Those who see Community Youth Development as a shift in the youth work paradigm have, in the vernacular, missed the boat. CYD is part of a revolution in thought. It is a radical shift in thinking about how to build peaceful and just communities. In its extension it is about living in peace and harmony with all communities on this planet; it is about learning to co-evolve with the earth's other inhabitants.

A confluence of contemporary thought is irrigating new possibilities for obtaining peace, justice, and harmony. This is a soft revolution of erosion rather than one of violent explosion. I use the word "erosion" metaphorically here, to describe how one feature shifts and thus builds another-just as the winds and tides erode and reconstruct dunes. In our case the erosion of effete ideas, or old features, gives rise to a new feature: the immersion of community/youth partnerships, which holds the promise for the harmony we seek. Unlike the wind and waves, the surge creating this new feature is diffuse and at times indirect. But the message is clear: the old order no longer works.

In our CYD vineyard we think about how to re-integrate fragmented human communities. We are called upon to think globally and act locally while building humane, caring communities and nations. Our thinking is liberated from the tyranny of victim-blaming, deficit-seeking, problem-centered approaches and an anthropocentric view of the planet. We are free to engage with one another as equals and to experiment with new ways of doing business. We are free to follow the advice of Ralph Waldo Emerson-to find the lantern under every basket. Imagine if we lifted the basket from every lantern, the luminous, glowing universe that would be revealed.

Advancing this revolution is the work of many heads, hands, and deeds. It is to be carried forth in the schools, on the streets, in our neighborhoods, and across state and national boundaries in ways so diverse that, at first, connections may not meet the eye. After "9/11" we seem to be experiencing, to fracture Charles Dickens's quote, the "worst of times"-but behind the curtain of gloom and fear is a far more powerful force: hope. It is hope for "the best of times and . . . the times of triumph" that CYD calls forth. This is not the work of words alone. It requires thought and action. It not only requires thinking out of the box, but also acting out of the box. On the concrete level, it takes the typical service-oriented organization out of the realm of ameliorating and fixing problems and into the realm of advocating with the community-not for an individual or class of individuals, but for basic fundamental changes in community conditions that give rise to injustice, intolerance, poverty, and poor stewardship of the environment. CYD is therefore political, not partisan, for its accepts that change requires political action.

You may not agree that Community Youth Development is part of a larger revolution, but our community of readers increasingly confirms the fact that CYD is a thriving movement. Our current issue reflects the variation and breadth of actions needed to advance the movement, as articulated in Curnan and Hughes' revised CYD framework, "Toward a Shared Prosperity." This framework is a very useful tool to be applied to practice, research, and evaluation. Barbara Cervone's report on The Food Project illustrates one of the many venue variations of the CYD theme as she helps youth understand the power of connection between harvesting food and building community. The Cornerstone report of the Ford Foundation's experience with CYD provides solid evidence that the field is advancing. David Gil continues his discussion of challenging injustice and oppression. In brilliant voice our youth author, Chelsea Coakely, finely exemplifies the virtues of experiential education.

Each contributor in their way points to the need to further develop the breadth and depth of CYD practice, theory, and action.