Yesterday I helped my daughter vote in the US election. We are all very depressed today. Grieving for all our friends in the US. Worried about spillover into Canada.
But I think of my grandmother Inger. At 15, she witnessed her dad’s murder in her home; he died in her arms. She never cried after that – until the day the Nazi tanks rolled into her home country of Denmark. My mother Bonnie, 3, was so astonished to see her mother cry that she remembered it for decades. Yet three years later, with 2 small children and pregnant, Inger helped Jews escape to Sweden – at the risk of her own life. She said simply, “It had to be done.”
There are still many humans who care about each other and the planet, more than the money in their own pockets. Most, probably.
So we must have faith, be patient, and stay alert. Watching for the moment someone needs us to help. Listening for the ways we can help.
My grandparents (both of them) were in the Resistance and smuggled Jews to Sweden. My parents smuggled draft dodgers into Canada, and my mother smuggled women to safe abortionists. My VW Westy and I are standing by, ready for when we are called into the family business.
– Nov 6, 2024
* Not my dear friend Faith or my cousin Patience, though they are with me in this.