Are We Fighting the Good Fight?

Are we sitting on the sidelines?

Or are we fighting the good fight?

Will we help people raise their voices?

Whether they be Brown, Yellow, Black, or White.

Are we championing civil rights?

And doing more and more

As we once did in Mississippi

During the summer of 64?

Have we learned from Mississippi?

Now that hatred burns today -

Will we revive the dreams of Martin and Bobby?

Before their memories die or fade away

Are we stepping up and speaking out?

Or have we turned the other way?

Are we living truth or living lies?

As hatred burns anew today?

Are we standing firm for justice?

Are we doing all we can?

Raising funds and raising hopes

For the real ideals of our dear land?

We must learn from Mississippi!

Because hate, greed, and rage burn today

We must dream the dreams of Martin and Bobby

And never let them fade away.

We must ensure the struggle continues

And prove it is far from over yet?

We must fight for truth and freedom

And show the haters we will not forget!

We must learn from Mississippi,

Because hatred fiercely burns again today.

We must keep the work of Martin and Bobby

Alive, vibrant, and advancing every day.

If we loiter on the sidelines

We will live forever in regret.

For our country and its future,

We must prove we haven't and won't forget!

Photo credit: https://twitter.com/AdamParkhomenko/status/954804249233420288

The Choice Constantly Before Us

https://www.buycott.com/campaign/1014/justice-for-humanity

In the tumultuous world of Resident Rump, I respectfully offer the following thoughts and observations for your consideration.

Hostility comes easy. Trust entails risk. In a world gone mad and a nation divided, free-floating hostility is a predictable response.

Hostility nourishes suspicion, justifies intolerance, and inflates egos. Trust requires one to set a lower guard, risk disappointment, and demonstrate one’s character.

Hostility creates drama, complications, and audaciousness. It can make one appear impressive to others. It can camouflage cowardice and pass for courage. It drapes cravenness in the cloak of valor. It drowns out the whimpers of a quaking soul with the roar of rage.

Trust, on the other hand, is an expression of sincerity, humanity, and composure. Others may suspect our intentions, resent our efforts or envy of our composure.

Hostile people expend a great deal of energy and time to maintain their state of rage. Trusting people, in contrast, gain vigor and resilience from the additional positive options this perspective illuminates.

We must make a choice between hostility and trust moment after moment, day after day. It is not a one and done. Choosing hostility rips the social fabric rends, the bond of affection, stills the mystic chords of memory; choosing trust strengthens and amplifies them.

The far, far better course for our children, our nation, and ourselves is to run the risk of deception and disappointment and endure the burden of errors and betrayals, which are the lot of humankind, after all, than to promote and practice aggression, resentment, and wariness. The first course summons hope, revival, and encouragement. The second, far too commonly conjures cruelty, contempt, and conflict. The choice we make between hostility and trust is entirely and recurrently up to each of us.

We, the people, the rightful sovereigns in the Republic, must not let any who strive to rule us,
dissolve the political bands which connect us and degrade or derail the formation of a more perfect union. Despite the relentless efforts of those who would divide us, we can and must strum the mystic chords of memory and summon the better angels of our nature.

In years to come, will we look into the eyes of children we love about and tell them “We had the opportunity to make a difference, but lacked the courage to try?” For the sake of the Republic, the land we love, our children, and ourselves let us rise and restore “Power to the People.”