The sense of defeatism, all too present after the events in this

country over the last week, is the most dangerous myth threatening our future

right now.  To throw up our hands and surrender to the myth of

inevitability is to relinquish the most precious gift given to humanity: our

capacity to change the world around us.  We can be scared without being

resigned.  We can be exhausted without being fatalistic.  We can be

discouraged but nonetheless courageous.