But somehow, we've lost our way amidst the furor of white supremacists, of racists, of anti-Semites, of dangerous demagogues and demented, power-hungry politicians, of misogynists and small-minded people who have no time for compassion or courage or for simply doing the right thing.
Now, somehow, before it's too late, we must find our way back to what President Obama calls our better selves. We must return to the ideals we like to proclaim even when they prove hollow, return to kindness in the face of cruelty, return to our common humanity before it slips away from us forever.
No one understood this better than Elie Wiesel, who wrote, "I know and I speak from experience, that even in the midst of darkness, it is possible to create light and share warmth with one another; that even on the edge of the abyss, it is possible to dream exalted dreams of compassion; that it is possible to be free and strengthen the ideals of freedom, even within prison walls; that even in exile, friendship becomes an anchor."
May we find our way back from the darkness, may we create light and share warmth, and may we dream again of compassion, freedom, and strength as we reach for the anchor of friendship. It is, in these troubling times, our only hope.
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