Someone said to me yesterday when I asked why he sounded down, “I’m depressed because my country is killing innocent school children.” Another said in Lenten Devotions last night, “It’s too much every day; I get depressed sometimes anyway; I’m just trying to keep it together because others are counting on me.”
The war with Iran has magnified the visibility of this Administration’s cruelty, violence and destructiveness – like bombs exploding in Tehran and Beirut. The utter disregard for human life, decency, honesty, compassion… the lack of concern for real boundaries and real people’s well-being is crazy-making. We’re left feeling powerless while this administration claims its malfeasance is ‘business as usual’ or even its ‘raison d’etre.’ It IS depressing.
I heard President Obama’s remarks at the celebration of life for the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Obama always ‘has words,’ and understands how to speak to the nation. I’m not sure even Obama can get us all the way to hope these days. But still, there is something deeply ‘righting’ in confirmation of how wrong our current situation is. I hope you can almost hear President Obama’s voice:
“Jesse Jackson was talking (at his Saturday morning gatherings at Operation PUSH Headquarters on Chicago’s South Side) about everyone who was left out, everyone who was forgotten, everyone who was unseen, everyone who was unheard.
And in that sense, he was expressing the very essence of what our democracy should be, the ideals at the very heart of the American experiment — the belief that regardless of what we look like or how we worship, regardless of where our ancestors came from or how much money we’ve got, we’re all part of the American family.
We’re all endowed with the same inalienable rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And we’re all obligated to answer the call, and step forward and take responsibility for making wrongs right and for caring for our neighbors and bringing the reality of America a step closer to its glorious ideals…
We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope. Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions, another setback to the idea of the rule of law. An offense to common decency. Every day you wake up to it, to things you just didn’t think were possible. Each day, we’re told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other — and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count at all.
Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated, and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength; we see science and expertise denigrated while ignorance and dishonesty, and cruelty and corruption are reaping untold rewards. Every single day we see that. And it’s hard to hope in those moments.
So it may be tempting to get discouraged, to give in to cynicism. It may be tempting for some to compromise with power and grab what you can, or even for good people, to maybe just put your head down and wait for the storm to pass.
But this man — Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson — inspires us to take the harder path. His voice calls on each of us to be heralds of change, to be messengers of hope; to step forward and say “Send me” wherever we have a chance to make an impact — whether it’s in our schools, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods and our cities.
Not for fame, not for glory, or because success is guaranteed, but because it gives our life purpose, because it aligns with what our faith tells us God demands, and because if we don’t step up, no one else will.”
Obama was referencing the book of Isaiah when he spoke about Jackson and his service. But he was speaking about us too. God is looking for messengers to guide a hardened and resistant people. The Lord asks, “Whom shall I send, and who will go with us?”
How fortunate this nation was that Jesse Jackson answered that call. Obama too. I believe we can each make a difference. What a great debt we owe. May we live up to the dedication of so many before us — world leaders and unidentified neighbors alike — who’ve done their part towards making America the way it should be…
In faith and courage,
Michael
