[Vision2020] "We are the answer"

[keely emerinemix]

God bless Derrick Skaug.  Although it appears Derrick already is greatly blessed with profound insight, humility, wisdom and courage, and I hope we hear and see more from him.

Keely
www.keely-prevailingwinds.com


> From: v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:25:39 -0700
> Subject: [Vision2020] "We are the answer"
> 
> Visionaries:
> 
> I know not all here would agree -- some choose to focus on the "intolerance"
> of so-called Intoleristas rather than on the public intolerance of bigoted
> groups that galvanized some of us to pull our complacent heads from the sand
> -- but this eloquently and accurately reflects my thoughts:
> "We must be active architects of a better country and a better world.
> Silence in the face of bigotry and discrimination is agreement and consent.
> We must challenge every instance of inequality, no matter how small it is.
> While overcoming our history's dark side is not pleasant, it is something we
> must actively do every day."
> 
> Here's the full letter that was published in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily
> News:
> 
> Letter to the Editor
> We are the answer
> Posted: Friday, March 30, 2012 1:00 am | Updated: 8:22 am, Fri Mar 30, 2012.
> 
> My heart is deeply grieved by the recent news that Shaima Alawadi, an Iraqi
> mother of five living in California was beaten to death by a tire iron.
> Found on her body was a note that said, "Go back to your own country. You're
> a terrorist." This incident shows the long-reaching effects the political
> rhetoric and rancor of the past 10 years has had on the American psyche. A
> spark of anger and hatred spurred by our popular culture and political
> leaders has turned into a fire within the fringe of our country.
> 
> Gay youth are committing suicide due to relentless intimidation and
> harassment. Travyon Martin was gunned down for what some call "wearing a
> hood while black." And the murder of Alawadi. All point to a startling
> problem. There is a dark side of American culture. While it's underground,
> it's still there. A deep seated resentment of other races, of people unlike
> us, lies in the hearts of many. This dark side exists everywhere. I cannot
> count how many times I have heard racial, homophobic and sexist slurs at
> sporting events, social gatherings, even in the work place and classes. This
> isn't just a problem isolated to my community, but it is ingrained within
> the very fabric of our society.
> 
> It would be easy for us to give up hope, hope of a better tomorrow, a
> tomorrow without wrathful hatred and reckless violence. But we cannot. We
> are the answer to the problem. We must be active architects of a better
> country and a better world. Silence in the face of bigotry and
> discrimination is agreement and consent. We must challenge every instance of
> inequality, no matter how small it is. While overcoming our history's dark
> side is not pleasant, it is something we must actively do every day.
> 
> 
> Derrick Skaug
> ASWSU Vice-President Elect
> Pullman
> 
> __________
> 
> Indeed.
> 
> 
> Saundra Lund
> Moscow, ID
> 
> The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
> nothing.
> ~ Edmund Burke
> 
> 
> 
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