Crosswalk
posted by drew
09.23.06
Last week I was standing at a crosswalk in downtown San Francisco, waiting for the light to change, even though there really weren't any cars in sight. Suddenly someone came striding up behind me and--without pausing--bolted into the intersection and across the street. Instantly I felt like such a punk-ass goodie-two-shoes, as I followed the intrepid pedestrian.
Sometimes all it takes is an example…
Of course, waiting at a crosswalk is not a big deal, and traffic signals--for the most part--serve the common good, but the problem is, we're raised to be overly compliant in general, and too often we learn to respect authority no matter what. We're afraid to step out of line, even if it is a big deal, so we don't speak up when our government lies, or drops bombs on civilians.
But what if we could begin to inspire each other to defy the criminals who claim to be our rulers?
When that first person dares to step out into the intersection and cross the street, there's no telling how many might follow.
drew dellinger
Drew Dellinger is a spoken word poet, professor, activist, and founder of Poets for Global Justice. He has inspired minds and hearts at hundreds of events in many countries, performing poetry and keynoting on justice, ecology, cosmology, activism, democracy and compassion.
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