“It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation. Not merely for the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people.”

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King’s words are resting heavily on me these days. I so agree with this statement, and I am also experiencing a stunning inability to effectively raise my voice and demonstrate my deep horror and rejection of the hate, bigotry, and violence that has been enabled in our country.

I can talk within my community, but I'm preaching to the choir. I can post to social media, but I won't break through the echo chamber. I can reach out to elected officials, attend peaceful rallies, and raise responsible, empathetic children. I can even exercise my spiritual Quaker practice and hold people — good and bad — in the Light, which is a practice akin to seeking the good in everyone and praying for them. But none of this seems actionable enough on an immediate timeline to be commensurate to the offenses of the outrage committed by the terrorists in Charlottesville.

The questions looming over me include:

What can you do as a white American when a public figure purports to speak on behalf of white America but the words coming out of his mouth are vile and bear no resemblance to your American experience?
What can you do as a patriot when the nation you love and feel an allegiance to starts to turn against your most cherished values?
How can we unite against this evil force to take the air out of its tires, strip it of its fuel, and banish it forever from our world?

James Baldwin said, “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” I couldn’t agree more. There is something very broken here that is deserving of sharp criticism, immediate reparation, and intentional healing.

And, yet, I do feel a glimmer of hope. I’m proud of bold patriots like Kenneth Frazier, Kevin Plank, and public servants like Governor Terry McAuliffe, and there are thousands of other unsung heroes who have taken immediate action to combat the evil that has been lurking in plain sight for too long. How do we — the good people — support these acts of courage and conviction? How do we steer ourselves out of the appalling silence Dr. King warned us about?

If you have suggestions or other thoughts, please share them here.

Breaking Through Appalling Silence: Charlottesville