people are complicated

people make things difficult

difficult oversimplifies some people

difficult to clearly understand

understand me

understand what is going on

on the public way

on the regular

regular should not refer to dysfunction

regular people mostly play by the rules

rules that regulate conduct

rules of the road to ruin

ruin chances

ruin it for everyone

everyone is perfectly imperfect

everyone got mixed-messages

mixed-messages about freedom

mixed-messages designed to confuse

confuse the people

confuse the issues

issues of race and class

issues of equality and equity

equity evens playing fields

equity is not the same as equality

equality might seem best but

equality can actually entrench disparity

disparity that spans generations

disparity that exposes our shortcomings

shortcomings related to poverty

shortcomings that inform public policies

policies for law and order

policies for economic development

development of real estate

development of communities

communities of color

communities in crisis

crisis interventions should be proactive

crisis describes the state of the union

union loosely held together by constitutional hopes

union of the rich and powerful

powerful forces continue to drive wedges between us

powerful statements are often lost

lost in twenty-four-hour news cycles

lost in translations of translations

translations from jargon to plain English

translations reflect translator values

values collectively shape a philosophy

values are objectively subjective judgements

judgements

philosophy