I recently read an article which affected me like a breath of cool, calming fresh air. It brought me a sense of relief and well-being.
Toxic political negativity, anger, lies, and exceptionally foul darkness continues to erupt from the far-right crowd. Their actions have taken a heavy toll on America’s minds and peace. This pressure on top of the pandemic, financial disruption, environmental concerns, etc., have left many of us feeling exhausted-depleted. But the MAGA throng consistently continues to push our alarm levels higher. Nasty.
The author of the article in The Atlantic, Peter Wehmer, shares the following thoughts. Many of us ask, “What do we do now?” He points out that hopelessness is not an option! Sen. Robert Kennedy warned us in 1966 of “the danger of futility.” We all want to not only survive but thrive. We must not cling to false hope nor to flippant casual reassurance either. We need to often remind ourselves that our responsibility is to be faithful, not necessarily successful. All of us want to do both, but there are times we are not successful.
The best action is to try to live with a reasonable degree of honor and integrity, defending, even imperfectly, what we believe; the deep-down inside us of what is loving, true and right. We have no control of what happens next. C.S. Lewis says, “It is not your business to succeed (no one can be sure of that) but to do right; when you have done so, the rest belongs to God”(or your foremost spiritual leader). Lewis continues, “If we don’t act when success isn’t guaranteed, then success will always be beyond your reach.”
Kennedy shared, “It is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man (woman) stands up for an ideal, acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends out a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest wall of oppression and resistance.”
Margaret Marshall, a South African anti-apartheid student activist who became the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concurs. “If we do one small thing in this time of evil, oppression, discrimination and inequality, we are being faithful, we are changing the world.”
I believe voting in this coming election for what you believe in can become a “wave” of action supporting democracy, our Constitution, truth, reality, and justice all at once. Please don’t let this opportunity pass, undone. We need each one of you. We can also often send out ripples of hope to build a tsunami of righteousness. My friends, ripple on.
Sharon Jeffers,
Mifflinburg