MFEI Editor’s note: If we thought the November 2024 election was going to solve all our problems, most of us now realize there is still a very long way to go, especially on the election integrity front. Amy Hawkins’ reminder from Samuel Adams is timely and welcome. Let’s set some brushfires!
By Amy J. Hawkins | March 5, 2025
Reprinted with permission from Amy J. Hawkins Substack
It’s easy to launch something. It’s easy to sit online and complain. It’s easy to “go once” or make an appearance. But it’s hard to keep going when the sparkle has worn off, or everyone else has gone quiet, or gone home.
It’s easy to initiate a rallying cry to a cause, to make it a one time “fun excursion” to “dinner and a civics meeting”, and to show up with energy - one time. But it’s something else when you are the only person sitting in the school board meeting, or the only one holding elected leaders to account on a big topic, or when you are now the target of disdain by leaders because you have simply asked too many questions.
Then a dear friend sent me this quote last night.
It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men. ―Samuel Adams
I am on my twenty-third (plus) year of engaging in civics and important causes. And time after time, God reminds me, “Amy, it’s okay. What you see may be different than what I am calling “them” to tackle. Do not lose heart. But keep going.”
I could give up. I could quit. I could stop all my civic efforts, and cause-promotions, and assume with everyone else, “I’m one person - I can’t make that big of a difference!” I could adopt the philosophy that “someone else will do it.”
Or I can be an adult and recognize hard things are okay, and challenges won’t break me but refine me. And important changes are not supposed to come easily.
I cannot despise those who are frustrated at me, and I cannot despair at those who stay away. I am not at their part of the story. I must be a bearer of grace.
So whatever task God has called you to in the civics arena, may this quote be a breath of fresh air for your heart too. But whatever you do - do not give up on doing good. In time, from this side of Heaven, or from the stands “up there”, we will see good come.
Thoughts?
Amy J. Hawkins, small business owner and resident of Jackson County Michigan, is a passionate advocate for citizen engagement with over 20 years of statewide and local political experience. Follow Amy's Substack here.
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