Gore Vidal once said that we Americans live in the " United States of Amnesia". A good grasp of history and the lessons of our collective experience do not seem to be our strongest qualities as a people. Forty years ago in June, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was murdered .Two months earlier Martin Luther King was killed . The nation was reeling in grief and more and more people were speaking out to end the bloodshed in Vietnam . Many believed that Kennedy would be the next president and even more than his brother John ,it would be Robert who would lift up the poor , bring greater justice to our American society, and end the Vietnam war. Kennedy was a good study in personal/political transformation. From 1966 - 1968 he underwent significant changes in perspective. From pro-war to anti-war is no little leap! From authorizing the phone tapping of Martin Luther King to supporting the United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez is a titanic shift! His growing awareness of the widening gap in this country between rich and poor , and his deepening passion to work for social justice was well known. Many believed he had found his life's calling. In his traveling across the country he had come to see first hand the poverty and hunger that exist in our inner cities, in the Mississippi delta, in Appalachia, on Native American reservations, and more... It seems that personal experience and public protest worked hand in hand to help transform a man of privilege into a more compassionate man.
There are many today who share Kennedy's awareness and passion and like Kennedy many are speaking out and working to create a more peaceful and just society. In the face of a habitual cynicism there are many who are finding ways to plant and water the seeds of a new society. Can we take just a moment to consider what it is we may be called to be and do? What are the ways of transformation for us and for our time?Using our gifts and resources how can we fulfill this deep calling? In our so-called post modern world there are many uncertainties and shifting grounds, but one thing remains clear: the urgent call to be a maker of peace and a creator of justice.In this call we find meaning, and purpose, and joy.
In a Common Cause,