May the path transform
under our feet as we walk
stepping mindfully
As someone who was alive during the civil rights movement, whose heart broke when Martin Luther King was assassinated, who began writing for peace and justice at age fourteen, my heart has been heavy - since 2016, because of the unfitness of the person in office in the USA to lead, to the overt racism, to his speech which incites racism and division - to the silence of those around him that is complicit in enabling the behaviour - and especially the last few days, when the festering wound has spilled open, after the murder of George Floyd by a policeman who knelt full force on the man's neck as he pleaded "I can't breathe."
Last night I watched two police vehicles DRIVE INTO a group of protesters.
Systemic change is needed. For that we need leaders of integrity, someone people can believe in and trust.
The weight on me, of witnessing our being rolled back into 1950, of things I never thought I would hear and see from a sitting president in North America, is considerable.
But this morning, one note of hope in the nightmare - the Sherriff in Flint who took off his riot gear and marched with the protesters. The beauty of that moment brought me to tears, this time hopeful tears. The beauty of the human spirit when it rises outshines its darker side. Peace lies in the opening of hearts.
I had not heard about the Flint police chief. Bravo for him.
ReplyDeleteI share your view on the state of our "Union". The issued hatred spewing comment, "when the looting starts the shooting starts" was reprehensible of any leader saying that. A feeble non-apology of not knowing its meaning is nil, he knew it was derogatory and meant it as a slur. Augh
..
these certainly are some trying times.
ReplyDelete"Peace lies in the opening of hearts" is so true. I hope closed hearts find the courage to journey there.
ReplyDelete