ELCA Church In Kenosha in Public Ministry

Grace Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Kenosha, WI, held an outdoor gathering and prayer service for community people of all races and religions on Wednesday "to address the fear, power, and powerlessness, confusion, anger, and the need for healing." ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod Bishop Paul Erikson addressed the people in attendance (all wearing masks). Grace Lutheran also was the setting for Joe Bidden, to listen to a broad range of Kenosha leaders on Sept. 3. https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/in-photos-elca-community-gathering-in-kenosha/collection_050acd93-d4c2-561f-8d17-6e5d510c6642.html#2

75 Years later: No More Nuclear Tragedies!

 The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Sunday marked its 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing where more than 70,000 were killed. The Aug. 9, 1945, bombing came three days after the United States dropped its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima that killed 140,000.

On Sunday at the event at Nagasaki Peace Park, Mayor Tomihisa Taue read a peace declaration raising concerns that countries have moved away from using nuclear weapons as a deterrent.  “As a result, the threat of nuclear weapons being used is increasingly becoming real,” He said that “the true horror of nuclear weapons has not yet been adequately conveyed to the world at large.”  Today we work to make Nagasaki the last place of such nuclear bomb tragedy.

Final words from John Lewis

Final words from John Lewis, published in The New York Times the day of his funeral, July 30, 2020:

"While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.

Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.

Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide."

John Lewis Still Guides Us

John Lewis: a gentle, strong Civil Rights leader until the day of his death, last night. He bore on his body the scars of beatings as he followed Jesus every day of his life. He was clear that Christ called him to work for justice and that meant sometimes you had to be in the midst of, "good trouble."

For many years I would say to seminary students: "When you get into trouble--and you will--make sure it is for the sake of the Gospel."

We carry John Lewis' legacy with us this very day: federal officers, unbidden by city or state, in unmarked cars, with no badges, in the streets of Portland. Systemic and blatant racism. Voter suppression. John Lewis knew the struggle would be long. May we, as he, have the strength of the Risen Christ, to continue on and on and on.

New U.S. Citizens Welcomed in Iowa

"Now, I wish to speak to you as United States citizens, which you now are,” said U.S. Sr. District Judge Robert Pratt in Iowa this week as he welcomed ninety-eight people from thirty-three countries, such as Burundi, Vietnam and Cameroon. (The ceremony was held outdoors in a parking lot this year.)

Pratt said: You may hear voices in this land say that there is only one true American religion. Do not believe it. As an American, you may freely and openly be a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim, or you may adhere to any other religion, or you may be an agnostic or an atheist.

You may hear voices in this land say that there is only one true American way to think and believe about political matters, economic matters and social matters. Do not believe it. As an American, you may freely and openly adhere to political, economic and social views on the right, on the left, or anywhere in between.

You may hear voices in this land say that there is only one true American set of values. Do not believe it. As an American, you may openly hold beliefs and values greatly different from those of others — even if those of others are shared by many and yours are shared by few.

Simply stated, there is no single American way to think or believe. Indeed, conformity of thought and belief would be contrary to the underlying principles of this great nation.

I'm Watching! Protests Need to Continue

I’ve been watching. We are tempted to seek merely a “return to calm.”  Fewer fires, charges filed, less need for the National Guard.  However, from my perspective of having lived in the midst of the Detroit Riots (We said “rebellions.”) of ’67 and ’68, “quiet again” does not mean justice achieved. I’m pleased Ferguson elected a black woman mayor, and this Iowa congressional district said “No” to representation by a man steeped in racism and white nationalism. But this is just a chance for a new beginning.

            For sixty years Burton and I have been working for Social Justice. The work is hard and long. So, I’m watching! Perhaps Trump’s call to use The Insurrection Act is merely a threat. But ’68 came after ’67. Might we yet see the U.S. military descend on streets across the nation? Charges brought, but will convictions result? Police department reform policies pledged, but will municipalities follow through? And so much more.

