lead and inspire from the heart and carried with moral courage.

Our healing starts when we recognize a shared humanity. Progress comes through
accountability, not conquest. Through love and service, not power over others.

Imagine an economy designed to honor our interdependence. Corporate policies and

investments focused on communities thriving in health and harmony. An economy where every
persons needs are met.

Imagine politicians writing laws and policies for the least of us. Imagine city staff holding
themselves accountable to the districts they live and work in. A city where every person and
neighborhood can flourish.

This is the New Chattanooga our hearts knows is possible. But it will take boldness to get there!

Systems centuries in the making won't unravel overnight, but they are unraveling. They are not
working for us anymore.

We need people who are willing to take a principled stand, even at a cost. To blaze trails beyond
what we know.

The path forward won't be easy. It never has been. But rewards are always sweetest when they
are shared together.

This is our moment. The time for courageous vision is now. The place to begin is in our hearts.

Let us come together here. Let's have the audacity to create the more just, inclusive New
Chattanooga we know we can become.

If not us, who? If not now, when? This is our watch. Let future generations say we rose to meet
it.
The opportunity is before us. Will we seize it?