I was born in a box some years ago, closed by tape and glue and the small-mindedness of others. As the years passed and the bindings disintegrated, I emerged to shed the final constraints of all that surrounded and cast their shadows over me. I listened, read, watched and learned and listened well some more. In truth, I cannot say that I have learned all the lessons that the past has to offer, but I can say that the box is long gone; my eyes are wide open, my ears still gratefully receptive to the calls to arms, to fight against ignorance, deceit, fraud, hypocrisy, lies, injustice. At some point I will be back in a box, sealed up and delivered to the earth – an earth that has felt the thunder of the downtrodden, has heard the voices of those long silenced, has seen the fires of discontent burn ferociously, although sometimes too slowly. Representative John Lewis was one such thunder, voice, and fire. His “Good Trouble” will continue unabated, by others, until hatred and cruelty are no more. — by Ginger Marin