Shall We Overcome?
A New Family Emerges….
I take pride in my counter-culture, child-of-the-‘60’s history. Truthfully, that’s not a fully accurate self-assessment. In the late 1960’s I was a nice Jewish girl in college, not dropping acid in Haight Ashbury, where I thought I should be.
On my college campus, I was busy discovering the world of marijuana, attending my Shakespeare classes stoned (in order to get the most out of it, so I thought), and bearing the weekend, non-negotiable fraternity parties. I wanted to go home with my sorority sister, Murph, not deal with the khaki-pants-frat boys. I couldn’t allow myself to know this—wanting Murph, or Audrey Hepburn, or Mary Travers of Peter and Paul—my true loves—all was a secret, a creeping secret festering inside of me.
What solution did I carve with my astute and mature counter-culture consciousness? To go for the creepiest guys at the frat party, then attach myself to one of them as a cover, drink as much of the grain alcohol being served as possible, keeping the guy at bay but dancing wildly around, pantomiming fun, and getting out of there as early as possible. Then I could smoke another joint in my car driving home, landing in my bed in the sorority house listening to Soft Parade by the Doors on my stereo. Of course, to get the most out of it.
A theme emerges.
But somehow, somehow, I knew that Good would Win.
Somehow, somehow, I knew that Truth would Prevail.
Somehow, somehow, I knew that the Goodness of People would overcome.
I believed the songs, we shall, we shall overcome. I went to protest marches, I tried to levitate the Pentagon (yes, that was a Thing, October 1967.)
The Vietnam War appalled me.
Horrified me.
Sickened me.
I joined the Peace Corps after college.
Of course I did.
I worked in an inner-city high school for 18 years.
Of course I did.
Oh. Yes. I joined an ashram.
Left my teaching job in Newark,
(Freaking out my dear, dear father),
Seeking Truth,
Seeking Goodness.
Somehow. Somehow, I knew Goodness would win.
And now it’s now.
~~~
Doctor King teaches us about “the arc of the moral universe (being) long, but it bends toward justice.”
I think about this truth, especially in the middle of the night. But the changes in our culture, the dismantling of our government, the denial of science, the unraveling of our liberties, the cult of the billionaires—all ring loud in my ears at 2:15 a.m., with dawn such a long, long time away.
I feel my 60’s heart closing down.
I hear the volume of my cynicism increasing.
I see the absurdities of the cultural and governmental breakdowns unimaginable,
Yet happening.
Yet, happening.
So, I want to dedicate this blog to the kids from the PS22 Choir.
~~~
PS22 Chorus is a world-famous public elementary school choir from Staten Island, New York. Since 2000, its music teacher, Gregg Breinberg, has offered his group of 60-70 fifth graders the training, the support, and the opportunities to sing, to shine, to believe in the best of people and of themselves.
Here is a powerful video worth our time. Here is PS22 offering us, A World of Peace, written by Holocaust survivor Inge Auerbacher with Madeline Stone.
~~~
“A WORLD OF PEACE”
An acorn gives life to a thousand trees
Raindrops make the greatest seas
Nothings impossible if we try
The smallest dream can reach the sky
We may be different in our beliefs
But we all share the human need
If flowers grow in the desert sand
Love can break through any land
All wars must cease
There will be peace
A world of peace
Where there’s a will there’s a way
We have the choice to be the change
With time and care we will win
The time is now so let’s begin
All wars must cease
There will be peace
A world of peace
Where the hatred will end
Where the broken can mend
A world of peace
Where the children will sing
As a peace offering
A world of peace
~~~
Friends,
To the children,
Let’s send love,
Light,
And laughter.
To the children,
Let’s send our prayers
For safety, for possibility,
For Everything Good.
May their hearts be strong.
May their arms be wide open,
To themselves,
And to
Each other.
Now. Then. And always.
May all beings benefit from our time together.
All blessings,
Aruni