Saturday, January 19, 2008

From The Mouth Of A Nun

Sister Helen Prejean summed up the reason people stay committed to attempting to bring about needed change in society for me this morning. She is the author of the book "Dead Man Walking" which was made into the Academy Award winning film. She says that those of us who become aware that the suffering people experience is caused by injustice, cannot walk away from it.

This is very powerful thought for me. I had the question posed to me yesterday, and couldn’t find the answer. In fact, at a focus group concerning the abuse and neglect of people with developmental disabilities, all in attendance were asked the question; “Why is it that you stay in the field for as long as you have; knowing how broken the system is?” We all looked around at each other like dear caught in headlights, with no answer forthcoming.

I think I’ll get in touch with the people who were there to share Sister Helen’s belief. Maybe they’ll also recognize her words as their truth.

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