Wilberforce, Luther, and "The Art of the Possible"

Perhaps it's simply part of who I am; I'm never ignited by the issues. It has always seemed that the workings of governmental principalities and powers is a life-span away from me. My mother is a newspaper reader; she knows who is running for what, where they stand on the important things, and by whom they are endorsed. She believes vehemently in some political stands, and speaks out against others with equal fervor. My sister is a public defender, with the mission of fighting for the rights and proper treatment of the proverbial "little guy." She becomes irate about the way the system treats the people under her care.

And I? I am a musician. I'm a teacher and a music therapist. I spend my days pouring everything I have into the people around me, hoping to touch their lives somehow. Am I hoping to have the next Van Cliburn in my piano studio? Or do I want to be the facilitator of an amazing recovery? Not particularly. I just do what I do, and then I see what results there are to see. Sometimes really neat, sometimes crushing, and most often miniscule bits of personal growth. I spend my time watering plants, I suppose.

I've been watching biographical movies lately: St. Paul, Martin Luther, and most recently William Wilberforce. This isn't a movie review; maybe I'll do that later. The thing that strikes me is that each of these men was fighting for something, both personally and politically. They believed so fervently in an issue that they were willing to desert everything, sacrifice anything, to see that the right (as in that which is good and just, not the opposite of left) won out. I admire these men. I would like to make a difference, just as they did. Theirs are inspiring stories, and they inspired me.

But I haven't an issue.

Sure, I see right and wrong. I care about which is which. I won't vote unless I know that I am voting for the right (see above). But these issues, some of them heartbreaking or vitally important, fail to inspire me to incredible action. Is this a personal failing? One of my excuses is that I can't stomach the vile game of politics. I'm sure there are good folk out there; I haven't sifted through the slime to identify them. Is this gutless?

Perhaps I should make the effort to add the cares of the outer world to the cares of my little one. Still, even at my most inspired, I quail from it. Is it right to hold my life separate? Or must I hold my nose and dive into the muck?