Compassion Without Borders, Earthstock 2010, Portland, Oregon
One of the reasons I like this image is that it reminds me of the progress we’ve made as a society. When I was a child, I lived in a country in which African Americans couldn’t drink from the same water fountain as Whites. Or eat in the same restaurants (if those establishments had a “Whites Only” policy). We’ve reached a point (not in all places, unfortunately) in which we can share these things ... legally. There are still barriers to equality, but this photo illustrates something that gives me joy; not only can we share the same space, but we can share compassion. We can give it and receive it without racial reservation. If we wish. If we are so inclined.
I know this is not true for all places in the United States. I know it’s not even strictly true for Portland, Oregon, which has a very long history of racism (when Oregon was a Territory, not a state, in 1844, the regional government passed a “Lash Law” requiring all Blacks to be whipped twice a year, in an effort to drive all Blacks from the state. That was neither the beginning, nor the end of racism in the region). 
But there are those of us who want to make it true. Who want to see a photo such as this, and think only, “Two happy people, dancing.”
It’s important to remember where we’ve been, to remind us of how important it is to commit ourselves to a better place. Where we can dance, and be happy, and love without reservation. That’s one of the things I value most about Earthstockâthat it is an “event,” and a frame of mind, and a place in which the things that we have allowed to divide us are dismissed. It’s a dance in which everyone belongs, and is wanted.