I was moved by the Netflix series "13 Reasons  Why," to write #loveisatwowaystreet, and to do what I have been putting off for so long--which is to do a podcast.  As a person who believes so strongly in the power of words and words of affirmation, I had to share my art and gift of writing and speaking.  This is just the beginning.

Love God.
Love yourself.
Love people.
Seek help.
You are not alone.

Psalm 139:1-18

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.
 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.
 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

#LoveIsATwoWayStreet

This short essay is a byproduct of having seen a wave of vitriolic glorying in the fact that Colin Kaepernick has not yet been picked up by an NFL team, whilst overlooking his successful endeavors into social justice.  Not only has he sown great contributions to the cause for which he committed himself to silent protest in the first place, but to others as well.  Visit his website: kaepernick7.com.

The gleeful celebration of Kaepernick's seeming downfall among both the mainstream media and social media sparked an unspeakable dread and grave concern in me because this celebration against him is blinding themselves and others to his concerns in social justice.

And so, in brief, I give a gentle, yet important parallel about the tension Kaepernick caused like that of Martin Luther King Jr.

---PRODUCTION NOTES---
This essay is entirely my own words.

Quote sources:
1. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, Alabama (April 16, 1963):
From(hardcover book)Encarta: Book of Quotations, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2000

2. Colin Kaepernick's statement from the NFL: 
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000691077/article/colin-kaepernick-explains-why-he-sat-during-national-anthem

3. Speech excerpt from "Beyond Vietnam" by Martin Luther King Jr.: 
http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_beyond_vietnam/

Check out these articles on the subject:

Colin Kaepernick debate is broken -- both sides are wrong - 2017 NFL free agency: http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18994246/colin-kaepernick-debate-broken-sides-wrong-2017-nfl-free-agency

And see Former President, Barack Obama, addressing Colin Kaepernick: http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/28/politics/obama-colin-kaepernick-nfl-national-anthem-presidential-town-hall-cnn/

Kaepernick Crucible

"The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment." Luke 23:55-56 (NIV)

Audio:  Between The Cross And The Resurrection

To Coloring In A Dangerous Place podcast is based on a book in the works.  Mean this podcast is an assortment of essays, poems, and some candid on-and-off-script commentary about various topics related to the current issues--life, culture, and social justice.

David Moore