REFLECTIONS

What can the average citizen do, when made aware of gross injustice in their sphere of influence? Do you ever tire of the passivity of your life and long to do something useful with it? We certainly feel that way since our time in Kyrgyzstan.  Last night, a local TV channel carried a documentary about Bono, the lead singer for the famous Irish band, U2. As it turns out, U2 will make it's first-ever appearance in Turkey tonight. Starting as early as the late 70's and definitely by the mid-80's, Bono has been what we'd call a 'world citizen,' someone who can see beyond his own little cul-de-sac.  A cul-de-sac's purpose (as a street type) is to permit a quiet, undisturbed lifestyle for those who live on it. Only those who actually live on it or are visiting those who do, have reason to use it. It's easy to live a 'cul-de-sac life.' Generally, we humans long for a quiet, stable life; one untroubled and uninterrupted by the cares and worries of the 'outside world.' Bono has opted out of this comfortable lifestyle. He has committed himself to the task of seeing the poorest, unhealthiest, most marginalized of the world have their basic needs met.  He is admired by many. In his work of the past decades, he has been hosted by myriads of world leaders and each one is challenged to see the needs of the world's poor and do what they can to help. He has raised
millions in aid.  In a sense, we (and others) have in some way been serving as the "Bono" for Kyrgyzstan's Uzbeks. Naturally, we don't have the fame or fortune to throw about, but we have a window of opportunity into the lives of those affected in the attacks of June 2010. Thanks to the world wide web and the popularity of blogging, we've been able to give voice to the nameless, faceless citizens whose lives have been torn apart in that region. Thanks so much for reading these posting and letting your heart be touched.  We ourselves don't know how to help further, other than to encourage our friends and acquaintances on this site to keep weeping, praying and caring. As we've stated many times, the violence hasn't ended. When the foreigners are gone, then what will happen? Who will be the voice for the voiceless? Please consider signing the petitions if you haven't. And keep checking back……Bono is just one voice that speaks out; there are many, many others. Wouldn't you like to add yours, too?

Below are the lyrics to a song by the Wailin' Jennys which was recently sung at Elaine's wedding:

This is the sound of one voice,
One spirit one voice,
The sound of one who makes a choice,
This is the sound of one voice,
This is the sound of one voice.

This is the sound of voices two,
The sound of me, singing with you,
Helping each other to make it through,
This is the sound of voices two,
This is the sound of voices two.

This is the sound of voices three,
Singing together in harmony,
Surrendering to the mystery,
This is the sound of voices three,
This is the sound of voices three.

This is the sound of all of us,
Singing with love and the will to trust,
Leave the rest behind, it'll turn to dust,
This is the sound of all of us,
This is the sound of all of us.

This is the sound of one voice,
One people, one voice,
A song for everyone of us,
This is the sound of one voice,
This is the sound of one voice.

(if you want to hear the song, go to youtube
http://search.conduit.com/Results.aspx?q=wailin+jennies+one+voice&hl=en&SelfSearch=1&SearchSourceOrigin=13&ctid=CT2365274)