Dear friends,
"Happy days are here again, the skies above are clear again, let us sing a song of cheer again, happy days are here again!"
This song, written in 1929, became the theme for Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1932 inauguration and associated with overcoming the pain of the Great Depression. I recall it being linked with Minnesota's Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, the happy warrior, who practiced the "politics of joy."
"Happy Days" has not been sung much since 1968 when the music of joyful politics was stifled by tragedy, dissent and disillusionment. My participation in the political process has gone from being fun to my being genuinely frightened that our democracy was slipping away. Involvement during these recent years has been intensely serious as my trust in our national leadership eroded.
The next chapter in America's history started just a few hours ago when a gifted new president delivered an inspiring inaugural address. We're being given another chance to get this experiment in democracy right. President Obama (I love saying that) says we have difficult times ahead and it will take time to get where we want to go, but we will get there - if every citizen accepts responsibility.
The very good news is that a record number of citizens, especially young people, are deeply committed to political involvement to bring about deep systemic change. The journey will be energized, and more fun, if we return to the politics of joy, the kind of joy that comes along with inclusion, compassion, trust, generosity and love.
My heart runneth over with gratitude for all those who helped make this transcendent time possible.
With audacious faith, Phyllis Stenerson http://www.progressivevalues.org/
"We must move forward in the days ahead with audacious faith. The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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