On Being Bold And True: Week One

This post is the first in a series of Monday posts On Being Bold and True. Anne at One Little Window made a proposal that I found intriguing: every Monday we post something we feel passionately about, something we're proud of accomplishing. We speak those things that, if we stand tall and proud within them, make us who we are. The goal is for people to listen to, learn about, and support each other, to honor those things about others that they feel passionately about but that they otherwise might not write about. Her entire proposal is here. If you'd like to join in, leave a comment for Anne with a link to your blog and she will add you to the list on her sidebar. I encourage you to visit Anne's blog in any event because she is an interesting, thoughtful woman and a wonderful writer.

On a personal note, I write about my individual journey here. I am a sensitive person myself and try to not write anything that someone could misinterpret or be offended by. I value everyone who reads here. My goal is not to raise controversy but to share things near and dear to my heart that I don't otherwise write about. I am going to see how "being bold and true" feels for a week or two, and then I will decide whether to continue or not.

Here I go ~

When someone asks me what I am passionate about, I do not have a short answer. My deepest passion is a thread that runs through everything else in my life.

I feel passionately about democracy, specifically about our country's representative democracy. I believe that each one of us has a part to play in our government. Abraham Lincoln's words succinctly describe my belief in a "government by the people, of the people, for the people."

I live this passion.

My children went with me to vote from the time they were infants. We always discussed current events and issues around the dinner table. Each of my children registered to vote when they were 18 and have voted in every election since.

My students learned about the importance of democracy through class meetings. I was an advisor to student council and organized schoolwide mock elections. Twice I took students to witness the convening of the state's Electoral College. I invited local politicians to speak to students about their positions and referendum issues.

A government such as ours depends on the participation of all citizens. It is critical that we listen to each other, talk about issues, and disagree respectfully. One person has one vote, and we cast those votes for the people who will represent us at local, state, and national levels. If we are unhappy with the results, we try again next time. In the meantime, we have the freedom to speak, argue our case, and work to change the laws.

We do not have the right to tell lies and spread rumors about people we disagree with.

We most certainly do not have the right to act violently toward people who do not share our views.

I was in second grade when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I remember the announcement over the school intercom that our president had been tragically shot in Dallas. I didn't understand how something like this could happen in my country.

I was twelve years old when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. My sixth-grade teacher came to school the next day in tears; we wrote essays and talked about what this tragedy meant to us personally and to our country. It was that same year that Robert Kennedy was assassinated, and again our country sank into despair over what it meant to be a free, democratic society. At what cost would freedom and civil rights belong to all of our country's citizens?

The shootings this past Saturday in Tucson, Arizona shook me to my very core. I am devastated by the reality that this type of violence still exists in my country. The past two nights I have gone to bed in tears, frustrated and angry and inconsolable, fearful about what this means for elected politicians and the respectful political discourse necessary in an open society such as ours. I wonder how we can go forward as a country to solve our problems, as we need the voices of all the people to be the best we can be.

In my despair, I started pulling books off the shelves, looking for consolation and reassurance that we will get through this. I pulled out a slim book ~ a book of words and photos of Martin Luther King, Jr. selected by Coretta Scott King. The book is organized by category and the excerpts are not dated; I have chosen a few selections to share here, in an order that appeals to me, that remind me of where my country has been, how far we have come, how far we still have to go, and what might be possible ~

"When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice." (p. 51)

"Many people fear nothing more terribly than to take a position which stands out sharply and clearly from the prevailing opinion. The tendency of most is to adopt a view so ambiguous that it will include everything and so popular this it will include everybody. Not a few men who cherish lofty and noble ideals hide them under a bushel for fear of being called different." (p. 24)

"Hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear; only love can do that. Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it." (p. 90)

"We must work passionately and indefatigably to bridge the gulf between our scientific progress and our moral progress. One of the great problems of mankind is that we suffer from a poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually." (p. 67)

"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend." (p. 18)

All excerpts from The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr., 1987, Newmarket Press.