26 pink postcards to the president

Earlier this week I was tired of feeling restless and helpless and dragging my mind across the same sadnesses over and over. What can you do in the face of this kind of unthinkable tragedy? Or, on a more personal level, what can I do? 

Well, I have paper and pens and stamps. I can write a letter. This is America! I have the right to reach out to the leader of the free world and tell him what I think. So I did. 

I feel a little sheepish about this project. It's SO SMALL. And I'm like 99.5% sure Barack Obama will never see these postcards. Also, this was just one tragedy. What about all the other acts of meaningless, lethal gun violence? I started to look up statistics and my head filled up with images of me at Paper Source, grabbing armfuls of pinks cards, decimating entire shelves, calling in reinforcements from other stores. I feel heavy hearted about how little I can do. But. Doing something is always better than doing nothing. 

***

I've had trouble feeling festive this Advent. It's not just last week, or the weird weather. It started to bother me, how little cheer I've felt. But I took a step back to think about the season of Advent. It's not really about cheer. For the first time in my life, I really thought about the words of this hymn:

O come O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lowly exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

I don't know about you, but I do feel like I'm mourning in this lowly exile. I'm looking forward to Christmas Day and pondering the fleshly presence of our Messiah in this broken world. There's a little blanket of snow today and that feels like a fresh start. I'm praying for Connecticut, for mourners everywhere, for all of us. Peace to you, my friends.

Comments

[Janice-Marie]

Your project brought tears to my eyes. Do not underestimate the good your cards may do. They may not reach the president but the intern who opens the mail may one day be a lobbyist and they may find themselves in a position to make a change that asks them to think with their conscience not their political will.

[Tori]

I'm proud of you for taking action. And hey, you should expand this project for more victims of gun violence. But that's just my opinion.

May you feel the rebirth and renewal that this time of year brings all of us.