October 9, 2011 - The dust of the Sahara is on my shoes, and the smell of wood burning is in my mind as I return from a week in Cairo. The energy was palatable there and I left a group of friends and leaders who believe in a future, in the possibility of a better world. It echoes the thoughts I've had over these past few years, the feeling growing within me that we have allowed ourselves to lose sight of what it is to be human, to aspire for something better. Instead we are learning to settle for something a little worse, a little more hateful, a little less than what we can be. And so it is there as well, as I read how these peaceful efforts have been stoked to violence and now two of my friends - those I stayed with and worked with have been injured just moments ago, others have died. For power is always reluctant to let go. And so it seems again. I'm going back because we must make a difference.
Here at home I watch the mass dismissing of Occupy Wall Street by the same media that embraced the Tea Party and it is clear to me why, for this media is not threatened by the anger of the Tea Party, they are protected by them. They ridicule the leaderless, powerless OWS, because that's how they win. With a page out of Babbitt, they spew out the words of conformity to a public that has continually soaked it up. But will the people, our people, ultimately see that the real outrage is not a President or protester who wants health care, a fair wage and an end to obscene corporate greed; its a greedy, self-serving media that would rather reward the wealthy and damn the middle class. Are we smart enough to see this? Only time will tell.
This entry is brief, a plane to catch, but I know this: there is a confrontation coming here and abroad that will shape us. Which side of history will you be on?