            Racial inequality is deep; dare we hope for equal justice? White supremacy reigns. COVID-19 continues. Can we imagine a truly whole and healthy pluralistic society? We will need to work long and hard—together. I’m watching.

Beaches, Bars and Cemeteries

Beaches and Bars! Media show pictures of both crowded; we are concerned that people will not social distance, causing a rise in numbers of COVID-19 cases this long weekend. I have not heard that people are concerned about crowds at cemeteries. Today people mostly think of the final weekend in May as the unofficial beginning of the summer season, a time to have fun.

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, started after the Civil War to honor the Union and Confederate dead. In Charleston, S.C., 257 Union soldiers died in prison there and were buried in unmarked graves. The town’s black residents organized a day in May during which they landscaped a burial ground to properly honor the soldiers. For decades May 31 was a time to visit cemeteries and decorate the graves of deceased family members and a solemn day of remembrance for those having served in the armed forces.

In 1950 Congress passed a resolution requesting that the President issue a Proclamation calling for Americans to observe Memorial Day as a day of Prayer for Permanent Peace. In 1968 Memorial Day was established as the last Monday in May to create a three-day weekend. The day became an official federal holiday in 197l.

          And now, in 2020? With the movement to “open up” the country, gathering outside in large gatherings is very tempting. But what about the cemeteries?  I have seen images of new space for hundreds of graves being dug daily in Brazil for victims of the pandemic. They are unmarked graves crowded together. How do we commemorate—remember together—the millions who are dying globally? How do we with courage and compassion resolve to pray and work for national and world-wide health and peace?

"Unprecedented!" "Virtual," Yes, but Epidemics, No

Unprecedented! That word begins most newscasts these days. But yesterday I attended the virtual Commencement of 2020 Yale Divinity School graduates. (I’m class of 1976.) In the 319 years of its history, “virtual” was unprecedented.  However, the situation is not. Classes at YDS were suspended for six years during the Revolutionary War. During the global pandemic of 1917-18, over 700 citizens of New Haven died.

        Fevers and plagues seemed never unprecedented. Ezra Stiles, president of Yale University 1781-1795, wrote in his diary on Feb. 10, 1794, that “the town was alarmed by the danger of spreading Scarlet Fever.” On March 15 a student died. The next day: “four students sick with Scarletina fever.” On March 31 President Stiles wrote, “I myself and wife taken sick . . . released many scholars to go home. . .” On April 2 Stiles discontinued all college activities.

       Then, just 3 months later, Stiles diary: “The Yellow fever brought in by a vessel has been lurking about and proves dreadful. More mortal than small pox.” And Scarlet fever, “tho’ much abated” was “yet extant.” Only half the students returned for the next term. September 5^th Stiles wrote about what we today call, “social distancing” and “contact tracing”: “Hitherto I have believed that by the care and vigilance of the Authy [Authorities] it might be guarded & its progress checked, as we could hitherto trace all instances. . .I begin to give up the possibility of preventing its spreadg [spreading].”

     About 5 months before he himself would die of a “bilious fever,” Stiles wrote a “Bill of Morty for New Haven the Year 1794,” based on his notebook of daily statistics on the epidemics. The data collected by Stiles and New Haven County physicians led to the founding of the city’s first board of health in 1795. The data were also used by Noah Webster (Yale 1778) in his pioneering 1799 work, “A Brief History of Epidemic and Pestilential Diseases” which became a standard text in early medical schools.” (from an article by Judith Ann Schiff, chief research archivist at the Yale University Library, published in Yale Alumni magazine, May/June 2020)

          Des Moines Register news release this afternoon, May 19, 2020: Officials report 15,296 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iowa with 367 deaths statewide.  

