Can One Person Truly Make A Difference? To Anyone?

If there be any particular theme to this moment on the journey through the episodes of 2018, it could well be a continuing attempt to answer this question. Here are just a couple of humble examples I submit for your consideration:



Did this man do this amazing thing by himself? No, absolutely not. But he was the first among those who did this amazing thing. He saw a wrong, and tried to make it better. Based upon this story, I'd say he did that in a truly amazing way.

One of the realities before us in 2018 in the United States and around the world is that there is an all-out, open, arrogant and casual assault upon the truth. I need not itemize even a few of the lowlights of this battle which we see playing itself out in the United States of America before our eyes.

But, is it possible for one person to take on such a battle, alone? And win?

Consider this:


One of the proudest moments I can have as The Tennessee Progressive is when I get the opportunity to interact with folks who stand up, step out, and move forward. There are 10,000 who quietly engage the world where they live to become the change they seek for every one who, for one reason or another, rise to the level of public hero.

But there is something they all share. They cannot NOT do something. They cannot see a problem, or a difficulty, a challenge, or a wrong--and do nothing. Waiting for someone else to "fix" it just is not within their DNA.

We have  historically been, as a nation, a people filled with this reality. From time to time on my personal journey, I have met such people. I love talking with them, engaging them in civil discourse. It's kind of what I do.

It is not that you are not one of these people. It is that you believe a lie; that you are not, or should not be one of these quiet heros. Democracy, our uniquely American way of life is dependent upon citizen not only realizing the lie, but the truth which defeats that lie.

In the not-too-distant future, we will be a nation experiencing the implosion of those who would lead us with lies. I want to believe with all my heart that we, citizen, will not only rise up in truth, but in the iron-willed determination to do whatever is necessary to return our American democracy back to the humble, yet lofty reality it deserves--even if we do not.

I wonder.

The Tennessee Progressive