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There’s No Time for Despair

Kindness has to stand up to cruelty. And to selfishness in all its glory.

FranMorelandJohns
ILLUMINATION

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Photo by Darren Halstead on Unsplash

Monday afternoon, January 20, 2025:

I couldn’t watch the inauguration. I’ve watched inaugurations since they were first televised, and listened to them on radio before that. Presidents I admired and presidents I opposed; mostly I wished them well.

But seeing my country inaugurate a cruel, vulgar, self-obsessed, foul-mouthed, misogynistic, vindictive convicted felon and compulsive liar who values wealth and the trappings of wealth over decency and himself over his country — it was too difficult to watch in real-time. I’ll read about it in tomorrow’s newspapers.

This was not our shining hour.

So instead, I joined a few thousand of my friends to march in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr on the national holiday honoring him. We were in the San Francisco sunshine; other observances — prayer breakfasts, service projects, gatherings and marches — took place around the country where other thousands celebrated in cold and snow but with similar enthusiasm.

Dr. King was no saint, but he was a man of God. Our new president proclaims himself anointed by God. It felt far better, for this citizen, to be marching in celebration of the godly man than watching…

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