    

          What a Christ-centered Yale Divinity School virtual commencement it was! Current Yale Divinity School dean, Gregory Sterling, quoted St. Paul in Romans and 2 Corinthians.  “The one who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on God we have set our hope. . .” (2 Cor. 1:10)

"Am I comfortable?" is Not the Question

“Am I comfortable with ______?” is not the question.  “Is my neighbor safe?” needs to shape our policies and decisions. Living with the global pandemic calls forth collaboration, both locally and most certainly globally. However, when a leader thinks “Me first,” at all costs, that reinforces our propensity to consider only my individual needs. Likewise, that reinforces The U.S. propensity to think only about this nation. 

Rather than compete, we are called to collaborate, work with, learn from, care for the nations of the world. This is a time to support the World Health Organization and the United Nations.  This is a time to ask, “How can we work together for the well-being of all?”

How do We Think About God in the Midst of This Global Pandemic?

This thoughtful piece was written by my friend and colleague.

The Rev. Dr. Karen Bloomquist, Oakland, CA, theologian-at-large and pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Americal

In the midst of this global pandemic, how might we think about God or the divine? Not as causing this or saving or rescuing us from this unknown “enemy,” but as empowering compassion, creativity, and innovative human action in the midst of this crisis. Not that we succumb to fear and hopelessness but that we act in the face of such. This is quite different from superficial optimism or turning away from what is occurring, but in ways that are informed by and directed by data, science and good practices. 

God is community, active in and through human communities, as they together stand with those who are suffering, fearful and anxious. This now is done virtually, coming together ironically by staying apart physically. As a theologian-at-large, I am aware that many do not image or think of God in this way, but the essence of the divine is in how this empowers or inspires compassionate reaching out to connect with others, with love and justice. God is creativity itself and inspires human creativity, even for those who are skeptical about “God.”

How might this be sustained after the crisis of this pandemic passes? “Wellness” is more than what individuals do for themselves; it is societal, even global. Embodiment and human touch are crucial. Priority must be on those who are most vulnerable. A new sense of the public good might emerge.

WW II Shaped Me for COVID-19

It was a different time. I won’t compare my childhood WW II years to COVID-19 today, but I do remember: shelter at home; shortages; united efforts; quarantine; racial discrimination; uncertainty.

I remember the darkness. My formative years from birth to six were in Des Moines. We lived less than a mile from the “War Plant.” (Solar Aircraft was a government-converted industry for wartime production.) During black-out drills we were isolated in our homes in total darkness at night for fear of being bombed.  Bombing in the middle of country?  That did not happen, but we did not know that then.  In the middle of a crisis, one does not know how things will turn out--when the war would end, or how. Mother put a tiny night light in our bedroom doll buggy so my sister and I wouldn’t be afraid of the dark.

Shortages.  Each family or individual was issued coupons for such limited supplies as butter, sugar and coffee. My Daddy ran a gas station. It was not a profitable time to run a gas station; petroleum was needed for the war effort.  People at home had to limit driving; they were issued gasoline coupons. Each night Daddy would bring them home; Marianne and I pasted them in booklets for him to turn in.

I remember the shortages and physical limitations, but I also remember being united under the leadership of FDR, a trusted president. President Roosevelt collaborated with allies and encouraged while he organized people at home. 

Entering kindergarten at age 5, I carried newspapers bundled together with string to school. School children collected scrap metal, and tin foil. (Recycling decades later would not seem strange.) We saved dimes in stamp books; $17.50 in dimes could be exchanged for a $25.00 War Savings Bond.

People planted  “Victory gardens.” This eased the burden of commercial farmers working to feed troops and civilians overseas. Fruits and vegetables were grown in backyards and on school grounds, and parks. By 1944 an estimated 20 million victory gardens produced 8 million tons of food.  (I think now of support for local organic farming and sustainable agriculture.)

