Friday; September 24

How do we go about changing the world around us? The older I get, the more I begin to realize that few people are actually satisfied with the way things are. People on one side of a discussion believe we are too permissive, while those on the other hand feel constrained by the way things are. One of group of people believes we need more, while another group approaches the same problem advocating restraint. Honestly, I am not sure that we are ever going to agree, so that makes it important to set groundrules for disagreement. In a speech in 1956, Dr. Martin Luther King observed, “As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love. Let no man pull you so low as to hate him. Always avoid violence. If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in your struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos.”. The key to resolution may not always be agreement, often it is showing respect to the others involved. When we see each other as enemies and resort to violence (either physical, verbal or emotional) we all lose – and that loss is not just felt in the here-and-now, it is passed on to further generations.

Let’s do us and our children a favor. Let’s commit to working together with respect and civility to address the issues that confront us. When we do, we set the tone for a process of resolution – maybe not today, but someday in the not-too-distant future.

Think About It!

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