Dear America,
This is not the time to feel demoralized and give up. It is tough out there, but we’re not alone. We are in this together even though many fail to see it.
Hatred, selfishness, and division must not replace good will, sense of humanity, and innovation as the defining attributes of this nation. Is this how we want to be remembered? The generation that succumbed to common vices and lacked the strength to summon our virtues? It is a matter of choice. We are not forced to hate.
Instead of placing all of our hope on elected leaders, let’s search within ourselves for the wisdom, resilience, and resourcefulness to pave a way forward. With or without effective leadership from Washington, it is our responsibility to come together as a people and focus the power of the world’s greatest democracy on solving the problems we face.
When we do this, we will recognize the common good and renew our bonds as neighbors, as fellow citizens, and as fellow human beings.
We must choose to regain our balance and reaffirm our sense of unity as a nation and, with it, our humanity. This will require that all of us accept the risks and rewards of leadership. When one takes on leadership, there is no single illuminted path. There is uncertainty. And there are decisions.
We can neither fold nor stand still. We must move. We must seek the truth, we must share the truth, and we must use our common sense. We must have faith in ourselves that we have what it takes to embody a democracy, that we can rise to the challenge of self-governance no matter how powerful or how wealthy the interests who wish to steal that legacy from us. The People must lead.
And we can. We can do this. This, more than anything, I know to be true about America.
Annabel Park
