The Rescue Team

from Writing to Change the World by Mary Pipher

"Today our senses are amplified by technology. We receive detailed information from all over the globe....Daily, we see buildings collapsing, children starving, and whole villages dying of AIDS. Our brains and our adrenal systems have electrical and chemical responses to world events, yet our bodies, which are far from these troubles, can do little to help. many of us become anxious and despair from this poisonous brew of overstimulation and powerlessness."

"I am not interested in weapons, whether words or guns. I want to be part of the rescue team for our tired, overcrowded planet. The rescuers will be those people who help other people to think clearly, and to be honest and open-minded. They will be an antidote to those people who disconnect us. They will de-objectify, rehumanize, and make others more understandable and sympathetic. They will create what philosopher Martin Buber called I-thou relationships for the human race."