Keep Going Forward

There is something in the air – a turbulence, a dread, a fear. Whether it is the accumulated weight of bad news like war, frightening weather, financial stress, deaths and disability left over from the COVID pandemic, currently topped by this election season – many sense uncertainty and are disoriented.

Do not be fooled. There is real hope and real good. More quietly perhaps but no less real and powerful than “the noise” are the good and profound things – the countless words and works of Americans who support each other, our community and our government. Whereas 5 years ago, I became involved in movement in Virginia to spread the idea of dialogue over angry division and to urge building bridges as a way of life, this year it is stunning  to see and hear that this idea has caught on more widely in many corners of our nation. The works of Braver Angels, Urban Rural, icivics – just to name a handful of national groups- are mushrooming, building followings. Churches – at last in this area – have signed on to the message that we must disagree and engage with those with whom we differ with brotherly love and respect – not mean disrespect, name-calling or violence and law breaking. It is as though sleep walkers are awaking and heading forward to find better solutions and answers to the “bad news” that has seemed to hang over us like a plague.

Be one of those. Engage in your community, in your circles of influence with positivity. Stay peaceful.  Take the pledge circulating online at Braver Angels and Urban Renewal.  

Don’t wait only for another election cycle. Problems are here and now.

 Be the hope.  Ask yourself, how will I act and speak in the coming months and years.

 Let us keep moving forward in America.