***** It troubles me that among our few healthiest (activists) they so often gravitate toward 'symbolic' actions. I think this is profoundly well intended... and a deeply sad error, soon species-terminal error, of zero hope... from some of the only folks who could be hope to the future. I find no where in Life that a healthy, Godly, adaptive life-form every acts in a fundamentally 'symbolic' way. Of course, symbols are used and presented, but never as an end, by True Life.

***** It troubles me that among our few healthiest (activists) they so often gravitate toward 'symbolic' actions.  I think this is profoundly well intended... and a deeply sad error, soon species-terminal error, of zero hope... from some of the only folks who could be hope to the future.  I find no where in Life that a healthy, Godly, adaptive life-form every acts in a fundamentally 'symbolic' way.  Of course, symbols are used and presented, but never as an end, by True Life. 

I remember about 7 years ago, at a Catholic Worker house attending an evening with someone I saw as an immensely heroic, unimaginably courageous... elderly activist (his name escapes me).  I was deeply moved by his talk, but also concerned - 'symbolic action' was so central to what he was saying (I forget how many years or decades he had spent in prison), I couldn't believe I was understanding this aspect correctly.  So I asked him, afterward, 'Father, I mean, we, the forces of Light, are supposed to fight (unviolently) to 'win,' correct???'  He didn't miss a beat - "No,": was his unequivocal answer.  I think there are few True activists today that disagree with him in their hearts - I don't know how to understand their actions any other way, regardless of how self-sacrificial (paying the price) they may be.

I've done much study since then... Jesus fought to win.  We are supposed to be fighting, in Love, unviolently... to win.  Life fights to win - this is the Truth - it fights for the proliferation of ALL constructive Life and Life Forms.  IT DOES - THIS IS WHAT CREATION DOES.  Any and all deviation from this is Error, Sin, and now... DOOM, unless.... 

ps.  Life, adaptive, creative Life that fights for Life to Win... WILL PREVAIL IN THE END....  This is a fact.  The question is whether any but .00001% of all current species on earth, and the species homo sapiens... will be among the survivors... and the current Truth is, almost certainly not.  (To Linda LeTendre, thanks for the inspiration.)