Diseases did not stop for the war.  Before a vaccine for whooping cough became widely available, when I was 3 and my sister 5, Marianne, and I and our mother contracted whooping cough. We were quarantined inside our house for 10 weeks.  Mother almost died.  Daddy couldn’t come home. He did have two sisters in Des Moines. The health department put quarantine signs outside houses to prevent highly communicable diseases from spreading.  Though very young, I remember sleeping with a sheet over my crib with a humidifier providing steam for me to breathe. (Although widely considered to have been eradicated, outbreaks of whooping cough have returned in recent years due to not all people having their children vaccinated.)

But the war was the constant focus. An uncle and my older cousins served in the military overseas.  We listened daily to the news on our radio.

Yes, the United States came together. But not everyone.  I remember mother saying how upset she was that during time of struggle and sacrifice, there were people who made profits off the war. I learned early that during a time of crisis some will always look out for their own gain and gratification.

And there was racial discrimination. We were at War with two enemies, I heard as the “Nazis” and the “Japs.” One the U.S. described as Hitler’s German National Socialist Party, with the  swastika symbol. The other the U.S. described and symbolized as a “slant-eyed” people.  Japanese Americans were incarcerated in concentration camps. German Americans, such as myself, were not.

I was in first grade when the war ended.  I vividly remember VE Day and VJ day, WW II ending in Europe and Japan. We celebrated downtown in Des Moines.  (We knew little of the devastation of our atomic bombs.) And I remember, too, listening to the radio, and for the first time hearing news other than about the War. I recall being surprised. All my formative years I had not experienced anything but war news.  As a child I was not shielded; this was my reality, even though Mother kept the small light hidden in our doll baby buggy. What had I learned?  What shapes our lives?

But, of course, times were different then.  It may have been a different time; however . . .  

After Iowa Caucuses: What Really Happened

     Timing! What the news is missing this morning: During Caucus night in Iowa there was no violence, no police needed, no people shooting each another, no name-calling.  Our room was filled with respectful, patient people who followed the intricate rules through the long process.

     While news reporters this morning talk about chaos and confusion and some people even speculating conspiracy, they are missing the picture.  It’s all in the timing. Iowans need to be very sure the count of sign-ins, first preference group, realignment groups, and final delegate count are all accurate. Otherwise people might doubt the truth.  Verify, verify, verify!  

     Sure, the aps didn’t work as planned. Not good; but the paper trail is in place.  And, in our ward, because two precincts met at one school building,  we had to make sure people signed in on the right sheets and went to their correct caucus room. Timing.  But people were amazingly kind and helpful to each other.  Instead of rude bullying, there was careful collaboration.

     National news analysts were frustrated they had 3 ½ hours with no results to report. Primaries are good, but those of us in precincts in a Caucus state know we needed to come together, talk, listen, be honest, and take the time to choose well. (There were no “undecideds” in our  precinct.) Watch for the full results and keep working. This nation needs truth, clarity, verification and trustworthy collaboration.

"Until Iowa" Post 6 MLK Jr. Day: Leadership for the Iowa Caucuses

“Until Iowa” Post 6: Today, Jan. 20, is MLK Jr. Day. We marked it with three hours of training for the Iowa Caucuses 14 days from now. It was a strenuous morning, learning leadership to help the evening of Feb. 3 go well. First, people in our precinct will register as a caucus voter, a new voter, a youth observer, other observers, or the media.  New this year for the Democrats will be presidential preference cards. Yes, those will be signed and counted after the first alignment in preference groups, so the nation will know the total number of people who voted for each presidential candidate.

Then comes the math. Based on the number of delegates one’s precinct will have to the county convention, a percentage determines if a presidential preference group is viable. There are careful procedures. I picture it taking time, but being thoughtful. Perhaps there are 247 or maybe 432 caucus voters and 8 delegates assigned this precinct. By counting, multiplication, and rounding up to the fourth decimal point, how many actual delegates each presidential candidate receives is determined. The nation will be waiting that night for this number from the 1678 caucuses in the 99 counties of Iowa.

