With Valentine’s Day approaching, this is a good time to show our love for those we claim to care about: our families, our neighbors, and all the other folks who share our little planet.

As a girl, I learned that loving is a verb, and that we show it by our actions, not just words. Loving others means being attentive to their needs and sympathetic to their struggles, providing opportunities for them to reach their fullest potential, and rejoicing in their accomplishments.

So I’m wondering why we don’t all strive to do that for everyone, creating a more loving world where everyone has enough to eat, a warm bed, affordable healthcare and education, clean air and water, and a say in the direction of their own futures. That’s the kind of world I want for my grandkids, and for yours…

And that’s why, on Saturday, February 13th, I’ll be in Raleigh for the 10th annual HKonJ Moral March and People’s Assembly. Many thousands strong, we’ll march to show our love for the planet and all who inhabit it; to ensure and protect the right of every citizen to cast a vote; and to encourage everyone to then get out and vote for candidates who bring loving and caring (not fear and divisiveness) into our lives, and who will serve all of us without regard to religion, skin color, nationality, choices, abilities, or wealth.

Come show your love! Join me at 9 a.m. Saturday, February 13th, for the HKonJ People’s March and Assembly at Shaw University, 2 East South Street, Raleigh. Your kids and grandkids will love you for it!

— Vicki Ryder