Woke
“I’ve
noticed something about people who make a difference in the world: They hold
the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every
life matters. They get excited over one smile. They are willing to feed one
stomach, educate one mind, and treat one wound. They aren’t determined to
revolutionize the world all at once; they are satisfied with small changes.
Over time, though, the small changes add up. Sometimes they even transform cities
and nations, and yes, the world.”
Beth
Clark
We are
going through the minor torture of the mid-term election political ads in
Alabama right now. They are so stupid it’s embarrassing. I have to mute the
television to endure it. They’re all about how the “woke crowd” want to change “our
way of life” and as you’re hearing these words, they’re walking through a field
with a rifle slung over their shoulder or firing a handgun at a firing range. Even
our 77-year-old female governor is bragging about “packing heat.” And this when
every day brings another mass shooting. Honestly, if the opposite of “woke” is
brain-dead, then those ads personify it.
Those
of us who truly want the world to become more just, who find racism and
judicial inequity abhorrent, who want to focus on climate change and not
in-fighting, who believe that all lives are of equal value and should have
equal rights and privileges, who think sensible gun control is in the best
interest of the country are told that we’re un-American and sneered at for our “wokeness.”
It’s one sad state of affairs.
I say,
we must simply carry on. Make that one meal for that one person and show kindness
even to strangers no matter what color they are. Go ahead and teach, educate one
mind, and work for justice through your vote and through your actions. Pray for
Ukraine and for Buffalo and for all of us. Make sure you support the community food
banks and health programs. Do what you can—that’s all that’s necessary. Over
time, small things add up. You may not see it in your lifetime, but every act
of kindness makes ripples, like throwing a pebble into a lake. It's okay to be called a liberal and a “woke” person—don't worry about it. Jesus was “woke” too, and
he managed to change a few things in this world.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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