Gotta Ask...

Seemed like a good idea at the time. We were the generation that was going to save the world. No one asked us. We volunteered. Wars, famine, man's inhumanity to man, injustice, inequality... gone. We were going to wipe that all out. Bad stuff was all going to be past tense. Righteousness, nonviolence, peace and love was going to be the new order of the day.

Gandhi, Baba Ram Dass, love beads, Woodstock, Bob Dylan, the age of Aquarius, be here now, peace signs, lift the human spirit, back to nature, John Lennon, ban the bomb, make love not war... we were going to change it all.

Perhaps we got distracted by mundane daily tasks... doing the dishes, catching up on sleep, paying rent and finding a good cup of coffee.

Perhaps our goals were too simplistic. Dreams. Not based in reality. Pie in the sky. An idea worn down over time like a lawsuit launched by a little guy against a mega corporation with three floors of lawyers.

Is there still a glimmer of hope? I think so. As long as every once in a while, there is someone, somewhere asking themselves, "What the heck happened?"

Note: Unknown to most, the peace movement continues. In Canada, for instance, the Canadian Peace Alliance carries on, comprised of 140 member groups drawn from large city-based coalitions, small grassroots groups, national and local unions, faith, environmental, and student groups, with a combined membership of over 4 million Canadians.