When I asked Zelens’kyi why he had remained in Kyiv, he said that he “could not have done otherwise.” Explaining his choice, he began not from the specific predicament, dramatic though it was, and not even from himself. He spoke of his love for his parents, and what he had learned from them. He had not chosen them, and yet in his love for them he was free. He compared that love to the decision to remain in the capital as the war began: something self-evident. Staying was not something he did alone: he was in the company of those who had taught him when he was younger and those who had elected him. He was in the company of others who were also taking risks. He understood the situation, he said, because of what it meant to represent others.
Snyder, Timothy. On Freedom (p. 19). Crown. Kindle Edition.
In the church we talk often about the "cloud of witnesses." These are the people, our ancestors and saints, who have gone before us. Hopefully, they have left us good lessons, vibrant virtues, and positive regard for all humanity. Their lessons can carry us through life on the humane, gracious, and ethiscal side. When we are faced with difficulty and hard choices, that company of witnesses keeps our communities and country on a steady compassionate course.
What we're living in today in the United States is a government that has been blinded by greed for money and power to the point that uttter chaos (and cruelty) is raining down on all who lack money, influence, or white/male privilege. The more egregiously forgotten the words and lessons of our forebearers become (they're actually erasing histories of women and POC) the more moral poverty and physical danger we fall victims to.
My lifelong involvemtent in the mainline Christian church supplied me with goood lessons from the life of Jesus, good role models, and steady watchful love. My forebears taught me how to care, how to think for myself, and to always be kind. I don't begin to understand the world of Donald Trump or Vladamir Putin where life is a constant bitter rage and retribution, where money crowds out all compassion and regard for the dignity of others.
It is part of my dream for the future, that there is a strong remnant of people in the United States left who have the bravery and conscience to pull the burning embers of criminality, greed, cruelty, and misery from the fire and water them down with decency, thoughtful considerations, and a shoulder to lean on in tought times - no matter your race, sexuality, gender, class, religion, or status.
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