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The link to this page is:
http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Hope_is_a_Word.html
Hope
This page is dedicated to the students and faculty of Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School:  To the memory of the people who lost their lives, to
the courage and tenacity of the survivors, who, in the words of Gandhi, are
being the change they want to see in the world.  -- Nancy / February, 2018

Hope is a word that every hurting heart understands.
May hope cast its light upon your path in the days
and moments to come.  -- Author Unknown
With a few exceptions, the photos on this page were taken in national
parks or other protected areas around the world.  The picture at the top of
the page is from Redwood National Park, California, USA and the picture
directly above is from Exmoor National Park, Devon County, England.
Glen Coe National Scenic Area, Argyll, Scotland
Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttarakhand, India
Okavango Delta (a UNESCO World Heritage site), Botswana, Africa
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland
Isle of Skye, Scotland
Cape Greco, National Forest Park, Cyprus
St. Peter Harbor, Guernsey
Vanoise National Park, Savoie, France
Derwent Valley, Derbyshire, England
Iguazú National Park, Misiones, Argentina
Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA
Snowdonia National Park, Wales
Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Ladybower Reservoir, Derbyshire, England
Northern Territory, Australia
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
Swiss National Park, Western Alps, Switzerland
Valbonë Valley National Park, Prokletije, Albania
Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, Lazio, Italy  
Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania, Africa
Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Berchtesgaden National Park, Bavaria, Germany
Mount Tianzhu, Anhui, China
Langtang National Park, Nepal
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Written long before the students of Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School were born, these words echo down through time and now
come to rest on their brave shoulders:

"There is," said an Italian philosopher, "nothing more difficult to take in hand or
more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order
of things."  Yet this is the measure of the task of your generation.

Each time people stand up for an ideal, or act to improve the lot of others, or strike
out against injustice, they send forth a tiny ripple of hope and, crossing each other
from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current
which can sweep down the mightiest walls of resistance.

I say this to young people across the world:  idealism, high aspiration and deep
convictions are not incompatible with practical and efficient programs – there is no
basic inconsistency between ideals and realistic possibilities – no separation
between the deepest desires of heart and of mind and the rational application of
human effort to human problems.

It is not realistic to solve problems and take action unguided by ultimate moral aims
and values, although we all know some who claim that it is so.  For it ignores the
realities of faith and of passion and of belief; the most powerful forces in the world.  
To adhere to idealism and to vision takes courage and self-confidence, but we know
that only those who dare to fail, can ever achieve.

-- Excerpted from Robert F. Kennedy's Day of Affirmation Address
(also known as the "Ripple of Hope" Speech), given to students
at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, on June 6, 1966.