Mentors

The icons who inspired my generation are slowly slipping away.  Nelson Mandela, Pete Seeger....  Others, like John Lennon, left us long ago.  Our world is changing.  The U.S. Congress is gridlocked, fighting for the next election instead of for the needs of their constituents.  Wars rage throughout the world.  Sexual assault and gun violence are so common that they don't even make the evening news. Apathy is rampant.

Meanwhile, consumerism has become the new god of many throughout the world.  CocaCola sales are higher than ever in Mexico.  Even during the recession of the past few years sales of luxury items never dropped.  In South Korea the streets of Insa-Dong are packed with young shoppers.  Churches are more concerned with their coffers than with the hungry.  Clergy sex abuse scandals are at the top of the news.  Young people are apathetic to world affairs.

But are the times really changing all that much?  In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the consumer world are enclaves of alternative thought.  The new Pope is a breath of fresh air in an institutionalized and often corrupt religious organization.  The people of Cangjeong village fight the military machine by symbolic protests that continue daily year after year.  As part of their protest they crochet sweaters for their trees and set up free libraries on street corners.  Their tactics are not much different from those of Pete Seeger who hoped to use his music to counter violence.

Recently I spent 3 days in a Buddhist Temple.  The Sunims (nuns) want to change the world.  Their weapons are their smiles and their sincerity.  They believe that through midfullness and meditation they can reach a state of enlightenment or perfect peace.  They choose a simple life.  Their shaven heads and make-up free faces shine with unadorned beauty that comes from peace within and compassion for their surroundings.  My time with the Sunims gave me hope for the world.  I saw that it is possible for young women to find peace and happiness without a Coach purse, that the values of our mentors are not dead. 

I saw the same thing in the young women who accompanied me on this journey to Korea.  They went to fulfill a college requirement, but got a lot more out of it than a grade.  They were able to experience solidarity with the demonstrators, with their Korean peers, and with the Sunims.  In the process they began to appreciate their personal responsibility and their place in the world.  Perhaps one of them will be the future equivalent of Mother Theresa or Indira Ghandi, or maybe a neighborhood leader who stands up for justice.  There is hope.  New mentors will emerge!