There’s still more work to do: choosing the actual delegates and alternates to the county convention. The gathered caucus goers will have opportunity to discuss and adopt resolutions to recommend to the Country Platform Committee.  Yes, challenging work. We will do it together in this participatory democracy. Martin Luther King Jr worked his entire life so that all might have voice and vote.

"Until Iowa" Post 5 Cory Booker Really Listened

“Until Iowa” Post 5: I began to write this morning: “As I enter my Iowa caucus in 21 days, I’m in Cory Booker’s corner.” I’ve been meeting candidates for months now and had been most impressed with Cory. But at noon I received word from Booker, “It’s with a full heart that I share this news -- I’ve made the decision to suspend my campaign for president.”

He listened, really listened, and learned from us. He is deeply committed to bringing this country together. He is a man of faith, extraordinarily intelligent, street-smart, globally informed, and locally astute. I respect his collaborative leadership style. He lives his convictions, going home to his residence in Newark rather than “moving on up.”  He’s “in touch” with all economic groups, across color lines.

Cory gathered many of endorsements early in Iowa. He continues to be in the “second tier” of candidates in the polls, and actually went up in a poll 1 point today from yesterday. Yet he was rarely mentioned in the press, even his dropping out today. I would love to have seen him stay in through Iowa because this year the first round of votes will be reported out (whose corner you go to when you enter the room) as well as the second, realignment.  But lack of money, not qualifying for this debate and his responsibility in Trump’s impeachment trial made him make the decision today.

We will miss Cory. He has a deep understanding of farm issues and foreign affairs—and of their connection.   We need his aggressive plan on gun safety, his work on criminal justice reform, protection of reproductive rights, his advocacy for people with disabilities, and his standing up for people and communities that have been left out and left behind.

Race! It is still about race. It has been for decades and centuries. Cory would tell the story of how his parents tried to buy a home in a segregated neighborhood and how people of courage had to work together to challenge the system to make that happen during the Civil Rights Era. The Obama administration argued that to fulfill the Fair Housing Act of 1968 agencies still had to address disparities in housing, integrate neighborhoods and transform racially concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity. This January The Trump administration plans to propose pulling back Obama-era efforts to desegregate housing, saying they were burdensome.

This January Corry Booker and other candidates of color have had to drop out of the primaries. We need them.  I’m still in Cory’s corner.

"Until Iowa" 24 days. What's Next? War? Revenge, Anxiety, Decisions on a Whim?

“Until Iowa” Post 4: “What’s Next?” War? Not knowing what form revenge might take? Having a president who makes decisions on a personal whim? It’s 24 days until the Until Iowa caucuses Last night we heard John Kerry speak on behalf of Joe Biden. “We’re in a different place,” Kerry began. He went on to speak passionately, with his—and Biden’s--decades of experience about environmental protection, the climate crisis, truth being essential for democracy, and more. 

Kerry was careful to stick with central campaign issues, until I asked him about “the place” we’re in these very days with Iran. Then Kerry said with great seriousness, “This moment is so dangerous.” He detailed what it took to build the Iranian nuclear agreement, the success it was having in de-escalating the nuclear threat, the support of NATO and the U.N., and Trump taking us out. With even more intensity, and convincingly, he stated this country needs U.S.  leadership that again builds relationships that the world so much needs.

"Until Iowa" 31 days: Homelessness

How many days “Until Iowa”?  “Iowa is” already but writing this snowy February 3 it’s 31 days until the Iowa Caucuses. So, here’s my second post on the subject.

A national news commentator whom I trust and admire recently was in mid-America doing a story. I was surprised the commentator was surprised to discover homelessness in the Midwest, saying, “I thought homelessness was in the big cities of the East and West coasts, not in rural America.” First, we in Iowa, know that here many people—many of us-- are without houses, without shelter, without homes, in our cities, towns and rural areas. Second, these United States should not be divided into rural and urban, nor into red states and blue states. On Iowa license plates are silhouette images of city buildings and farm structures.

