When we, as bloggers, despair over our limited power to change the discussion or policy, we should remember these words of Martin Luther King, Jr., spoken April 4, 1967, at a meeting of
Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City:
Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.
King understood that the real battle was for the souls and minds of people struggling against that apathy of conformist thought. Outreach, outreach, outreach. We, as bloggers opposing government policy, are part of an evolution of demanding the inner truth in our outer society. I hope we all take a moment to reflect on that today, and steel ourselves with the inner encouragement we need to redouble our efforts.