(In the face of global violence and inhumanity, it is easy to think: We are so few, so imperfect, and so poorly prepared, while the problems we face are so vast, multifaceted and ingrained - how could we possibly make a difference? The real question however is: How can we stand by and not try to help, no matter how imperfect our efforts may be? ~ Leonard Marlowe)

This semi-secular Christmas post will address a few  matters we're not supposed to discuss in "polite" conversation -- like politics.  Having the freedom to discuss what is truly important to me is one of the reasons I blog; one of the reasons I went to law school; and, one of the reasons I find mediation more suited to my personality and politics than legal practice. 

In case no one's noticed, this blog is dedicated to the non-violent, collaborative resolution of disputes.  To some, this makes me and my blog naive.  Others see an old lefty who, in late middle-age, has accomodated herself to liberal democratic political causes.    

Though I have acted politically in the past (the anti-Viet Nam War and Women's movements) and donate to the expected list of  politcally liberal (the ACLU; Amnesty International; Environment California; the Human Rights Campaign) and charitable organizations (the Downtown Women's Center; the Union Rescue Mission; friend Laurel Kaufer's Mississippi Mediation Project; Mediators Beyond Borders) my politics are more personal than intellectual.  In other words, I make a very bad political debater because I quickly run out of "data" to support my political "positions."

How I Got Here

I think I made an unconscious decision early on (perhaps the first time I suggested -- at 5 or 6 years old  -- that my family send a CARE package to hungry children) that my default position was going to be compassion.  Even if that meant I would sometimes be "ripped off."  I thought compassion was worth the price -- though my parents -- who would have been required to pay for a 5-year old's passions did not agree.

Since that time, I have added other default positions that constellate around compassion, including non-violent dispute resolution; cross-cultural understanding (tolerance); international cooperation; civil rights; universal medical care; stewardship of our physical environment; and, a genuine attempt to meet the first of the U.N.'s Millennium Deveopment Goals --to reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.  

What I Hope for All of Us

We live in a cynical age, which is not the age in which I came of age.  I came of age in an era of hope.  I'd like to think we are capable, as a nation, of entering that age again -- one tempered by hard experience, yet willing to risk a renewed commitment to the principles of peace and justice.  

As an election year approaches with (too early) primaries, my Christmas wish is that we recall a time when the future seemed so full of potential that we were willing to wish for harmony, abundance and justice for everyone.  When was that time?  I was just a child, and yet the nation -- half paranoid; half full of optimism -- elected to our highest office a man willing to lead the nation toward goals I simply assumed to be "American."

Here, is an excerpt (see full addresss here) from that man's Innaguaral Address to the nation.  John Kennedy's speech of  January 20, 1961.  

[L]et us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. .  .  .

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and commerce.

Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah--to "undo the heavy burdens . . . (and) let the oppressed go free."

And if a beach-head of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again-not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are--but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.