The Stirring of Youth

The movement stirring within our nation’s youth in response to the gun-slinging slaughter of their peers might be the tipping point of a transformation that has been smoldering since we elected the man with no soul.  (At least not one he has access to.)

Should this movement take flight, here may be some of the reasons.

The outcry in response to the hurricane of pain triggered by some deranged soul with a weapon is more than simply demanding of legislators that they change their view and their vote regarding access to firearms.

The outcry is also directed at fellow citizens, encouraging us to join a crusade to not only elect different lawmakers, but also shift the collective consciousness of the country.

There is a growing appreciation of just how powerful a force a peaceful, mobilized citizenry can be.  All we need to do is learn how to create one.  That’s no small thing.  But hardly unprecedented.

Fortunately, perhaps the least daunting part of the process is cultivating the mentorship of people with experience and wisdom in non-violent political upheaval the world over.  The Einstein Institution would be a place to look.

So the wherewithal for an effective strategy exists.

The question is what’s required of those men and women––say, those present high school and college students––who must steward the movement?  What savvy must they bring to the table?

Whatever the complete answer, I have a sense of at least two considerations:

1. A commitment to become masters of managing ourselves.  Which basically means managing fear.  All true non-violence is not so much a matter of behavior, as it is the throb of one’s heart.  Anger, blame, judgment, condescension and all the other faces of fear are counter-productive to the even-minded, unwavering passion and rigor needed to create a movement of like minded advocates that will sustain itself indefinitely––years, a generation or more, if need be.
2. Developing the ability to frame the problem in the largest possible context.  And to answer as fully and explicitly as we can how the movement will know whether it is progressing in a healthy direction.  Limiting access to guns, for instance.  As a goal it’s too small.  It’s like outlawing the abuse of pets.  Important but incomplete.  What’s also needed is a far more mature appreciation for the sacredness of all that we humans have in common, and how to take action in the context of that appreciation.

For those who will shepherd this movement, these two considerations can offer skills and understanding that will help them engage not only the nation’s approach to gun-related violence, but every single decision they will ever make.

A great example of this is Georgia Congressman John Lewis, perhaps the nation’s most prominent black leader, who grew into adulthood as an active participant in the 1960s civil rights movement.  His book “Walking With the Wind” tells that story.

Whether such an indelible transformation will happen today is hard to say, but not hard to imagine.

Given the swing into the nut house of things occurring under the banner of Trump, it’s easy to foresee the possibility of an equally vigorous swing in the opposite direction.  As it occurs, we may anticipate that the makeup of our nation’s community of elected and appointed officials will more closely represent not only the wonderful diversity of humankind that is us, but also the values that are America at its healthiest.

Those students mobilizing in resistance to the forces that make it possible for murderous atrocities to occur in schools may be the spark that sets ablaze a forceful and courageous response to the exceptional absence of kinship, compassion, hope, dignity, kindness, and joy that characterizes the mindset of so much of our present government and those fellow citizens who champion it.

I can see it now.  Pouring a can of Diet Coke on Trump’s grave in tribute to his role in provoking our collective move in the direction of sanity.