Living in the United States of America has given us the freedom to choose the direction of our lives. There have been times nonetheless in which fate chooses for us. In my own case I have encountered situations which spun me around one hundred eighty degrees from where I had been. The death of my father when I was eight was surely one of those moments when my world turned upside down. Later when my mother showed the first signs of her mental illness I changed course once again. Luckily I was able to use those challenges to become a better person. I set a new course each time that I have been called to take actions that I had not before considered. I learned to adapt to my the new reality. 

Such is no doubt true for everyone. We have all experienced differences between our dreams and the unfolding of unexpected events that forced us to choose new ways of surviving. How we react in such moments all too often depends on our willingness to adapt and our determination to make the most of a difficult situation. The world demands us to make choices that we might never have imagined. 

I’m certain that in the era of my grandparents nobody expected the tragedy of World War I, the deadly Spanish flu outbreak, or the devastation of the Great Depression. Everyone had to dig into their souls and find the courage to make the best of situations that they would never have wanted to happen, but did. They found ways to survive grave uncertainty and loss in times that they rarely discussed as they grew older. They left those times in the past and celebrated the joys of the moment rather than reliving the pain.

It is a human tendency to look forward rather than backward and yet we all might learn from studying the past. When we review our actions after the fact we realize our strengths and weaknesses as well as what we managed to do right and what we did wrong. Thinking about such things is not a form of self harm, but instead a wonderful way of being ready for challenging issues in the present. or the future. 

My parents were from the World War II era. That conflict colored much of their thinking. They understood the dangers of fascism and proudly spoke of their efforts and those of their countrymen to free people of the world suffering under the thumb of dictators. They spoke of the young men leaving high school classrooms to enlist in the military. They remembered rations of food and other items essential to the war efforts. They felt heroic in doing what they believed to be the right thing. It was not something that they had planned in their youth. Such historical moments are rarely even imagined until they come. 

My generation of Baby Boomers witnessed great upheaval from the mid nineteen sixties to the end of that decade. It was a time when we often chose sides. Some went to war in Vietnam, others protested the injustices of the war. Some marched in civil rights protests, others shouted, “America, love it or leave it!” Those years changed us and in many ways silently estranged us in ways that hid themselves under the surface until they were brought to the fore once again by a man intent on taking us all back to a time that he believes was far better than the one into which we have evolved. In doing so he has opened wounds and anger that many like me thought were a thing of the distant past. In the process he has created another historic moment in which I feel the need to once again make choices that feel uncomfortable but necessary. 

At the age of seventy six I lack the energy that I once had and would prefer to live out the rest of my years peacefully, but I suspect that there have always been older people caught up in the inevitable roar of history that rarely considers age. While simply looking away is actually a choice, it is not a viable one for me. I cannot pretend that I believe that all will turn out well if I just ignore the damage whirling around me. i know full well that my only course is to choose a side and take a stand, not so much for me but for the future of my country and all of its people, most particularly the young.

I admit to being afraid of what may happen down the road. I sense that I have been chosen to persist in speaking for those who are being harmed in the moment and for those who may find themselves in trouble in the future. I pretend that I am unaware of the abuse of our Constitution that our president is inflicting on this nation. I cannot be silent about the masked thugs in unmarked cars rounding up people based only on the differences in appearance and culture that make them targets. I have to call out wrongs along with other patriotic American citizens who are doing so. I can’t just hope that with enough patience all of the chaos will go away. My instincts and observations tell me that this is a very different time in which we have to act or we will one day not recognize the country we have so loved. 

I know that I am only a tiny voice that is only heard by a small number of people, but I like to think that our numbers can grow as long as we one by one by one raise the alarm before we all are silenced. Already our president is threatening journalists who state facts, speak truths and question his methods. He is filling his press conferences with those who flatter him. He has surrounded himself with those who do not dare to question any of his demands. His party of Republicans fawn over him and the Supreme Court is surrendering more and more power to him, making a mockery of the three branches of government affirmed by the Constitution. 

It is time to find our voices because surely there is enough evidence to alert us to the many dangers that lie ahead if we remain silent. The time is now. We have been chosen for this moment. Will we answer the call?