The winter solstice brings with it a diminishing of darkness and the return of light. This is a season for reflecting on miracles, love and renewal, yet we are facing a wave of fear based bigotry that will not go away if we close our eyes and imagine that everyone's hearts and minds will be filled with good will for all.
Confrontation is necessary when hate mongers spread their message and embellish it with misinformation. When we sit quietly in the presence of a person who is talking about the need to keep Muslim Syrian refugees out of the country to protect us from terrorism we fuel their ignorance and make it possible for them to convince others. The same is true for ideologues, politicians and racists who spout off based on one dimensional arguments that leave out inconvenient realities and bend the truth.
Confrontation, in this context, means speaking up and inserting facts and alternative views. It means shedding light to expose and combat ignorance.
