Why this blog name?

It started with my husband and I watching the movie, "Cadillac Records," which highlights the rise of blues musician Muddy Waters and Chess Records. In one scene, in one of the early recording sessions of the fifties, harmonica player Little Walter introduced his unusual amplified sound, and the recording engineer complained that he was blowing over Muddy's vocals.  I asked my husband, a recording engineer, what he would have thought. "You can't be afraid to sound different," he said.

What he said reflected my exact anxiety over starting this blog; it also reflected the whole reason I wanted to start it. I believe most of us who grew up in the Reagan era and since have been wading through muddy waters. We've witnessed radical swings in prosperity and recession, tugs-of-war between sets of ethics, and a general awakening to the fact that we must own what's going on around us if we want to change things. Those who are coming out of high school now are more socially aware and active and more globally connected than any previous generation. It's time we all stop viewing the world around us in terms of us-against-them, no matter who we are, and recognize a call toward greater cooperation that will allow greater opportunities for people to thrive.

There will be people who assume they know where I stand on things, who misconstrue my messages; there will be nay-sayers. It is my hope that I gain enough of an audience of young people to prove that collectively we can create a movement of positive change that maximizes opportunities in the U.S. and around the world. I am a pragmatist and a social capitalist. I believe that most people simply want an opportunity to provide for themselves with maximum potential and maximum freedom. From these foundations, I hope to clear the waters.