Emily's Worldview

In a recent class, we did an activity where small groups had to represent various public actors and generate soundbites about civilian casualties in the Iraq war. As the Rove and Pentagon groups delivered lines about "our brave men and women in uniform" "the march to democracy" "the true patriots" and "our cowardly enemies" the class erupted in knowing laughter. The various slogans sounded silly and pompous in our ears, and yet they are immensely powerful and responsible for so much horror in our names.

Funny, when we talk about "Justice for the Poor" "Global Equity" "Living wage" and "Health care for all", we get derided as idealistic sloganeers who don't know how the world works. People who advocate for "winning the war on terror" and "spreading democracy in the Middle East" don't get the same sort of scrutiny, despite all evidence against them.

The advantage we have as advocates for the poor and the sick is that our morality is not ambiguous. Nor do we have to exaggerate anything because the truth is already horrific. Even if we never get on the CNN scroll, or even if the world realizes we are right only when too much has been lost, it is worth saying and believing the impractical and the idealistic. Truth and justice are on our side, for what that's worth.