One way to avoid compassion fatigue is to find a teacher, a mentor, who is so full of passion and compassion that s/he instills that same energy in us. Chris Hedges does that for me. About the time I’m pretty sure I have nothing left to put into fighting for the justice issues discussed on this web site, I run across a piece like this one:
Of course there is a potential speed bump on the Hedges road. It’s name is: “You’ve got to be kidding me! Chris Hedges memorized 5 poems a week for his teacher. His IQ and energy levels are 10 times mine. I can’t be like him!”
That’s not a speed bump or stumbling block or whatever you want to call it. That’s an excuse. Is Chris Hedges a lot smarter than you and I? No doubt about that. Is he able to get by on much less sleep than we are? Definitely. Since he went to Colgate and Harvard isn’t he much better connected than we are? Of course he is. One thing he is not though is this: He is not more capable of seeing what’s wrong in the world today and deciding something needs to be done about it!
And here’s the very good news. We don’t have to clear the way or lay the foundation. He’s already done that. Chris is like the powerful snow blowers I like to follow up Hwy. 35 to Mt. Hood Meadows after a big winter snowstorm. Those trucks throw 20 foot snowdrifts off to the side of the road! All I have to do is tuck in behind that very powerful machine. They even spread a carpet of sand behind for traction.
Chris has already cleared the way for us. All that’s necessary is for us to follow him.
Now. Some will say that he is really good at pointing out the problem but that he has no solution. Actually, what those folks are really saying is: “Sure. I know he has a solution. It’s called revolution, rebellion, manning the barricades. But isn’t there another way?” No. Unfortunately there is not.
More on that later.
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