Get in The Way - Get Into Necessary Trouble

There is a wonderful transcript on Democracy Now of an interview that Amy Goodman did with Representative John Lewis - Well worth you listen - or read the transcript.

From the transcript Lewis' closing statement:

REP. JOHN LEWIS: I believe there is something in human history—I call it the spirit of history. It’s like a spring, a stream, that continue to move. And individuals and forces come along that become symbols of what is good, what is right and what is fair. And that’s why I wrote this little book, to say to people that you, too, can allow yourself to be used by the spirit of history. Just find a way to get in the way. When I was growing up, my mother and father, my grandparents and great-grandparents were always telling me, "Don’t get in trouble. Don’t get in the way." But I was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks and others to get in the way, to get in trouble—good trouble, necessary trouble. And we all must find a way to have the courage to get in trouble, to do our part. Every generation must find a way to leave the planet, leave this little spaceship, earth, this little piece of real estate, a little better than we found it—a little cleaner, a little greener and a little more peaceful. I think that’s our calling. We have a mission, a mandate and a moral obligation to do just that.

My wish for you this holiday season and into 2013:

Your mission

Your mandate

Your moral obligation

             to get in the way,

             to get in trouble—good trouble, necessary trouble

             Just find a way to get in the way.

             we all must find a way to have the courage to get in trouble, to do our part.

             I believe there is something in human history—I call it the spirit of history. 

             It’s like a spring, a stream, that continue to move