On a beautiful Saturday morning in San Francisco we marched. June 30, 2018.
Young, old, families, babies in backpacks, dogs, and sign after sign which cried out: together we stand ... for the families, for this country and its ideals, for immigrants of all colors and sizes... There was chanting and drums and trumpets, and cops walking along beside on as we walked. At the end of our march we gathered at City Hall and listened to music, we sang with Joan Baez and listened to her explain that now is the time for peaceful disobedience. She has been there, god knows, and she sees that when the divison is so severe, the prejudice so cruel, the only thing that will move the immovable is disobedience. Peaceful disobedience.
I felt proud of being part of this city, this community, even this country, in that moment, and for a while I believed. That change will come. The Buddha teaches us that change is a permanent piece of our experience, and that often change is painful. He called it "dukkha." And that even though we all suffer in this life, that doesn't mean we cannot hope for/believe in change: for people to be treated equally and humanely, for education for our children, health care, the end of nuclear warfare, the nurturing of our wounded planet, and so on ...
There's an aching place in my heart these days despite my trust in change. The society I (we) inhabit is currently filled with hostility and mistrust and fear. And YET, we must march on - together - we must speak out - together, we must stand up for our values - together. My faith in the young helps me keep on going, I believe in their intense investment in this country and their own future. My deepest wish is that all my grandchildren will join this society, register to vote, and speak out honestly, no matter how hard that is. They are part of this vast unfolding future.
I, along with my fellow baby boomers, are seeing the path ahead become shorter and shorter. We feel the urgency of change and bringing the world together... So, it is up to the young tribes in our midst to manifest what is right and true; we are a community of beings who desperately need each other and who have the power to change our conditions and lead good lives.
Together!