Dear Humankind,

As we consider departing from you, we want you to know that we gave our all. But alas, in the end, we were mere leaves blowing in the wind, to be glanced at and considered momentarily, but then ignored as more material aspects of your lives made you forget us. We are but memories now. Things of legend, only mentioned when people speak of the good old days. Perhaps we were never taken seriously.

For a while, we held our own against racism, sexism and classism. But the “isms” became too numerous to count and eventually we were overwhelmed. We’ve seen many movements and even more barriers. We’ve tasted strange fruit and bared witnesses to the assassinations of those who seek justice and those who sat in high places. We’ve known wars and rumors of war, and have been unable to stop them. We’ve heard men speak of dreams and seen dreams deferred. We foolishly thought that all men are created equal until the riots started. We’ve seen both people and animals displaced, forests destroyed and clean water become filled with lead and pollution.

We’ve seen the innocent forsaken and the greedy rewarded. We’ve watched as schools became killing fields and genocide conducted on every continent, and still, we fought on. In 2008 we saw history and foolishly thought that we had finally made a difference in the most powerful country in the world. We felt that this would be the moment that turned the tide, only to realize that fear is easily spread and accepted, by those who see color, not character. As much as we tried to stop the hate and the fear, we couldn’t. And then when we grew our weariest, we realized that it was not us that had fallen short, but you. How naïve of us to think that we could somehow influence the thoughts and actions of the only beings on Earth with free-will and the ability to reason.

It was you who refused to see us. It was you, not us who chose to see the darkness and not the light. But what of the children. As you turn your back on each other and brush away empathy and compassion like pieces of lint, what legacy will you leave them? We are angry. And know this; if we go, we may never come this way again.

But that would be against our nature. For where a few are gathered in our name, we will always be there. Despite our struggles and your betrayal, we know no other way. We will continue to fight, if only for the children for whom we were created. We will not leave you, nor forsake you, but you must do better. Remember, nothing lasts forever, and tomorrow is not promised.

Sincerely,
Faith, Hope and Love