Molly

I didn't join the crowd of Sciencebloggers paying tribute to Molly Ivins yesterday because I didn't know what to say. Everything, it seemed, had been said - frequently by Ms. Ivins.

Today, I read her last column. The whole thing is worth reading, but the last paragraph is truly spectacular:

We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge. If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on Jan. 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"

Ms. Ivins was talking about the war. If you don't agree with her on that, take "war" out, and fill in the blank with your choice of cause. Whether it's changed to climate change, or to science education, or to the pressing need to get the county to get off its ass and patch that damn pothole, or to anything else you happen to feel strongly about, it still fits. So take Molly's advice. Step outside and take some action for a cause you believe in every day. Raise hell. And by all means do whatever you can to make the ridiculous look ridiculous.

And if you can't do that last bit as well as she could, don't sweat it. I don't think anyone can.