If you can hear the ground crying out the names of those saints who are lost to violence, if you can listen to that voice in the wilderness calling you to action, if you embrace the teachings of Jesus to look at the world simplistically and see beyond the complexities of adulthood, then do something about it.
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
Nelson Mandela
These numbers may seem overwhelming, and the truth is that they are, but we should never underestimate the power of a collective movement to bring about change through the power of nonviolent coercion and by putting a face to the problems that we face as a nation, and as a species– when it comes to how we are protecting our most valuable assets.
From the creative imaginations of Disney writers and the animators of Anime in Japan to the prophetic vision of those who felt injustice at the core of their being and the messianic expectations of a people who felt touched by God, we have the answers to how to address these issues, and they start at the very core of anyone that feels an overwhelming sense of injustice. And that is to look at the world once more, through the innocent and uncomplicated mind of a child. Alongside our children, let us imagine that world that anything truly is possible, and then commit to action.
If you can hear the ground crying out the names of those saints who are lost to violence, if you can listen to that voice in the wilderness calling you to action, if you embrace the teachings of Jesus to look at the world simplistically and see beyond the complexities of adulthood, then do something about it. Start small, talk to your families, become educated in the complexities of the data and the numbers that exist, put a face to those numbers, and go from there.
Become, like King would say, a gadfly for justice that continually brings into focus the injustices of our nation at every level, name it, and demand action from those in power.
Demand actions from our families and friends to become educated in those issues. Demand that our communities of faith stop talking about the problems and move towards actionable and measurable resolutions to combat injustice. Through the democratic process, demand that those who we vote for, uphold the ethical and moral values of a society that still claims, “In God We Trust.”
We must speak out, speak boldly, and through nonviolence, attack the status quo so that we can begin to shift the conversation and ensure that our children, the little ones that Jesus loved so dearly, become the most essential asset of not just our nation, but of the world.
By: The Collective Awakening & No Reservations Group
