Despair or . . .

Quick note: As a follow-up to my post about Zimbabwe and the call of religious leadership in that country for justice, you might want to see this interview that Jim Wallis did. It is found at: http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/.
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Also on the God's Politics site is this quotation from Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund.
It is so important not to let ourselves off the hook or to become apathetic or cynical by telling ourselves that nothing works or makes a difference. Every day, light your small candle.... The inaction and actions of many human beings over a long time contributed to the crises our children face, and it is the action and struggle of many human beings over time that will solve them—with God's help. So every day, light your small candle.
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What Edelman advocates in regard to our responsibility to improve life for the children is something that has obvious application in all efforts to change the world. Every person can do something to make a difference on the positive side of life's ledger. That person may consider her contribution to be so feeble that it is not worth doing, but she would be wrong. A person may see the vastness of what needs to be changed and despair of being able to accomplish anything, but he would be wrong.

Yet, the truth contained in Edelman's words is a difficult one to accept. We have been so bombarded with the notions of: INSTANT results in everything from weight loss to political action; and the one true hero who can take care of all of the problems our society faces. We have lived with those falsehoods for so long that we can forget the incremental nature of most change, and we can forget that many people are required to effect the change and make it last.

There is a Crosby, Stills, & Nash song about the riots at the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention, entitled, Chicago, in which the chorus goes, "We can change the world -- Rearrange the world -- It's dying - to get better."

So, do we despair or do we light our candle? After all, our world is dying to get better.