Stand Up

I am Standing....

In one of my favorite movies, a senator of Rome entreats his compatriots to stand up in court in support of the heroine of the movie.  "Stand up!" he cries out to them imploringly, "Stand, or if no one will, I will stand alone."  At first, no one stands, and a horrible silence descends.  Finally, after the moment has passed, and it looks as if the judge will proceed, a lone man lifts himself from his seat.

"Minister," asks the judge, "Do you have something to say?"  The minister looks around the courtroom, and finally utters,

"I am standing."


If there is one thing I know in life, it is this, it is so hard to be the person who lifts themself from their seat and stands. 

In the wake of all the looting in Ferguson recently, there was a video of a man standing in front of a store imploring his fellowman to quit the looting.  He was standing. 

Sometimes standing is a very lonely pursuit, and yet, we must stand in order to combat the wrongs in this world.  It can be a very simple thing to stand at times---as easy as turning off the television when a smutty reality television show comes on.  Or it can be very difficult--standing against a professor who tells you that the only race capable of being racist is caucasion.  That happened to my daughter last year, and she had to stand.  For people who suffer from depression or other mental illness, standing can mean just showing up to life every day.  Or, standing can mean the ultimate sacrifice,  as Dan Foley found when he stood against ISIS.

It is an increasingly difficult world we live in, and it can be exhausting standing for all of the causes we know are right.  Sometimes we have to choose our battles, just to have enough energy to stand the next time. 

I often ask myself, am I standing when I should be, either alone, or with friends and family who need my support? Am I standing to represent right, even if it means so-called friends will desert me, or the crowd will jeer me?

Are you standing?