Those of you who
read my writing know I have some pretty strong beliefs. These beliefs are based
upon my core values and spring from how I was raised as well as from
individuals who have been in my life over time. Some of these individuals have
had an immediate impact on my life and on my heart and soul, while others
impacted me in many small ways over time.
I think of these
latter folks as I do a crock pot.
In the morning,
we load the meat and other ingredients into the pot, turn it on and several
hours later, we have a delicious meal.
I think each of
us can point to one or two individuals who have impacted us in the same way.
Not right away, but over time. Not necessarily in one big, grand way, but in
several and perhaps many small ways until we look at ourselves in the mirror
and come to the conclusion that we’ve changed. Hopefully, for the better.
I don’t
understand, I can’t comprehend, and therefore I can’t explain what took place
this past weekend in Charlottesville, VA, much less explain why it took place.
Just can’t.
I’ve always
believed in the innate goodness of mankind. I’ve always believed that each of
us has a capacity for good. Treating others respectfully, kindly, gently and
with love, I believe, is our first inclination as a human race.
In my writing, I’ve
urged you- the reader- to see beyond your own situation and circumstance and
make a positive difference in the lives of others. Each of us has that capacity
and each of us has hundreds of opportunities in the course of a week in which
to do so.
I’ve always
believed that love and kindness can and will overcome hate and meanness. I
honestly believe that with my whole heart, mind and soul. I believe our first
inclination is to love, to bring peace, to be gentle, to be friendly, to be
kind. Our first inclination and hopefully, our only inclination. I HAVE to
believe that . . . we HAVE to believe that because if we don’t, the alternative
is too horrible to consider.
So when I turned
on the news, saw Facebook posts, and videos and Tweets, and hear speeches, I am
left Trying To Understand.
At first, I was
in shock and watched in disbelief. And then, I had questions . . .
How is it that
such a large group can chant ugly slogans intended to intimidate and display
hatred and inflict pain? How is it that men and women of all ages would join in
and think that’s okay? How is it possible for a human being essentially made up
of the same molecules, tissue and fluid as another feels and believes they are
somehow superior to another based upon the color of one’s skin, one’s religion,
one’s ethnicity?
Trying To
Understand, but I just don’t get it. I just don’t.
And how is it
that so many silently agree with them? Why isn’t there more outrage? Why is it
condoned at the highest levels?
I mean, wars
were fought against this belief. Brave men and women died fighting against the
very action, the very words, the very beliefs espoused this past weekend in
Charlottesville, VA and now, fifty, sixty, seventy years later, it’s suddenly
okay? How is this possible? How?
Did we somehow
forget D-Day, Pearl Harbor, Dunkirk, Normandy, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, the
Warsaw Ghetto, Anne Frank, Martin Luther King, Malala Yousafzai, Mother Teresa
and more currently, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan? Did we somehow forget all the
blood that was shed? All the lives that were lost? All the bodies that have
been maimed and minds damaged? Did we somehow forget the Selma March, the
I-Have-A-Dream speech, the little lady who refused to sit in the back of the
bus, and the three civil rights workers murdered and buried in a dump?
Trying To
Understand, but I just don’t get it. I just don’t.
I worry for my
daughters, Hannah and Emily, and the students that will walk through our doors
in two weeks. I worry about what kind of world we are leaving for them, knowing
that I can’t be present 24-7 to protect them. I worry for their children and
for children to come.
And what I find
truly scary is that some of those same men and women who marched in
Charlottesville, VA will go back to work in society: as bankers, as doctors and
nurses, as loan officers, as teachers, as cops and soldiers, as bakers, and
store owners. I find that truly scary because these same folks harbor the
ugliness of last weekend and that their hearts, their minds and their souls
have not changed to fit in with society. But like a smoldering fire ready to
spark and burn and rage, they are there. Waiting. Plotting. Planning. And worst
of all, hating and thinking of themselves as somehow superior. These same folks
who attend church and pray to the same God I pray to. Kind of scary. Really
scary. Something to think about . . .
Please, please,
Live Your Life, and Make A Positive Difference!
