Editorial Reflections

In the crisis and chaos, it's now time to be love

 

In this crazy time, when things seem to be falling apart, upside down, halted, then restored or semi-restored, litigated and won at least temporarily, we are glad to be editing The Fig Tree and not chasing the media circus designed for a reality TV audience.

It's hard to keep up with shock and awe, but we realize it is an attempt to control and confuse media and people.

Thankfully, not all media succumb to chase just the BREAKING NEWS of drastic cuts and changes to global relations. Many, like us, offer background and ask questions to stir thinking: What does it save to leave food rotting in warehouses? Do we cut off farmers who take pride in feeding the world? What do our faiths say?

In the midst of the chaos, we are glad to follow our role of informing, inspiring and involving people with newspaper stories of people who care and Resource Directory data to change people's lives. Both work to pass on wisdom.

Our media and events exist for times like these. We are to hopeful as we persevere on the path toward the beloved community, in which all are welcomed, respected and valued.

We though many are one—created by and in the image of the Creator. We are family, sharing stories, wisdom and ideas to weather these times for the sake of future generations. The work for God's love, justice and peace is ongoing. We are to persist and be resilient.

We need new models of journalism, locally run, nonprofit media that provide news for people not for profit.

In an era when most newspapers, TV stations and online media are owned and run by billionaires to make more money, not to preserve democracy, it's no wonder that many relish the current anxiety-producing chaos that keeps people coming back.

The shackled Venezuelan immigrants, loaded on a plane and arriving in an El Salvador prison with heads shaved and dressed in white, were made-for-TV Holocaust images, showing media that the constitutional crisis is here, not in the future.

We invite people of faith and conscience to put their faith and values into action by writing, calling, rallying and voicing their desire to operate by the constitution. We need to be the love, justice, freedom and peace we seek to see in our families, communities, nation and world.

Mary Stamp - editor