Over breakfast, we scroll past chaos, murder, and rage.
Our nervous systems were not designed for this.
Do we turn away, unable to watch this madness?
Do we curl up in the fetal position, unable to move or act?
I ask myself these questions every day.
God asks us to bear witness, be there for the stranger.
To stand against injustice wherever it may arise.
But we cannot be everywhere at once.
We cannot fight in every battle,
And we cannot solve every problem in one day.
Sometimes debilitated by this mass cruelty, we trudge on,
Join the marches and protests,
Speak the truth when it is dangerous,
Organize and stand against those who
Would rather see us cower in fear and apathy.
But we can also walk through our neighborhoods,
Through the sunshine, rain, or bitter cold,
Smile at our neighbors, and feel joy in joyless times
As another act of resistance.
We can plant seeds of love where hatred has grown,
And we can rest when we feel overwhelmed.
We can watch that our anger does not harden into hatred,
And pray the malice on those tiny screens does not poison our hearts.
If it does, we become no different than the oppressors.
As someone much wiser than I once said:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”*
*Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from his 1963 book Strength to Love
