There is an ancient curse, wishing you to live in interesting times. Could the times be more interesting? It’s enough to make revelationists quiver with anticipation. Plagues, wars, and rumors of wars seem pretty biblical.
People are always crowing about the end of the world. It is easy to claim and easier to cash in on. It concerns me that it is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I guess my point is, that the world could be ending and they are coming at us in all ways, from the pious to the nihilist. In every case, they present you with the same answer.
Give up.
Either you have heavenly salvation or don’t and either way, there is nothing you can do, Why bother recycling if the world is just going to end anyway? Right?
Why bother to fight?
I can’t stand by and watch the world burn. I just can’t. I want to have an answer for my grandchild when they ask what I did.
I tried to stand.
There is much talk about Ukraine and whether we would be brave or how we would behave, or even what bravery is. I don’t know how I would react. And you don’t either.
It should be easier to make choices in a slow-moving disaster, than in a missile-scarred landscape. Part of that is more work. It means understanding the issues beyond changing the color of your social media profile. It means finding places where you can fit in and make the cogs of progress turn.
Some may run for office (which, all politics are local, right? Maybe running for a local office isn’t the worse thing you could do) and they may aspire to even higher positions, or you may just write letters on behalf of a cause or maybe arrange rides to the polls.
As I said, I can’t stand by. My children and their children will be part of the future and I want them to know, that I did what I could.
I see other people choosing to stand. I know standing in front of a tank is very different from writing a letter to a member of the Walton family or attending a march. (I maintain, that if Walmart or Kroger said, ‘we will no longer allow non-biodegradable packaging’ and set a date? You would see action on that front.)
Still, let’s all try to stand.
Remain Lost 