Looking to bring together ideas about equality and sustainability. Our infrastructure connects us. What we build reflects our values. Everything is connected. The African bush elephant, Loxodonta africana, diverged genetically from the forest elephant some 2.6 - 5.6 million years ago. Their family groups follow a matriarch. My husband loves elephants. African bush elephants are endangered. There is no denying the global underpinnings of our existence. We have been global from the get-go. We buy what the globe provides. Our consumption here effects the livelihoods of these elephants over there. We have fenced them in, eating away at their habitats. We are a part of Creation as much as they are. The Venus de Milo was created between 150 and 125 BCE in ancient Greece. It is iconic, celebrating the evolution of humanity’s efforts to sculpt the human figure. Democracy is said to have originated in Greece. Ukraine fights for democracy. We broke in its windows on January 6th. Have we forgotten the generosity that is a part democracy? Chicago was incorporated in 1837. "Make no little plans." The Chicago Transit Authority Red Line was built in 1900. The train continues to connect our many neighborhoods. The humble structures of our city’s L tracks are like a sanctuary. We must create sanctuaries. We must build places that accept and do not judge. The City is the answer. It is more than brick, steel, and glass. The Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990 so we can learn more about the origins of things. We have seen beauty that has begun to peel away our ignorance. Much has been revealed. There is so much more to learn. So much beauty. “We are star stuff.” Where do the works of humanity fall on a timeline that has no end or beginning? Where do we go from here? We must "establish Justice," dispel ignorance, ensure the rights of all, and bless Creation. All across this Land of the Free, we have diminished the rights of women. We have denied women of their freedom, categorizing them as less than human. We have fenced them in. This is not democracy. This is not America. It is an evil. It is sin. As we continue with the building of this "more perfect union" we must "promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." Bless women. Bless matriarchy. Uphold it. Uphold everything.