Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Reflection on Living with Change

Donna Aronson
Sunday, August 6, 2006
Palo Alto, CA

When I heard the subject of today’s service, I thought YIKES! I don’t know how we survived the last century. I hadn’t the foggiest notion and even sometimes wonder if we can survive as humanitarian, progressive, tolerant, and kind people in this century.

It seems the news is so terrible and bleak, that we are not evolving as a species, but going backwards. Our “Orwellian” political scene is pretty scary. We have a cowboy in the White House, who seems to be itching to the “rapture’, judging by his “decider” policies. Citizens seem to be gullible, disconnected, ndn dull. Repeat a slogan in the media like 9/11–Iraq, 9/11–Iraq, and no questions are asked. All the trillion of dollars, all the death, torture, stinking destruction, the snooping on citizens, has not made the country or world a safer place.

It seems a terrifying, greedy, insane tije. But such horrid times have come before. People went on. The Buddhist call for Compassionate Wisdom continutes. We have, in the 21^st century, capacity for great good, or not. We have one planet. One experiment, as E.O. Wilson reminds us. We must turn off the Noisemakers!! Be quiet! Listen to your calm self. Forgive, be open minded (but don’t let your brains fall out — as my dear ol’ mother would say).

The Talmud says, “It is forbidden to give up hope.” We may not feel the optimism of 100 years ago when the song says “Everything’s up to date in Kansas City. They’ve gone about as far as they can go!” but good folks are myriad and everywhere. Polaris still shines in the North. We have wonderful technology that can cure polio, and plague and pollution. We have other like-minded friends. We have hope!