One of my favorite places to walk is the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park here in Greensboro. Especially on Sunday mornings I love listening to the quiet breathing of the wind in the trees, watching the deer pick their way through the woods, and greeting other walkers, who - like me - come to experience the serenity of this beautiful place. At these times I remember those who fought on this site, enduring the penultimate battle of the American Revolution to establish a free country, and I imagine that at some point the same peace I find here will permeate Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, the Congo - all the places where war rages.
But today was the final day for this kind of walk. The Sequester will bring about the close of the park on Sundays, and if our Congress doesn't pass a budget it (and other national parks) will close down entirely. As I wandered into the park headquarters and greeted the staff this morning, as I paced out the double loop of this lovely place, what I felt was despair. I have disagreed with our national leadership before, but I have always believed in that leadership. Today I felt abandoned. I walked and wondered who is advocating for the beauty of our country, who is even considering that a "shut down" diminishes the quality of life for all of us, who cares about the needs of others enough to think beyond dogmatic policies that fail to consider that we're all in this together. And I prayed for the emergence of leaders who understand that listening is as important as speaking, that service to others is the ultimate measure of our worth, that what we do to the weakest among us defines our humanity.
