I recently paused over a social media post from a high school classmate reflecting on Lenten sacrifices. You might’ve seen it - it’s the papal list of charitable acts we can practice in place of abstaining from meat during Lent. The takeaway is clear: If we choose charity over sacrifice, our daily lives can be filled with peace, trust, joy and purpose. Could that be the simple price we’re asked to pay today - to behave in ways that meaningfully touch another life?
As we approach Holy Week - the epicenter of the Catholic faith, a time that marks life after death, hope, redemption and eternal blessings for those who strive to live rightly - I wonder what "the good life" really means. Sadly, our definition of good has become increasingly subjective. Personal experiences and emotional filters color our worldview, and in a society where there are fewer commonly held truths, it’s harder to agree on what’s right.
Each news cycle seems to deepen the schisms dividing our nation and world - fierce political standoffs over what is justified versus what is outrageous, what is charitable versus what is wasteful and what is lawful versus what is corrupt. Most of us can agree that the status quo isn't working, that something must change. But accompanying that recognition is a growing wave of uncertainty and fear, like we’ve collectively leapt off a cliff without the security of a parachute.
If I could fashion a parachute, it would be made of threads spun from our history. As one American journalist put it, “History is a vast early warning system.” It offers both guidance and a mirror - showing us not only where we’ve been but who we are, and how we got here.
Take, for instance, the enormous progress achieved through decades of medical research and preventive health care. My parents’ generation faced many deadly and debilitating diseases that have since become rare - or nearly eradicated - thanks to science. When I was growing up, a cancer diagnosis for a child was often a death sentence. Today, survival rates hover around 85%, thanks to continuous breakthroughs.
More recently, we lived through the global trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking back, it’s remarkable how quickly Operation Warp Speed mobilized, leading to the development and distribution of effective vaccines in less than a year. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines weren’t just scientific marvels - they were lifelines that brought families, classrooms and communities back together.
Yet somehow, the value of this recent history seems lost on many of today’s policymakers. We see proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Energy and even the universities that lead groundbreaking research. This is baffling. America has long been the world’s innovation engine, particularly in science, health and technology. Weakening our national commitment to research risks stalling progress and losing a generation of young scientists ready to carry that legacy forward.
The truth is, everything worthwhile has a cost. There’s a price to pay if we want to make things better. There’s a price to pay for staying the same. And there’s a price for every shade of ambivalence in between.
It may seem overwhelming - impossible even - for a single person, or even a small group, to slow down or steer the sweeping currents of change. But perhaps the wisdom offered by the pope gives us a starting point: Do what you can, where you are. Choose charity. Choose kindness. Choose compassion over cynicism.
We can’t allow fear or fatigue to paralyze us. Doing nothing has consequences too - often the worst kind. Albert Einstein once warned, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch and do nothing.” History backs him up.
This Easter season - this time of light and rebirth - offers us the chance to recommit to small, unselfish acts that uplift others. Every action, and yes, every inaction, carries a price. But we are not powerless. The history of our island and our nation proves our resilience and our potential to move forward with courage.
In uncertain and oppressive times, may we each find the strength to believe in the power of doing good. Because every small, selfless act nudges the world toward a better path. And over time, those small acts can - and do - change the world.
Mary Camacho Torres served as a policymaker and government official on Guam and worked in the private sector. She is the managing member of On Point LLC, a public policy consulting company, and is committed to equity and good governance.