Last night, I was scrolling through social media and found myself going down rabbit holes on both sides
of politics. It was not a pretty sight. I felt overwhelmed, angry, frustrated, and disillusioned. It seemed neither one of the parties really has their communities in mind; it was more about winning, it was about putting others down, it was about digging up dirt, and it was about being reelected. It made me sad. Money, time, resources, ideas, and energy are being used to win, not to make America a wonderful, peaceful place to live.
Last night, I also read some 'goodbye' notes from our interns who spent their summer with us to learn
about their community, to learn skills, to dream about their future, and to teach us a thing or two. These
notes reminded me that there is a future, that there is hope in the next generations that want to make our world a better place. They will think differently than us, they have a different worldview, they have seen the underbelly of politics, and know what can happen. They will be our leaders in 15-20 years, and
hopefully, they have learned from us, and how easily good intentions can go awry. How fame and power move in quickly and take away all the promises we made for a better world.
I hope that every person who comes to LifeLine CDC will be encouraged to move forward. As interns and volunteers, I hope they will see Merced differently, will be less judgmental, and will learn to understand that we are all broken and in need for deep relationships to change and be changed. I hope they will realize that poverty is very complex and getting out of it is even more difficult. For our community, I
hope that they recognize that every staff member, intern, and volunteer they meet also has a story of
their own and is still growing and learning. But also, that every person they encounter can help them move more step forward, as they help us to learn from them. Merced offers many opportunities to people to volunteer, we have folks from Work net, Geo Reenty, UC Merced, Merced College, Stan State, the Court System, and a ton of volunteers, every person creating a more beautiful picture of community. Merced is a wonderful place to make a home and have an impact on the community. So, join in!