Agnostic Mom

Rosa Parks passed away last evening at age 92. Here is a worthy story to tell our children. At age 42, Rosa made a decision to break a harmful and unjust law. By that one small act, her refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man, she ignited a fire that changed the face of our nation. Rosa’s heroism inspired Martin Luther King Jr. to lead the boycott of the bus system. The Civil Rights Movement began in the civil disobedience tradition of another modern hero, Mahatma Ghandi.

Imagine the animosity that must have been seething that day in the bus as Rosa Parks stood her ground. Imagine the fear she must have felt, but the courage she maintained.

“Are you going to stand up?” the bus driver asked.

“No,” Parks responded.

“Well, by God, I’m going to have you arrested,” the driver said.

“You may do that,” was Parks’ response.

Children understand these stories. There are not many ideas they comprehend and relate to more than the idea of fairness.

What I love most about these types of stories is they show that we are not helpless in a struggling and difficult world. We should not wait in compliance for a more just afterlife. We don’t have to wait for a god to change things on his own time. These stories tell our children that there are things we can and should do now to make a positive change in our society.

Tonight my family will light a candle at dinner in honor of a brave woman who made a courageous choice and sacrifice that changed everything.