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Chaos and Concord

11 March 2024 at 11:15
By: Timothy

Chaos and Concord battle in the collective mind.
Chaos whispers to every tribe, religion, and race

β€œFear β€˜the other’
They covet your power
They envy your advantage.”
She sings to each group,
β€œYou’re the stronger, the higher, the better,
You’re the blessed. Privilege is your right.”

Concord’s small voice speaks of equity, justice and peace.

β€œLike us, β€˜the other’ has tradition, history, community, art.
Like us, they are right to exist.”

β€œNo,” cries Chaos.

β€œOnly the strong, the worthy, the majority can rule.
The vote is your modern weapon for keeping them at bay.
If you cannot defeat them,
feign tolerance to hide your enmity while you bide your time.”

β€œTolerance is not enough,” Concord interjects.

β€œWe must be happy for them and their community.
Erasing a culture is not up for ballot.
We can’t hide our violence and bias behind popular votes.
It kills freedom, feeds Chaos, it is cruel.”

β€œConquest and conformity,” Chaos asserts,

β€œis the only way to happiness.”

β€œBelief that, someday, all will accept the same beliefs,

the same god, the same history,
only perpetuates sadness and despair.”
Concord challenges,

β€œpursuit of happiness is not by forced acceptance.

Happiness grows

by being happy for each other,
by supporting each other’s spiritual growth,
by helping each other build meaning,
by trying to understand and encourage all those around us.”

May Concord’s voice be heard.

The Rainbow

1 September 2022 at 00:07
By: Timothy

Timothy
CLF member, incarcerated in NY

I was walking in the yard.
He looked like a mob enforcer β€” probably because he was.
I’d seen him often, fierce and intimidating. We never spoke.
He was looking up. I turned to see a rainbow.
β€œYou have to search for beauty. There is none here in prison.”
β€œIs that a double rainbow forming?”
β€œYes, they are rare.”
β€œGorgeous.”
We watched with reverence. It faded away too soon.
β€œAs a kid I’d run out after a rain to look for a rainbow.”
β€œDid you find many?”
β€œNo. Almost never. But I kept trying.”
β€œLooking for beauty is always worthwhile.”
We continued talking.
Sharing awe made us humble,
dissolving barriers,
allowing us to act like old friends.
It was beautiful.

Grace

1 April 2021 at 04:07
By: Timothy

I know her
In times of turmoil she is unexpected respite
I cherish what she is, what I am not
Her countenance is hopeful
Her words are kind without rebuke
Hers is not charity, yet no debt is incurred
She assumes I am worthy. I am sure I am not

I know her, but I have never been her
When the turbulence passes
She departs with this wise impress
Do not wait for others to prove worthy
They are already
You are able to be Grace for them
Are you willing?

Dare to Try

1 June 2020 at 04:07
By: Timothy

I make no mistakes. I do not err.
A charge of fault is so unfair.
While others protest in despair
I shift the blame with great fanfare,
then put on an innocent air.
I do not try, so mistakes are rare.

Mistakes are made by those who try,
those who work and question why.
They take their lumps, do not deny,
make no excuse, no alibi.
“I know more now” is their reply,
then move on without tear or sigh.

Attached media: https://web.archive.org/web/20211110144255/https://www.questformeaning.org/podcasts/20_06/05.mp3

Integrity’s Blemished Virtue

1 May 2020 at 04:09
By: Timothy

Helen was revered as a good person, and I was happy to be her friend. She was a manager, a mother, an artist, a neighbor. My experiences with her were always warm and affirming. Everyone trusted her integrity because she lived her values.

But one day we find that she has done something horrible—something offending our moral code. In an instant, Helen becomes disturbing to me. How can I trust her? The experiences we shared are erased by a biting fear that all she was is a lie.

Then Hope—an acquaintance, not even a friend—steps forward with a gift of love. Hope and Helen talk, and affirm their relationship is still authentic. With this assurance, Hope is with Helen as she answers for the harm she created. Hope sees Helen as an artist, a manager, a neighbor and a person who violated a tenet. Hope insists we all are more than the worst thing we’ve done, and should not be carelessly discarded. She forces me to ask if integrity is only the memory of unblemished experience, or if it is simply capricious perception. Hope doesn’t say it, but I admit to myself: shame on me!

Attached media: https://web.archive.org/web/20211110135628/https://www.questformeaning.org/podcasts/20_05/04.mp3

Be a patriot

20 February 2017 at 12:00
Illustration of hand with match lighting the Statue of Liberty's torch.

Timothy Snyder

Twenty lessons for citizens of an imperiled democracy, from a scholar of twentieth-century catastrophes.

Illustration of hand with match lighting the Statue of Liberty's torch.

Timothy Snyder

Twenty lessons for citizens of an imperiled democracy, from a scholar of twentieth-century catastrophes.

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