On this Independence Day, there is reason to despair, but there is also reason to hope.
Two things I would like to share which give me hope for our troubled country and our fragile planet.
First, a group of activists in Washington, DC and around the nation have begun this day an historic hunger strike: “The Troops Home Fast,” (www.troopshomefast.org), for the purpose of moving our government to end our immoral war in Iraq and bring our troops home. I am participating in this fast and so can you. Some of us will be fasting for an extended period and others for just a day or two. You can join the fast at any time — even skipping a meal or two can have meaning. At the homepage of the fast are the following words:
“A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history…When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end they always fail–think of it, always.”
Mahatma Gandhi
And this from the Introduction to the book, “An Inconvenient Truth.”
“The climate crisis offers us the chance to experience what very few generations in history have had the privilege of knowing: a generational mission; the exhilaration of a compelling moral purpose; a shared and unifying cause; the thrill of being forced by circumstances to put aside the pettiness and conflict that so often stifle the restless human need for transcendence; the opportunity to rise.
When we do rise, it will fill our hearts and bind us together. Those who are now suffocating in cynicism and despair will be able to breathe freely. Those who are now suffering from a loss of meaning in their lives will find hope.”
Al Gore
Both Gandhi and Gore offer us visions of hope, but only we can bring these visions to reality by taking action. As Howard Dean reminded us: “the power is in our hands!”
Linda Sophia Pinti
