Something Great in America, again

This week many have gathered to the cheers of making America great again.  I wasn't part of that, but I did experience in America something that was pretty near to great.  All summer long from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the city of Minneapolis hosts movies and music in a public park each evening.  These events are an excellent example of an initiative to build community and citizenship by bringing people together to places of shared experiences.  It's one of the activities that I most look forward to during my time back home in Minnesota. 

This week Ruth and arrived at dusk at Father Hennepin Bluff Park along the mighty Mississippi River with our lawn chairs, mosquito spray and snacks.  With the lovely Minneapolis skyline as our backdrop we joined others in watching the documentary "He Called Me Malala."  This powerful film follows the story of Malala Yousafzai, a teenager girl who was shot in the head in Pakistan by the Taliban for advocating the education of girls.  She and her family are an inspiring example of confronting injustice and willingly to sacrificing of themselves to fight for the rights of others.  Malala's life and actions earned her a Nobel Peace prize in 2014.   The film is a story of family, courage, and an individual who is inspiring this world to care for the marginalized and oppressed. 

The setting and the story were enough to make for an edifying evening, but greater was the knowledge that I am part of a organization that puts into action the message of Malala: every child has the right to the opportunity and empowerment of education.  As I reflected on the film I recalled the children at Kids Alive Lebanon in our New Horizons Center, Oasis Refugee Center and other programs that are able to go to school because a few individuals and a network of sponsors are committed to providing education.  In the midst of all the cacophony of rhetoric happening around us today, it is a relief to join others from the community for a quiet, reflective evening about a worthwhile cause.  That's close enough to great for me.