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Peace vigil
Aug. 18th, 2005 11:14 amDave and I went down to Felton last night, armed with candles and signs saying, "How Many More?" and stood with 100 or so of our friends and neighbors at the central intersection. The sun went down, people honked and waved as they drove home. We talked a little. Oka curled up at Dave's feet. Someone else had a sign, "Dogs For Cindy."
There was another, smaller vigil in Ben Lomond, which is closer to us, but we'd already signed up for the Felton one. While I find the appearance of two such events in such a small valley heartening, I cannot escape the feeling of preaching to the choir. First of all, this is California, and not only that, Santa Cruz County. When you drive into the city of Santa Cruz, you see "Nuclear Free Zone" signs, in apparent ignorance of the radiation therapy facilities at the hospital. So to say the area is liberal is quite an understatement. What effect does such a vigil have, in a fairly remote area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, when most of the residents are in agreement? Is its purpose to make us feel like we're doing something? Or feel better about ourselves? Do any of us honestly think W is going to change his war policy (excuse me, the war policy of which he is the figurehead) because of what a small group of superannuated hippies and crunchy-granola liberals do?
I do think such events make a difference. Over 1500 such points of light were kindled across the nation. True, the movement might go nowhere, but if it is to grow, it must begin. This is a beginning. It is also a coming-together-of-community. We may gather for one purpose, and yet something else, something we could not have imagined, might grow from it. Connections between neighbors. A space for spirit and lovingkindness to come into the world. The spark of ideas, someone picking up the ball no one knew existed. Hope and possibility.
Sometimes, we may have little hope of achieving our objective with such small beginnings. But by kindling hope and keeping it alive, we continue to move and grow and stretch in that direction. Progress, not perfection.
There was another, smaller vigil in Ben Lomond, which is closer to us, but we'd already signed up for the Felton one. While I find the appearance of two such events in such a small valley heartening, I cannot escape the feeling of preaching to the choir. First of all, this is California, and not only that, Santa Cruz County. When you drive into the city of Santa Cruz, you see "Nuclear Free Zone" signs, in apparent ignorance of the radiation therapy facilities at the hospital. So to say the area is liberal is quite an understatement. What effect does such a vigil have, in a fairly remote area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, when most of the residents are in agreement? Is its purpose to make us feel like we're doing something? Or feel better about ourselves? Do any of us honestly think W is going to change his war policy (excuse me, the war policy of which he is the figurehead) because of what a small group of superannuated hippies and crunchy-granola liberals do?
I do think such events make a difference. Over 1500 such points of light were kindled across the nation. True, the movement might go nowhere, but if it is to grow, it must begin. This is a beginning. It is also a coming-together-of-community. We may gather for one purpose, and yet something else, something we could not have imagined, might grow from it. Connections between neighbors. A space for spirit and lovingkindness to come into the world. The spark of ideas, someone picking up the ball no one knew existed. Hope and possibility.
Sometimes, we may have little hope of achieving our objective with such small beginnings. But by kindling hope and keeping it alive, we continue to move and grow and stretch in that direction. Progress, not perfection.
