[Thespiritexpress] Last writing by John Lewis ~~~~

[roz at mcn.org]

> Thanks Ron
Here is the clip of Morgan Freeman narrating John Lewis' article
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i2DSkAys-8

Dear Lovers ~~~~~ (for in Truth, that is what we are - You/We are Love)
> ~~~~~~ Only Love, ~Ron
>
>
> Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation
>
> Though I am gone, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart
> and stand up for what you truly believe
>
> By John Lewis
> Mr. Lewis, the civil rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay
> shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral
> <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/john-lewis-live-funeral.html>.
> July 30, 2020    New York Times
> While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the
> last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope
> about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your
> power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated
> simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the
> country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and
> nationality to demand respect for human dignity.
> That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though
> I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and
> feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is
> still marching on.
> Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland
> and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years
> old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so
> clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained
> us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality
> committed for no understandable reason were the bars.
> Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters
> and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression
> waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence
> and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to
> the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome
> country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation,
> we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob
> Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot
> unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and
> dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.
> Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some
> might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King
> Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of
> nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He
> said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of
> us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you
> see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do
> something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation
> must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a
> nation and world society at peace with itself.
> Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America
> by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and
> participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most
> powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You
> must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.
> You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has
> been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long
> time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades
> and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the
> answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges
> of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across
> the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the
> exploitation of others.
> Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest
> calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life
> I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of
> love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let
> freedom ring.
> When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century,
> let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens
> of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression
> and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and
> let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.
>
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