Thoughts from a KGB prison

Walking to the back of the cell made me nervous- what if someone decided to slam the door shut behind me as a trick?  As I peered into the gloom, I saw a platform, about the size of a personal pizza, sticking up above the sunken floor.  A helpful sign next to the door explained to me that this cell was used as an especially cruel form of solitary confinement.  The room was flooded with ice water, leaving the prisoner to stand on the tiny platform or fall into an ice bath.  

My stomach churned.  This was evil.  Cruelty cleverly conceived.  

The words and images I'd seen over the past few days washed over me: A snap that looked like it was from a child's overall, found at a mass grave.  A sentence from a museum exhibit"There were 29,000 Jews in Riga; 25,000 were killed in one day."  A photo of 4 small children clustered around their mother, exiled in Siberia.

I was filled with a new sense of gratitude.  I take it for granted that I won't be locked in prison for my political beliefs, murdered under government orders for my religious beliefs, exiled to a distant land because I dared to protest.  

At the same time, I was filled with a sense of urgency.  The peace and security I've grown up with, that hasn't been the norm for most of human history.  Poverty, war, famine, genocide have followed us out of Eden.  It would be comforting to think, "but that was then, this is now.  I live in the modern world in a democratic country".  

The truth is though, that modern times and democracy don't protect anyone.  

Right now, in Venezuela, shortages of staple foods and things like toilet paper and violent crime are sparking protests against the government.  And, the supposedly democratic government has responded by sending armed gunmen into neighborhoods and censoring the media.  A friend posted on facebook on the 20th, "Please Pray for my family in Venezuela right now the soldiers are shooting in the neighborhood they live in". At least 13 protestors have been killed.  That same friend who posted for us to pray asked about getting home overland.  "Don't try" was the general consensus.  Bus terminals are closed and even with a car people are getting stuck.  

And that's just Venezuela.  Ukraine is having even more violent protests, but I don't have any Ukranian friends, so it isn't as real and present in my mind.  But the bus terminal in Merida that's closed?  I've been there.  I know people in Venezuela now, and others who are outside of the country and worried about their family members who are there.  

My heart aches for them.  And I pray.  But is there any other action I can take?  The sober truth of this quote hits me: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke) I'm realizing the tenuousness of our security.  And the necessity to not let our freedoms be eroded, to stand up against corruption and power-seeking.

"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy."
(The Prayer of St. Francis)