“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
This is year seven of my participation in the Goodreads.com Reading Challenge. I've had four out of six successful years so far, and I anticipate that 2017 will be another successful year. So far I'm on track with two books under my belt, and working on three more. Something that has caught my attention this year is a trend towards books that somehow are centered around WWII – the late 1920s through the 1940s. It began with one of my last books for 2016, the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but this morning while reading Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien, I realize that I have been gravitating towards this time period. Perhaps it's because of the current political climate? Whatever the case may be, I think I will make WWI & WWII my theme for this year. Not so uplifting, I know, but I think it would be fascinating to look at a specific time period through a variety of different sources. Even though Letters is a piece of fiction, they are actually letters that Tolkien wrote to his children, and therefore provide a window to the time period.
Today is clearly a dubious day, and I'm feeling the miasma of uncertainty hanging over me like a noxious dust cloud. All this month I've been thinking to myself "be vigilant", and the lyrics to the hymn "Sleepers Wake" have been running through my mind. I have heard some people say that this is the time to "wait and see", but that's never a good mindset to have. This is the time to stay awake, and to be ready to answer the call that is given to us. There are some people who think that we shouldn't pray for our govnerment right now, but I think that we need to double our efforts. Reality can be put off for a time, but never forever, and eventually the reality of our current situation will become appallingly clear to our nation. That's when we need to be ready for action. That's when we need to step up and support one another, support the values of this great experiment, and do "the good work that God has given us to do". It is more important than ever to be honest and true, not to hide, but not to antagonize or show unchecked aggression. The tide is coming in, and I don't think that there is much to be done to keep it from flooding, but we can do our best to prepare. Tomorrow I join many others in marching for the rights of women and all disenfranchised. Let us hope that the day is significant and peaceful, that the message rings clear across the world: we must evolve to survive; the time of pettiness and bigotry must come to an end; we must take off the blinders and look on the world with an honest, compassionate gaze.
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