Demand It Courageously – a Poem by Julia Hartwig

I came across this gem on The Writer’s Almanac a few days ago, and I present it here as a reminder of an imperative that faces all of us advocates of clean energy.  Don’t expect a sustainable future to be handed to you and to humankind; it will happen if and only if we insist on it. 

Demand It Courageously

      Make some room for yourself, human animal.
      Even a dog jostles about on his master’s lap to
improve his position. And when he needs space he
runs forward, without paying attention to commands
or calls.
      If you didn’t manage to receive freedom as a gift,
demand it as courageously as bread and meat.
      Make some room for yourself, human pride and
dignity.
      The Czech writer Hrabal said:
      I have as much freedom as I take.