“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I have a small collection of art supply holders (think pencil bags of our childhood) that have been gifted to me over the years. They remind me of important things I should know but forget from time to time. They tell me, “You’re awesome! Keep that up!” and “Dare to be different!” By far my favorite one says, “I believe in peace and love.”
And I do.
I believe deeply in the power of peace and love to change the world. Even in recent months that have included contested elections and riots on the Capitol, hate spewing on social media and division within families, babies separated from their parents at the border and LGBTQIA+ people marginalized from society, I believe that peace and love will win in the end.
But how do we get to the point at which peace and love triumph over violence and hate? Dr. Cornel West said, “Justice is what love looks like in public.” So our public showing of love can be manifested in our working toward justice for all people.
Dr. King once said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” It may not happen quickly, but in the end, we will land on the side of what is just and fair, on what is peaceful and loving. But how long will it take for the arc of the moral universe to bend toward justice? Perhaps that depends on how much work we are willing to put into our fight for justice. Because, as Desmond Tutu says, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
Do you believe in peace, love and justice? How can they help us get through challenging times?
How is justice “what love looks like in public”?
What do you do to fight injustice in the world?
—Andi Lewis, Prairiewoods marketing coordinator