Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle inebriated himself with strangers and slept through a revolution of social and structural change. There are those who can and those who cannot recognize the tumults of change or who would rather sleep through them than make hard choices.
Rip Van Winkle ended up in the Catskill mountains trying to escape his nagging partner and the work that was needed on his farm. I fear too many citizens are trying to live in denial of some nagging “data” and the work that is needed to plow the fields on behalf of the most vulnerable. And so, we slip into a drowsy state of unawareness of what is befalling our neighbors in need.
It is high time we just admit that many of our citizens are finding themselves short on food, medical care, housing, and communities of love, purpose, and belonging. What is most disturbing is the increasing challenges that women and children are facing locally…