This post is part of a Tarot Blog Hop. If you've been hopping along through all the blogs, you just came from TABItarot, and you're nearing the end of a long journey. If you're just joining this blog hop, already in progress, I should tell you that the theme is "How can I be a better candle?" (in honor of Imbolc, also known as St. Brigid's Day, an Irish festival welcoming the first signs of spring).
This theme brings to mind the proverb, "Better to light a candle than curse the darkness," which was the inspiration behind the Amnesty International logo above. The candle in the logo symbolizes the light of public attention that Amnesty shines on hidden human rights abuses, which are symbolized by barbed wire.
The political, cultural, social, and economic rights that Amnesty defends were codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted by the United Nations in 1948. The preamble of the UDHR begins, "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world," and goes on to lay out a vision for the human family. The Ten of Cups evokes this vision for me.
The best way I know to "be a better candle" is to hold that vision, and, when I see it being violated, stand in solidarity with those who are abused or oppressed. This could mean working with Amnesty International on a letter writing campaign to free a political prisoner in a far away land. Or, it could mean joining the Occupy movement to protest an unfair economic system, right here at home, a system in which "a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by" (see Obama's State of the Union speech). It could be a grand gesture, like demonstrating against the Citizens United decision on the steps of the US Supreme Court, or, it could be a small gesture, like speaking up for marriage equality on Facebook. It could even be something very personal, like letting the principal know if you hear a student at your child's school is being bullied.
I'm convinced that the only way to protect anyone's rights is to protect everyone's rights. Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous statement about the passivity of bystanders in Nazi Germany still speaks to us today:
First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak out because I was Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
I invite you to take a moment to visit my blog on Huffington Post where you can become a fan and sign up for email alerts or subscribe to an RSS feed. The next stop on your Tarot Blog Hop is Tarot Notes.
