Thursday, December 20, 2007

Wandering in the wilderness since 1968

This comes from Jim Wallis's Dec. 19 column, "My Prayer for 2008," at Sojourners Online:

1968 was the turning point when everything began to go wrong in America. I remember my feelings at the time vividly. King had been the leader of the movements that had captured my imagination and commitment as a young activist; and Kennedy was the only politician who won my political trust. I was getting ready to take a break from college to work on his presidential campaign when he was killed. Ever since 1968, the door has been closed to real social change in the U.S. Since 1968, we have been wandering in the wilderness. The coming New Year -- 2008 -- marks 40 years of that wandering, a passage of time I have been pondering as we enter into it.


I agree with Jim. We have been wandering in the wilderness since 1968. We have a chance for a major upheaval in the 2008 elections. But it's not just elections that make big changes. As Jim says:


Real social progress seems to require that combination -- strong social movements and open political doors. I believe we may be approaching just such a time.

Maybe we are. Those doors have been closed for such an awfully long time.

Read the entire column at http://www.sojo.net/.

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