In his speech to students at the College of Europe based in Bruge, Belgium, Finnish President Alexander Stubb spoke about the breakdown of trust and the need for optimism in this “era of darkness” which is resulting in a “dog-eat-dog world.” His words were taken to heart in Europe this week when the long-time ruler of Serbia was ousted in the elections on Monday by the Student List, a new party composed of young people.
There is an old Finnish proverb that says the pessimist will never be disappointed. This week optimists calling for a new relationship among nations and peoples disappointed the pessimist. Student protests in Albania over the government approval of a Kushner resort on a protected wetland expanded into taking on corruption.
Brazil also rejected the call for authoritarianism with an overwhelming victory for Lula. Politics may seem more fractured here, but many of the issues we face reflect some of the fundamental shifts in other parts of the world. Optimism is not pollyannish but reflects hope that we can change our society and the world. We just need to work at it.
Prayer for the Day
Confused and often bewildered, we seek answers
But often we are not sure of what questions to ask;
Frustrated and often angry, we come to you, O Holy One,
Seeking direction for our lives so often unsettled.
Forgive us the anger we often hide inside ourselves;
And open us to a new way of being in and living.
In the name of the One who gives us hope,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
Abraham Lincoln, President (1809-1865)
A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. And each one of our thoughts, words, and deeds is like that.
Dorothy Day, social activist (1897-1980)
Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice,
To undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free,
And to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your brad with the hungry,
And bring the homeless poor into your house,
And when you see the naked, to cover them?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
And your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you,
And the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Isaiah 58: 6-8