The Change We Seek For Our Nation

Cynicism Cripples Our Imagination And Limits Our Ability To See Faint Possibilities Amidst Glaring Problems.

I Do Not Believe That Marijuana Is A Gateway Drug, And Having Been A Mayor Trying To Keep My Community Safe, If There Was Any Drug That Was Driving Violence, More Than Marijuana, It Was Alcohol Which Is Legal. And So I Just Don't Think This Is A Gateway Drug. And By The Way, If You Regulate It You're Actually Going To Overcome A Lot Of Problems With People Having To Go To The Streets To Buy Their Drug. You Don't Know How Dangerous That Is.

Real Courage Is Holding On To A Still Voice In Your Head That Says, 'i Must Keep Going.' It's That Voice That Says Nothing Is A Failure If It Is Not Final. That Voice That Says To You, 'get Out Of Bed. Keep Going. I Will Not Quit.'

Courage Has You Say In A Defiant Spirit You Can Take Everything From Me, You Could Cut Me Deep, You Could Render Me In Shame But You Will Never Ever Stop Me From Loving Those Who Mock Me, From Loving Those That Hate Me, From Loving Those Who Don't Forgive Me, From Loving The Cynics, From Loving The Darkness So Much That I Myself Through My Small Acts Of Consistent Unyielding Love May Bring On The Light.

The War On Drugs Is A War On People, But Particularly It's Been A War On Low-income People And A War On Minorities. We Know In The United States Of America There Is No Difference In Drug Use Between Black, White And Latinos. But If You're Latino In The United States Of America, You're About Twice As Likely To Be Arrested For Drug Use Than If You're White. If You're Black, You Are About Four Times As Likely To Be Arrested If You're African American Than If You Are White. This Drug War Has Done So Much To Destroy, Undermine, Sabotage Families, Communities, Neighborhoods, Cities.