As we look out our kitchen windows or drive up and over the landscapes one bears witness to a stagnant world, locked in place by the current season. A small portion of the river may remain open but this ebb and flow is dictated by the wind and sun and temperature. We can only watch. And wait. Much like all that is spinning beyond our control in Congress, in China, in Israel and Australia and in so many dark corners of our planet. Hidden places were whispering continues into the night, where false dealings and double promises are etched along party lines.

Truly there is much that we wish to turn away from these days. Stuff that is too horrible to hold in our minds without breaking down. Who can let themselves think about the thousands of children behind detention fences? Or the 1 billion animals thought to be killed by the Australian bush fires? Or the swift rise of the coronavirus from China to the US? None of these help me out of bed in the morning, or aids my dealing with a classroom filled with teens who are already panicked over the devastation of our planet due to man’s idiocy, and what they see as just as inevitable escalation to another world war. I would love to turn a blind eye, would love not to witness any of these current crises, but their anxiety and demand for change requires more from me. To them, and the world we have created, we must bear witness with a keen eye and sharp drive toward a telling and absolute truth.

Before the night falls around us, before we can’t find our way out of despair, let us all bear witness, uncover that rare and delicate light back to kindness, utilize the brilliance of Science, lead without political pressure but with our shiny Constitution, and enter a new era our children will remember because of everything we did right.