When people talk of the best times, when people aspire to find a place they belong, somewhere to raise children, to be connected, to grow and nurture their lives, they talk of communities, not empires.

Empires are bastions of power, of greed, of inequality.

Communities, real communities, that value each of us as equals, are more than that, better than that.

The vanity of power, of greed, of needing to spread your influence, is toxic and useless.

It only breeds corruption, evil and death.

That, history has taught us.

Empires are not what is natural, not what is needed.

Communities are where we thrive, empires are where we die.

Marissa Klotzbucher - Thoughts and Comments for Public Consumption