I have always looked for a better way, but maybe those old lyrics from that Eagles song just make more sense to me now…. “We thought we could change this world, with words like love and freedom.” Some days they also make me cry.

Dear Neighbor, 

In the past, my spouse and I have often discussed whether to call a mass gathering of people a protest or a demonstration. I always wanted to call it a protest because I was angry about some injustice that was happening in the world. What makes a demonstration different is that it reveals the truth about something. It speaks to why this injustice exists and how it has been kept hidden.

I have stopped using the word protest because I am not angry anymore. There is enough anger in our country and in our culture already and I simply refuse to add any more negative energy to an already volatile environment. No, it is not anger that I feel, but a deep disappointment with human beings. It is a disappointment that sometimes overwhelms me to the point that I almost cannot function in the world. I have also experienced the profound shock of disillusionment. I have always looked for a better way, but maybe those old lyrics from that Eagles song just make more sense to me now…. “We thought we could change this world, with words like love and freedom.” Some days they also make me cry.

Even so, I am determined to find my words again. I will speak truth to power. I will speak compassion to the disenfranchised. I will speak soft words to those who have been wounded by our society. I will not let injustice go unchecked. I will defend the powerless with my dying breath. I will not stay silent while my country struggles in the throes of an intricate and deadly web of lies.

I must admit that I am at somewhat of a loss as to how to go about revealing the truth. I am afraid that our problems are too deep to be solved in the political realm. I need to talk to people. I need to have conversations about what it means to be a community. I need for the people around me in my community to understand that I am not upset by any policy or lack thereof. Policies can be renewed, but human rights, once lost, sometimes take generations to regain. At this moment in time, we are treating each other in ways that are inhumane. In effect, I am not losing my faith in government, because I should never have entrusted that faith to the government. I am losing faith in humanity. And…I am not sure we are going to survive what is happening right now. But I am determined to fight with everything I have to hold onto the ideals on which this country was built; one demonstration and one conversation at a time. 

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.