Reclaiming Hope, by Rev. Dr. Dorothy May Emerson

As UUSC's Civil Liberties Program Manager, I invited Rev. Dr. Dorothy May Emerson, community minister of Rainbow Solutions, Medford, Mass., to share her reflections on this, the fifth anniversary of 9/11 because I believe now, more than ever, we must stand and be counted.

In the coming days, weeks, and months we encourage everyone in our community to fully embrace our civil liberties especially freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, the right to privacy and of course the right to vote. For me, I can think of no better way to pay tribute to September 11.

-- Wayne F. Smith

Although I live in the Boston area, I was in Tucson, Ariz., on September 11, 2001. My spouse (an investment consultant specializing in socially responsible investing) and I were attending the annual conference, SRI in the Rockies. We were up early for a meeting and flipped on the TV to check the weather — just in time to see the towers collapse. As horrible as that day was, I was grateful to be part of a compassionate, creative, activist community for the next few days.

In the days following 9/11, many people sought connections with others, more than a few finding their way to UU congregations. Tragedy brought us together, and we found solace and hope by creating community.

What happened to that hope? Somehow it seems to have been lost in the culture of hatred and fear that has been promulgated by our government and major media for the past five years. It’s been lost in stolen elections and wars fought in our name for revenge and for oil. It’s been lost in feelings of powerlessness as we watched our country’s failure to respond to people in desperate need in the Gulf Coast.

It’s time for us to get hope back. In order to do this, we need to acknowledge that something is terribly wrong with the so-called democratic system that operates this country. We need to study what has gone wrong, and strategize and act to reclaim true democracy.

In her book, Democracy’s Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life, Frances Moore Lappe quotes Deb Hook saying, “It is far too late and things are far too bad for pessimism.” That’s pretty much how I feel. Frances’s book and her essay in the current UU World, “Hungry for Democracy,” are great resources to help us think about what we need to do to turn things around and start living hopeful lives again.

We need to get serious about this, friends. It’s too late to give up. Our only choice is to act — and act now — to make sure we have a just and safe world to leave to future generations. What are you doing today to make sure the tragedies of 9/11 don’t happen again?