Lately I have become obsessed with taking pictures while driving. As I’m trying to get more and more comfortable with my camera, it is oddly helping me figure out how to use it without looking through the viewfinder. I’ve found the most important thing to remember is to turn off the flash, because that’s the last thing your fellow drivers need, a weird shiny blinky light in their eyes while driving several tons of steel. If you have suffered an injury or lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident, contact a motorcycle accident attorney as soon as possible to discuss your legal options.

The following photograph I took the other day out near the airport. Instantly, it reminded me of the news lately, and the binary that immediately becomes apparent in Katrina news coverage. Nevermind that race is often a big elephant in the room in the American South. Or that the divide seems almost too deep and too sore to mend at times even though tiny bits of progress are made each day. It’s just that those tiny bits of progress, while important, don’t always appear to add up to much.

However, I’m trying to remind myself that each and every positive action I make causes a ripple. While some problems in America seem impossible to breach, and it may take way longer than we thought, I have the hope that the ripple I cause and the ripple you case will eventually join forces with other ripples- one day allowing for small acts of kindness to seep more and more into the community until things really are better. Or maybe I’m just kidding myself?

My biggest hope for the world is that people start consciously making decisions about things in their life. Because only then will change start to occur. in Barthes by Barthes, Roland Barthes writes:

Is there not always something ethical in the political? Is it not Value that establishes the political, the order of reality, the pure science of social reality? In the name of what does a militant decide to…militate? Though wrenched away from any ethic, any psychology, does not political praxis have a…psychological and ethical origin?

In watching the news coverage from the Gulf Coast, it seemed like there was little ethics in politics, as basic human needs were not being seen to in a country that prides itself on being so mighty and powerful. Whether or not it’s true, at times it did seem that ‘value’ was a part of certain decisions. And the loss of confidence that ensued is opening up discussions everywhere, from the New York Times to the smallest of blogs, with people asking “Why?” over and over again, as the elephant began to become more and more opaque.

Although I think that there are some very important ethical issues that have been touched upon over the past week and a half that have engaged me, the good that is going on has engaged me more. If you’re feeling overwhelmed about what to do, how to help, go check out Bigger Krissy’s Be Bigger campaign, and remind yourself that just because ethics may be falling apart on a larger scale, you can help make the better place on a small scale.

And then click above and read about Kimya Dawson‘s Relief Through Music campaign. And then, go help make the world a better place. One stitch, choice, action or word at a time.

Today I feel like I am back in the world again after a week of feeling helpless, angered and heartbroken. After anything disastrous it always takes a while to wrap your head around the enormity and figure out what you can do to help make things a little bit better. The Crafters United fundraiser has raised over $12,000 for the people affected by Hurricane Katrina, which is astounding!

But, like after every disaster, we need to remember that everything doesn’t go back to normal after the television coverage stops. If you don’t have money but have a minute, consider volunteering your time to places like Life List and People Finder, where you can help people find their loved ones.

Originally this post was going to be up on Friday, but given the events of last week, I’m posting it now. It’s from my first “Craftivism correspondent,”* Kerri Williamson. We have been friends since high school, and she and her husband are raising their 4 year old child and keeping in touch with DIY ethics. I’ve asked her to contribute 4 posts (4 Fridays) and to write about the challenges of raising a child ethically in this world. So here’s the first installment, a bit about fall, leaf art, and learning the word “now!”

Hi I�m Betsy�s friend Kerri. For the next few Fridays you�ll be enjoying the amazing but true, crafty adventures of my life with a super rad four year old (and darling husband too)! Since Kaleb was born I have lived a much more intentional self-crafted life. A life where I feel more awake and pay more attention to the choices I make. This week has been a pretty normal week for us.

Sunday Kaleb had a friend sleep over. Monday morning they played Lego’s and cars while I did some chores. Tuesday afternoon Kaleb and I were off to Little Gym where for an hour he jumps, tumbles and balances and I sit on the other side of the glass knitting or writing or sometimes just watching. This week was the beginning of a new semester and much to my delight there were two other moms there who homeschool! We “unschool” Kaleb, meaning he is free to learn what he wants when he wants. For more information on unschooling please see unschooling.com or check out any book by John Holt (I recommend How Children Fail or How Children Learn). So this week I sat in Little Gym gabbing with these moms (one of whom I knew in high school) about homeschooling. Tuesday evening I started crocheting a hat with earflaps for my nephew who will soon be one.

Wednesday morning Kaleb and I went out bright and early to pick up our super fresh and yummy veggies from the CSA we belong to. On the way I commented on outrageous gas prices. Kaleb thinks we should go to the President’s house and tell him what we think, or at least call him on the phone (K LOVES talking on the phone. I pity the telemarketer who has him answer). Then we headed over to my younger brother’s house to hang with his wife and kids. Kaleb played trains with his cousin for hours while my 5 year old niece danced and performed CATS for my sister-in-law and me. After returning home I began to work on the hat again. Kaleb sat with me for a bit holding my hand and helping me crochet. I finished the hat and think it is entirely too big, oh well�

Today, Thursday, when I�m actually writing this while Super K slumbers, was a perfect late summer day. We awoke around 7:30 and were very excited because today was the day to flip the page on the calendar! September a whole new month ahead of us with adventures yet to be known! We have a Peanuts calendar and so we also got to read the new cartoon for the month. K and I started talking about autumn and how it will be here in 3 short weeks which leads us to what fall makes us think about. Halloween of course, and leaves and apples & pumpkins and cool weather too.

We decided we want to go canoeing this Saturday with daddy. Maybe pick apples this month too, perhaps on the trip to Asheville we have planned with previously mentioned sister-in-law. However, for that moment a walk around our yard and the neighborhood looking for any leaves already fallen was in order. The leaves we collected turned into an art project for all the people we love. Afterwards I fiddled with the compost pile while K sat on the deck listening to music and looking at books. We came back inside and started making sourdough bread. Followed by reading The Curious Adventures of Jimmy McGee, chapter 8, by Eleanor Estes. Kaleb has recently begun to read the word “no” which lead to also reading “on” and as of today “now”. When I read to him (which is often, he LOVES reading) he picks out any word starting with no and yells out “no!” Later on he was coloring and wrote “now” multiple times on his paper. We were excited for daddy to get home to show him this new word. It is amazing to me how naturally and easily he makes connections. How ready he is to notice EVERYTHING and to share it with me. Now I am off to look at the stars with my beloved husband.

*Want to be a monthly correspondent? Or want to help Kerri in her quest to learn more about unschooling? Or just tell me that you are happy to read someone else’s thoughts on here besides mine? Let me know! I am always for being a correspondent as well, ever since I was the special London correspondent over at Antifolk. It’s not just too much CNN gone to my head. Thank you, Kerri! xo