The kind, thoughtful words of the eulogies for John Lewis yesterday brought tears to my eyes. The words reminded me of what good is in all of us. The words encouraged us to recognize that each of us has a point of view and that we all have worth. John Lewis surely epitomizes the phrase Black Lives Matter.
The sounds of the measured voices in the church in Georgia, rested me, pulled away the sense of despair that haunts me as I listen each day to the actions and words of people who have forgotten the meaning of our democratic values of compassion, empathy, honesty and equality, and who I fear will take those values away to fulfill their own purposes. For a while, I was restored to a quieter, more meaningful place.
Sometimes we don't understand the value of people like John Lewis till they are near the end of their lives. His commitment to equality, justice and making each day better for all of us holds us together. He wasn't alone. He had mentors and colleagues who worked for those same values. He reached out to people, big and small, to form coalitions to fight for those issues.
Keep Moving Forward, he said.
He did so all his life.
He represents what is best about America.
He gave us hope.
As a champion of voting rights, John R. Lewis asked all of us to vote this coming election. Remember that your vote is your voice.
Watch the PBS documentary about John Lewis here:https://www.pbs.org/show/john-lewis-get-in-the-way/
I felt the same as I heard the words yesterday. I feel even more inspired and emboldened.
ReplyDeleteI know you are working on getting voters out. I think John Lewis is an inspiration for all of us to pay attention to how fragile our democracy can be. We have based our government on trust, trust that our leaders will look out for the people. This is the time to stand up and be counted.
DeleteJohn Lewis's memorial was truly a light in the darkness! Thank you for your tribute of words and roses.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. I thought the memorial service was very powerful.
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