Wanted to share a beautiful and poignant article from today's Daily News. I hope this op-ed serves as a clarion call to all Citizen Hunters. It is a reminder that we have many allies in working together to make a better world for our children. We need not depend just on politicians in D.C., our neighbors, our clergy, our teachers -- the list goes on and on. I think Cardinal Rigali is right to tell us that we should not think of acts of forgiveness or solidarity as meager offerings, they can be beacons of light in the midst of dark chaos.
The Cardinal speaks of hope. I know we need more police on the street, our kids need better classrooms and books and universal pre-K and Kindergarten and after school programs. We need to do more in terms of brown fields, urban blight, but in my view nothing is more powerful in keeping people down than nihilism -- a lack of hope.
I always offer suggestions here of what things we can do to make a difference in our community. Don't forget to add to the list -- along with, rightfully at the top: To believe, to hope, to love, to forgive and to "be the peace you want to see."
Good for the Cardinal, and good for you.
Interesting, Catholics don't normally discuss all their good works (whereas the media is plenty good at broadcasting their bad works, their errors). I'm glad we get a chance to see what's actually going on, on the ground, day in day out, in Philly. I'm going to go try to get iovolved in something similar here in Los Angeles.
Thank you Christian D and a great idea we all should get invovled in such vital work. I totally agree with how the media portrays Catholics, it has driven me crazy for years. It also drives me crazy than somehow people think that being a person of faith can not go hand in hand with progressive values. I am sure the Dem party is partly to blame for this, but the fact is that every great progressive movement from abolition to civil rights to womens suffrage was led by progressives who were also people of faith.
Reading the Bible is also a good reminder of such. Jesus was quite the radical in His own right.
Anyway, thanks for all your good comments and I love your energy bar, hooah! www.hooah.com. I put up my profile and shared some pics on your site I hope you like them.
Posted by: Flavia at September 13, 2006 04:04 PM"Then he went up the hill toward home. Charlie Brown now had hope,and with his hope, he had love, for, after all, isn't that what love is all about?"
-Charles M. Schulz
What ties Charlie Brown's pursuit of the little red haired girl, the young men who fight for our country in strange lands, and the community activist trying to make a difference?
Hope and Love.
Hope and love is the antidote to cynicism and nihilism. Can you imagine letting cynicism and nihilism guide our actions in everyday relationships? Can you imagine the people we would disregard: our friends, family, coworkers, and lovers if we regarded them with suspicion and distrust with every mistake or imperfection? How would relationships grow in this atmosphere?
And the same goes for community. Hope and love make it possible for people to make a stand and believe in one another. Prayer adds the fuel. We are all called to be wounded warriors, picking up our own crosses, facing the truth, and doing the things that are hard, but necessary.
Speaking of fuel, my desert boonie cover is off to the hooah! folks and Flavia for sending the apple cinnamon bar hooah and the chocolate hooah bars to my unit. They are a good carb source for my marathon/military training and they taste good. (And I've tried many many types of bars.) Thanks ya'll!
Refreshing commentary in the world of the verbal "smack-down."
maybe if more of us (me included) listened to good people like the Cardinal, we'd be better off.
Posted by: evolo at September 14, 2006 05:13 PM