Third, most important for contemplation of “until Iowa,” is that the poverty which leads to homelessness is a major problem everywhere.  AND, people who are poor, who are without an address, deserve to vote. Such votes of real people are needed! Homelessness, joblessness and poverty need to be alleviated. That’s the challenge for “until Iowa” and beyond.

"Until Iowa" Thirty Four Days

How Many Days “Until Iowa”?  Writing this New Year’s Eve, it’s 34 days until the Iowa Caucuses, but “Iowa” has been a state since 1846, and indigenous tribes lived on this land centuries before. Democratic candidates have spent months here. We have had the privilege and responsibility of meeting and having conversations with many. Iowa is! However, during the “until” I have decided to post some of my observations. So, here goes for today! 

The perception remains among some that Iowa is “fly over country” where people don’t live in the 21^st century. For instance, I noticed that whoever prepared the current TV ad for Andrew Yang pictured a farm woman and child standing in front of an old fashioned windmill from 70 years ago. Missing in the picture are the wind turbines one sees driving (or flying over) this state. Iowa leads the nation in per capita wind power capacity. Iowa was the first state to generate more than 30% of its electricity with wind power. The climate crisis is real and we need to act now.  More on “Until Iowa” in posts to come.

Impeachment is not Just a Football Game

Why pay attention if we know how it’s going to turn out? I heard a man say, “This impeachment thing is like football game. If I’ve already heard the final score, I don’t want to watch the game later on TV.” But of course it’s not a game, not football, and not just a partisan “thing”—unless that’s the way one frames it. If one listens carefully, and reads, the impeachment process draws us back to the central idea and foundations of this country.  We are called to study again, or for the first time, the U.S. Constitution and to think deeply about Democracy and rule of law and governance by the people, not a monarch. Democracies across the world are in danger today. Leaders who want power for themselves, and an  atmosphere of fear of the “other,” threaten the world and the earth itself.

We boldly go to war to “fight for our freedom.” So costly in lives! How noble. This is also a time for nobility, one that does not call for guns: nobility and  integrity, and wisdom. Democracy, our constitution, and freedom to care for one another, including strangers, as people and as nations together is at stake. We must pay attention.

When Winds Blow Wildly

Cheers for the beautiful leaves that still cling to the tree outside our window after the first wildly blowing snow of the season.

Cheers to Simone Biles for her amazing strength and skill, and to all the artistic gymnasts flying wildly through the air at the world championships in Germany.

Prayers for those suffering from wild burning fires in California, the causes yet “unclear.”

Prayers for and commitment to the Ukrainian people caught in a struggle to keep their land from Russia.

Prayers for and commitment to the Syrian Kurds fighting and fleeing for their survival.

Prayers for and commitment to all who cling to life when forces blow wildly against them.

Fridays for the Future: Youth Lead in Climate Crisis

Greta Thunberg, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, led a group of young people to the White House lawn this Friday insisting those inside act like grown-ups to do something about the global climate crisis. These past months Greta has been leading a global movement of school students to make a statement every Friday: “Fridays for the Future.” She has galvanized the world’s young people who know action must be taken now. She spoke this summer at the World Economics Forum in Switzerland and is looking forward to the United Nations General Assembly next week in NYC.

When asked in a television interview aired Friday night on Public television why she thinks there is so much inaction on the climate crisis, she said she thinks that human beings often are of two minds morally, saying they are concerned about an issue, but they “go along” with society which they see is not doing anything to change.  When asked what has led her to step forward, she replied that she believes it is due in part to her being on the autism spectrum. “I don’t usually follow society coding, but go my own way.”  She speaks in a very intelligent, sophisticated manner about the need for both individual action and systemic policy change.  Her passionate, persistent activism is inspiring youth around the world and adults as well to become more aware of and feel the urgency of the climate change crisis.