|
You don't know me. I'm a member of DU for...two years? Mostly, I lurk and I laugh, I lurk and I cry. Of late, I'm so anguished that I can barely get through my days, thinking about this country for which my father gave, not his life, but his wellbeing, at Omaha Beach.
I have heard that despair is the greatest sin. When I reach that state , I remember an evening with Dennis Kucinich here in Santa Fe, when he was running for President. On a whim, I went to hear him speak with my 30ish daughter. I didn't know him, didn't know what to expect. When this giant man, small in stature, came before us, he began his speech by singing to us:
"America, America, God shed his grace on thee...."
And then his first words were: "Courage, America," delivered with such passion that the whole auditorium was on its feet, cheering him on.
It was pure and to the point. No political rhetoric, just an acknowledgement that we all had a reason to need courage, and that his heart was in the struggle with us.
I worked for his campaign, trying hard not to acknowledge the voice that said he couldn't win, not in a country that was so willing to sell its collective soul for a few devalued paper Federal Reserve notes. And all the while, mixed with frustration that Dennis seemed at times to have lost a bit of the passion we all heard in his "Prayer for America," thoughts of the fate of Paul Wellstone and his family and friends kept running through my mind: "How can I expect Dennis Kucinich to put his life on the line if I am not willing to do the same?"
Is it really that serious? I think it is.
I remember the time of the Vietnam War when I was too ill, too saddled with responsibility, too politically naive to really understand why so many people were marching in the streets. Because of that, I am forced to entertain a certain amount of compassion for people who have not yet grown into political and social awareness. But the hour grows late, and an awakening is needed if we are to survive.
How shall it be? Threats of using viscious weapons against protesters right here in America make it seem that marching in the streets may not be our most effective path of resistance. I am constantly reminded of Gandhi's tactics of nonviolent resistance through exerting fiscal pressure on the Brits. I also recall the scenes of mass murder which became a part of that scenario. Then, the British used cannons; now our country threatens us with microwave crowd control. Would it serve us to die en masse? I think not. I think we need to be more clever.
America, America, what are we to do? Can compassion trump violence? Dennis Kucinich seems to think so, and having been in the presence of the man a few times, I think he is a bright candle in the darkness for this country. Whether he is ever our President, his voice is strong, and he has the courage to speak out against what is wrong with our country now.
What is happening to America is particularly poignant for me because I was born into this world as my father was just preparing to deploy to Europe, to fight Hitler's forces. He returned from the war forever saddened by what he had seen and participated in. My mother was a fundamentalist "Christian," belonging to the very group that gave us Ken Starr. I grew up with a disconnect between my mother's dedication to something I could not embrace, even when I was five years old, and my father's silent protest against it all, which I think I took into myself without his ever having to say a word. So I know, very personally, that America is as capable of docile followership as the citizens of Germany and Japan ever were. Their particular demons were exorcised in time, but the price they paid was horrendous.
I am not a pure pacifist -- if there be such a thing. I am a soldier's daughter, and I know that force is sometimes needed to maintain order. Force in the service of political criminality and greed are another matter.
I would like to think that we can overcome true evil by holding a vision of pure good. I try to do that. I think, though, that sincere admirers of Dennis Kucinich and others who advocate for peace sometimes forget that we dwell in a physical universe, and need to act in the world to achieve our ends. We have voices to make phone calls, to write letters. And we have dollars which we can choose to spend, or not, on any given day or week or month or year.
I want to do something huge to make a difference. For now, I am going to settle for making a contribution to Dennis Kucinich's re-election campaign. He cannot carry the burden for all of us, but he has "Courage, America"! He is needed in the Congress, to join his voice with the few others who are as informed and courageous as he is -- John Conyers comes to mind.
Thank you for listening. This whole week I have been entertaining the concept of "false hope." And I have been saying to myself that hope, by its nature, cannot be false. I am hoping that our collective thoughts can come together to discern what "something huge" may be to save our country and our world.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
