Right Side of History

I have a feeling I’m not your average twenty something. For example, I fill my time ranting about justice and church, I coordinate a Fresh Expression of Christian faith and a gender equality project, and am kept awake thinking of ways to inspire people to be part of a movement for a better world. Invite me to dinner and I’ll cope with chit chat for a while but ask the wrong question and brace yourself, you’ll get a gentle introduction into the not so light-hearted ponderings of Laura.

Here’s another example… I’ve just returned from my holiday; I went on a study tour in the Middle East where I saw things that were incomprehensible. I realised that the Middle Eastern phrase is true; ‘once you have seen, you cannot unsee.’

The chapter of history being written right now is a tragic and dangerous one. But if any of us turn a blind eye and make no attempt to improve things, we may find ourselves on the wrong side of history. You may have your ideas and opinions about what is happening in Middle East, or maybe you know very little, or only what makes the news headlines. I found when I was in the West Bank, in the Holy Land, that I had to make a choice – which side of history would I be on. I may only be twenty something now, but when I sit with my grandchildren and they ask me what it was like to live in a world where a military occupation went unnoticed, where a separation barrier which created an open prison for the towns within it was justified, where the basic human rights of men, women and children were abused, and where a long list of broken international laws went unchallenged - I want them to know I was one of those brave enough to speak out against injustice. I want them to know I did not choose to walk by on the other side. I’m not sure what the life of a typical twenty something is like, but I know I want to be on the right side of history.