The Courage to stand up to fear

Friends... I have been thinking of black lists, of jails, of fear, of censorship, cravenness, ego, and otherness, and mostly I have mused long and with longing on my faith as a Quaker. It boils down to the courage to be open. I have thought of Friends who block comments on their blogs, who have little cliques of "faith" and I am called to hold them to the light and ask them if they would choose to join those who stood for those ideals of liberty ... those with the courage to look harm in the face, from Mary Dyer to those who stood before the House un-American Activities Committee and said I am not afraid of you. I call Friends to be open and unfearing, because fear is a wall you place between yourself and God in others, and when you put that wall between God in others, you have blocked God in your own heart, I am as sure of this as any other thing.