Looking At History
It’s abnormally warm for January, even in the Mississippi Delta. A smiling, puppet-like weatherman on the tee-vee proclaims it’s 64 degrees, and goes on to say that he “hopes it stays this way till spring.” An unhealthy, perpetual spring where bears never know when to sleep or when to rise. Flowers bloom too early, only to be killed or damaged by the frost and snow the weatherman had hoped would never come.
One day, perhaps in the not too distant future, that frost may not arrive and then what will we do?
Overwhelmed by things I couldn’t control, I used to fall into despair and melancholy when I’d think of such things. I felt a strong sense of hopelessness for the environment, the poor and homeless, abused children, abused women and citizens under the boot of ruthless oligarchs around the planet and here at home. To me, these problems and all the others were like a runaway train nothing could stop. Sure, there were small victories here and there, but overall, things didn’t look good for us, and the prospects looked even worse for non-humans.
Today, Martin Luther King Day, my thoughts are on our history, especially the history of our revolutionaries, those that demanded change or that lived the changes they wished to see. My thoughts are drawn to the people that worked hard to make a difference, especially those that silently but profoundly worked behind the scenes doing the important work that you never read about in textbooks or newspapers. The everyday revolutionaries in local communities….