“It will never change”. This phrase pops up a lot these days when conversations turn towards conscientious gun laws, ending systemic racism, reversing climate change…you name it.
Whatever demands we move towards more humane and dignified living, people are quick to say, “it can never happen”.
Really? Of course change can happen. Change is the one thing you can be sure of…but how will it change? In what direction will it change? Will we dive deeper into division, pummeled by lobbyists devoted to violence and war? Will self-serving politicians and clergy manipulate us? Or will we overcome the apathy that accompanies our unconsciousness?
In a matter of four years, we changed from a country whose whispered racist undertones rose to a crescendo. Who are we, with our doubts and our unconscious apathy, to think we can stop it from changing again – this time for the better?
Martin Luther King was very right when he spoke of the silence of our friends and the mediocrity of whites as being the greatest enemies of humanity and justice. And I add this to his list of enemies: doubt. We doubt our power because we do not know our power. We have not yet understood the strength of our humanity.
When we realize our interconnectedness, we will stop being satisfied with our own personal status quo. Activists call it intersectional thinking. I call it common sense. When empathy and compassion reign in our hearts, they will again reign in our land.
As a nation we refused to protect ourselves from a pandemic just as we have repeatedly refused to protect ourselves from gun violence.
But it’s not too late.
Change will come, of that there is no doubt. But the direction change will take… that is still within our grasp. Get in the game.
Above meme credit: Lisa Ann
let kindness win 