"At the risk of seeming ridiculous . . ."

Sometimes like this morning, I find myself trying to control my anger towards the rich and their control over the economy and how they can easily decide who and who does not prosper. The thoughts of the greed that flows in their veins make me sick. The abuses and oppression they rain down on workers everyday leaves me feeling helpless. Before long I start questioning whether my forty year of activism (which began on August 29, 1970) and the efforts of thousands more are actually having any impact on these social ills. Then I start thinking about simply giving up the fight. It is when I get to that low point I quickly re-read a letter a hero of mine once wrote and I immediately find the courage and inspiration to fight on. After reading the letter a few minutes ago, I decided to post some of it so that when you have similar days you too can find the inspiration you need to fight on by reading his words. Here are excerpts in abbreviated form of some of the words in his letter. Enjoy. "At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolution is guided by great feeling of love. It is impossible to think a genuine revolution lacking in quality. Revolutionaries must idealize this love of the people, of the most sacred causes, and make it one and indivisible. In these circumstances, one must have a great deal of humanity and a strong sense of justice and truth in order not to fall into extreme dogmatism, cold scholasticism, and into isolation from the masses. We must strive every day so that this love of living humanity will be transformed into actual deeds, acts that serve as examples, and a moving force. We must not descend to the level of small doss of daily affection." -- Ernesto "Che" Guevara (March 12, 1965, letter to Carlos Quijano, editor of Marcha).