357. You Could Not Mean It

You’re saying there is a serious problem. You’re saying we cannot allow this to stand. You’re saying we have to respond with immediate action. I tell you that I agree: there is a real problem, and we need to do something about it. I show you what I think is needed and what it will require from us. I formulate a plan of action and you agree that this is what we should do.

But when the time comes for us to act, I cannot find you anywhere. You said we needed to take action, but now you’ve slipped away, leaving me to manage on my own. You said “we” but you did not mean it. You realized what you’d have to do and you decided it was too much. You learned that fixing the problem will require real effort and sacrifice and you didn’t want to take that on. You offered only words and no actions.

I might call you lazy for being unwilling to try. I might call you insincere for failing to follow through on your commitment. I might call you a coward for lacking the courage to act. I might call you a traitor for betraying me and everyone else who is helping. I might call you all of these things, but it wouldn’t do anything to fix you.

The problem is that you cannot see that it’s necessary for you to take action. You think it’s only optional — something you might eventually choose to do, one day. You’re blind to the reality of our situation. You cannot see that without your action, we will not succeed. You cannot see that by failing to act, you are making the problem worse for all of us.

You said “we” but you could not mean it. You couldn’t mean it because you didn’t feel that your own action was necessary and needed. I can reprimand you all I’d like and still you’ll do nothing. The only thing that might work is to help you see the truth of your own words. We must act and we must act immediately. But we can only do so when you realize that this means you must act, together with me.