This Little Light Of Mine...

During a recent conversation with my mother about challenges that someone we love is dealing with, I was reminded of a quote about evil triumphing because good men do nothing.

Of course, I couldn’t remember who said it or the exact verbiage, so I had to look it up.  Answer:  Edmund Burke and the precise quote is “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Now, I’m no history buff but I know that Mr. Burke was a conservative politician in 18^th century England who was vocally supportive of the move toward America’s independence.  That’s the end of your history lesson, because I’m not interested in who or what he referred to with that statement.  What interests me is the human Truth behind it.

How many times could we, as bystander, have prevented another’s struggle by just speaking up?  Or stepping in?  Or simply by being present as a visible witness to the wrong?   If we know that negativity cannot live in the light, then isn’t it our responsibility to open the curtains and hit the light switch when darkness is present?

For the last several years, my mother was under attack by a neighbor.  It cost her countless nights of sleep, lots of money to defend herself, and hours upon hours in court and offices of various attorneys.  In the beginning, many of the troubles could have been avoided if other neighbors had stopped walking by long enough to say “Stop that!”, if the authorities in charge had said “Cut it out!” when they had the chance or if the crazy neighbor lady’s friends had told her that she was being a jerk.  But they didn’t, so the snowball kept rolling, kept growing, until it was too big for one person to handle.  Finally, it’s over.  For my mother, anyway.  But the crazy neighbor lady never really learned any lessons and her defeat only fueled the rage that will no doubt be unleashed on anyone else in her path.

That’s perhaps an extreme example, but the opportunities to do something or to just shine a light are always present.  You don’t have to look far to see them and you don’t have to work hard to act upon them.

When you listen to an acquaintance (or, sadly, sometimes a friend or family member) who is recounting the details of some malicious action, an underhanded manipulation or just generally jerky behavior they’ve committed against another person and you just shake your head or laugh uncomfortably, darkness triumphs.  Maybe – just maybe – if you say “that’s wrong” or “that’s not nice” or question the motivation with a “Why would you do such a thing?” the wrong-doer will see the reality of their act and learn something – or at the very least, know that you don’t condone it, don’t want to be part of it, and will not support that treatment of a fellow human being.

We all have people in our lives who carry their darkness with them in a cloud that surrounds them.  No matter how they may carry themselves in public, the cloud is there.  We see it.  Much like Charlie Brown’s Pigpen.  The Peanuts gang wait until Pigpen walks away before they comment on his cloud of dirt.  Why don’t they point it out to Pigpen directly?  Maybe Pigpen doesn’t even realize that he could use a bath.  Maybe he doesn’t realize that he’s soiling every surface he touches.  Or MAYBE Pigpen knows full well that his filth is offensive and he kind of enjoys it.  Don’t we see that every day? 

What if gentle Charlie, bossy Lucy or the wise and well-spoken Linus said something to him?  What if Charlie gently brought the idea of a bath and clean laundry to Pigpen?  What if Linus advised about the benefits of cleanliness?  What if, barring all progress, Lucy jumped in to say “Look, if you want to be filthy, that’s your right, but don’t bring it in here!”  Odds are, Pigpen would either realize the problem and fix it or he’d choose to walk away and find a new space to pollute.

Our young children are learning this right now in their classrooms.  Schools have taken the light and shined it directly on bullies and bad conduct.  They’re teaching this generation of kids to lead the way with good behavior, supportive kind acts and permission to NOT tolerate a bully.  We adults could use some refresher courses.

Here in the adult world, what if we took a lesson from the third graders and, instead of walking away,tsk-tsking and expressing our sadness to others when we know a loved one is being mistreated, we shine the spotlight on the bully?  We may not always be able to rescue the victims who make the choice to stay, but we can certainly let the bully know:  We see you.  We see what you are doing and it’s not OK.  If you choose to continue, the light will be on and you will be visible to all.  If you bring your dark cloud into the light, it will disappear.

Edmund Burke had it right when he said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”  But don’t take that to mean you must fight all the fights or that you alone have to do it all.  When I looked up the previous quote for accuracy, I learned that Mr. Burke also said “No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little”.  Sometimes, just being present or just offering a hug is enough.

It’s important to acknowledge, too, that sometimes the challenges we face are meant not only to test us, but to teach us.  When you’ve walked through fire, you should come through the other side with a better understanding of your own strength as well as some idea about how to avoid the next fire by leading your own way down the path.  Maybe following the guy with the singed eyebrows and burned feet is not the best approach.

Mr. Burke also said (this guy knew stuff!) : “He who wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill.  Our antagonist is our helper.”  So our tormentor can be our teacher.  But we’re not meant to stay in the classroom forever, are we?  We’re supposed to graduate and move on.  Ideally, we move on and continue to learn.  We share our knowledge with those who need it.  We learn so that we can advance.  So that we can evolve and grow.

But even the lowliest weed needs light to grow, right?  So don’t hang out in the shade of those who prefer darkness.  Speak the kind truth.  Don’t criticize without an offer to help.  Don’t turn away from dark clouds – instead, shine your light on them until they either disappear to the shadows that cannot reach you or lighten up and accept their own light. 

Just as our children are learning to speak up and stand up to a bully, it’s time for us all to remember to not stand idly by, to not join the shouting mob, to not stand in the shadows and – most importantly – to let our lights shine far and bright so the darkness doesn’t stand a chance. 

 

As for me and this little light of mine?  I'm gonna let it shine.