Perspective and Hope

It has been overwhelming to listen to the news over the past month – immigrant children cruelly separated from their parents at our border with Mexico, decisions by the Supreme Court, and the resignation of a Supreme Court justice that opens the door for the president’s next appointment. This justice will likely make decisions that shape our country in ways we hate to imagine, possibly for decades.
It has been hard to keep perspective and maintain hope!
Perspective
I recently watched the 9-part documentary from 1996 by Ken Burns titled The West. This documentary gave perspective about the many atrocities committed during the westward expansion of the United States. I doubt most Americans are aware of many of the cruelties involved in the “glorious” idea of “manifest destiny.”
Fifty years ago Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated as the Vietnam War raged on. Then Richard Nixon was elected.
It was a tweet by John Lewis on June 28 that provided perspective.

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year; it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. #goodtrouble”

As I attended the rally to Keep Families United along with 5000 others in Portland, Oregon and in 700 other cities across the country on June 30, I embraced that tweet.
Hope
I invite you to watch this 3-minute You Tube video of Karim Sulayman, an Arab American. Titled I Trust You, this video gave me hope.
My wish is that it will give you hope too! One person’s small step can make a difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCy8Cfvoe6g