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Dorothy Copus Brush Those words in Time seem prophetic now "The universe, once ablaze with the light
of uncountable stars, has become an unimaginably vast, cold,
dark and profoundly lonely place." That was the final sentence in a cover story
Time magazine featured in its June 25 issue. The story was titled
"How the Universe Will End," and it gave the findings
and theories of scientists who believe they have solved that
mystery. After the tragedy of Sept. 11, those words,
although on another subject, seem prophetic. A pall has descended
over our nation but there are still many bright stars shining
through. One of those stars is an American attorney who has lived
under the threat of death by terrorists since 1983. Morris Dees
is that man. He has used the justice system to fight and destroy
the strongholds of many of these homegrown forces of evil. Yes,
these are not terrorists from exotic-sounding places overseas
but American citizens. Dees was co-founder of the Southern Poverty
Law Center, and he refuses to be intimidated, even though he
is at the top of the conspirators' hit lists. The first court
victory was against Klansmen, but over the years, they have been
joined by Neo-Nazis, various militia groups and the Aryan Nations.
The headquarters of the center has been the target of bomb threats
and arson, but their prime effort is to kill Dees. One of the main educational programs of the
center is teaching tolerance through schools. Just as the song
from South Pacific says about children, "they have to be
carefully taught to hate," so they have to be carefully
taught tolerance. Sadly, not only children but adults must learn
and practice tolerance. Dees' star still shines. People are searching for relief from stress
today. In researching for the "Looking Back" column,
I found a story from a York, PA, newspaper reprinted in the Chronicle
in October 1965 that offered some good advice: "Whittling
is an old-fashioned tranquilizer. It fosters peace and relaxation.
It promotes clear thinking and a perspective on life's problems.
If men, harassed and harried in our high pressure society would
just take a period for whittling each day, they would discover
that most problems would fade into proper perspective." For these uncertain times an even wiser bit of advice is found in Psalms 90:12. "Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should." · · · |