I'm getting married. Rexburg is changing. But that doesn't free us from our civic duty as Rexburgians. It doesn't relinquish us from the burden we carry as patriotic citizens. Instead, it increases the anti. It begs us to deepen our investment in local culture, clarify our geographic identity, and fight to form our reality.
Who are we Rexburg? Who are we BYU-Idaho? Who are we? Are we just a bunch of unshaven children breaking the honor code? Our are we children of God living to the full privileges of our birth right?
I travelled to Oahu, HI this last semester, and I peregrinated around the island. I saw things that many don't get to see in a life time. I saw roosters being raised for cock fights. I saw families living complete off the grid, habituating houses and reaping from farms established forty years ago. I swam with mating dolphins and saw breaching humpbacks, snorkeled with sea turtles, sold organic produce at a farmers market, spent time with the one I love on innumerable beaches, and slept, homeless, on Waikiki. But most of all, I saw people that cared about their local culture. People protested local issues on hand made signs in their front yard. People raised their children in the tradition of native hawaiian. A tradition and language which only recently nearly reached death.
"A 1983 survey estimated that only 1,500 people remained in Hawaii who could speak it, most of them elderly. Today there are probably 6,000 to 8,000 Hawaiian-language speakers throughout the state, most of them under the age of 30, said Kalena Silva, professor of Hawaiian studies at the University of Hawaii-Hilo." Star Advertiser.
It was amazing to witness such a turn around happening. I don't suppose to know all of the answers, but I mostly desire that we all be aware of the questions. I desire that we don't allow ourselves get tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. I desire that we are aware of the influences touching our lives.
As for me and mine we're starting off by putting on a bike awareness rally June 30th. It's going to be real. Really real. More details are coming. But let us know if you know of any musicians that have a soft spot in their hearts for the beauty of bicycle transportation. We're gonna make it happen and it's gonna happen big.
So get on your bikes and ride- Ride the Revolution!
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| The logo was taken from Meredith's penny farthing stamp on canvas. She's pretty cool. |
