ACLU Oregon

Thanks for the add. ¶ People hear only what they want, so facts alone won't wake them; they'll need inspiration too. An echo of an echo of Buddha or Jesus becomes encrusted in ritual, and loses context and content. Still, we write what we can. Try to hear the questions behind people's questions. ¶ This world's diverse evils have a common root: Bullies, liars, thieves, and murderers — in market, government, and elsewhere — believe we're all separate, motivated only by self-interest, greed, fear. They want us to share that belief, for they use it to justify themselves, to keep us apart, to control politics and the economy, perpetuating war, poverty, and ecocide. Their power comes not so much from cabals as from trojan memes, ubiquitous propaganda, implicit in ads and in their framing of the news. ¶ But they're mistaken about our motives. You and I have found love inside ourselves and our friends. It's in everyone, if only we can wake them, for we're all one flesh and blood. Let's spread that vision, for until we do our other advances will be minor and temporary. The bureacracy of brutality cannot stand if we open the eyes of its workers. ¶ What is human nature? Our task is not just to describe what we see, but to choose what we hope to become. The ideological battle between love and fear shapes the world, and its outcome is not yet written. Watching, voting, shopping are not enough. If you haven't already, join the global conversation, in whatever way feels right for you. Worldwide enlightenment has no precedent, no rules; we must discover and erase them en route. Make love not war is as serious as Orwell and as light as "Chocolat." ¶ For a start, just talk with people; that may not sound like much, but really it's huge. Spread the word. Each of us knows only part of the song, but keep singing, hoping, resisting, questioning. Hand in hand, we may heal this world yet.
— Eric