In the Extreme

Over the past few days, guns have brought terror and death to Norway, Texas and Washington State.

The reasons for these acts of violence are varied and complex, but all have been meted out at the hands of a fellow human being and not one can be recalled, nor their dead and wounded made whole again.

I believe that there is more good than evil in the world.  I believe that this singular truth is what keeps us from the Biblical Armageddon so many predict is our ultimate destiny.  Most of all, I believe that our civilization still has time to rise from its darkness to embrace the light.

In this vain, I also believe that evil will continue to ravage us for some time to come. I believe this because profound acts of violence, while singular in their horror and timing, are symptoms of a deeper darkness that we encounter each day, but never stop to name.

We only need look to Washington DC, the seat of one of the most powerful governments ever known to humankind.  Witness the grandstanding, finger-pointing, half-truths and perpetual division. Consider our political campaigns where real issues always take a back seat to mudslinging and one-upmanship.  

Explain our hostility toward illegal aliens, while we selectively forget that the vast majority of us are descendants of the very same moniker.

Why are gay men and women still denied the full benefits of our Constitution? 

The murders that have bloodied our communities and bowed our heads are not isolated events.  They have grown from seeds so faint and so non-descript that we have lost sight of their relationship to the brutal harvests they bear.

When you degrade another person and do it in front of your children, you set the stage for hatred to live one more generation. 

When you name yourself and your culture superior to another, you perpetuate the idea that equality and tolerance are only for those who meet your standards.  When you believe that your way is the only way, you exclude, disenfranshise and create enemies instead of allies.

The end to violence and terror begins where you live, work, play and dream.  It begins with you and me.  What we sow, we reap.  Sow hate, you will reap hate.  Sow fear, you will reap fear.  Sow intolerance and you will reap intolerance.  Acts of violence are the end result…they may erupt out of nowhere, but they were sown in “fertile soil” long before they saw the light of day.

Love, peace, tolerance, compassion and humanity cannot be preached.  They must be lived!

2011 is Begun

I have not posted for some time. The holiday has come and gone; a new year and new decade begun. A 113 year old woman passed away and a U.S. Congresswoman was gunned down in Arizona. People, who days before were threatening each other in the halls of Congress, have taken a step back to take a look at themselves and the words they speak.

We have cultivated a respectable hindsight as a nation and as a world. In tragedy, we most often step up to the line and do the fair and compassionate thing.

However, it is time for the world to step into the future, not in the sense of knowing what it will bring, but in the sense of fostering foresight. Explorers and inventors have foresight. They imagine the unknown and make the decision to step into it.

The future I speak of cannot be bought with coin or power. It cannot be bought at all; it must be chosen, one person at a time, until more, not less, have made their choice.

What happened in Arizona propelled us forward to say things like, "words carry outcomes." "Free speech carries outcomes". We all bear responsibility for the world in which we live. We all bear responsibility for the good and the not so good things that happen. Individually, we must each decide what is meant by this responsibility and the answer will define our future.

We cannot afford to be faint of heart, even if we are afraid and uncertain. For us to create a world where less, not more, violence occurs, we as individuals must look first within ourselves and then decide how we have and do play a part in the heritage of war that still besieges so much of our planet.

Do not believe that anger and blame only affect the place where you stand and the person or persons you are targeting. Anger and blame spread a mindset and an energy. They provide a spark that is ignited by others of like mind. If you want a different world, then you--You--must take the first step. I must take the first step. It is not up to our leaders. It has never been up to others. It has always been up to us.

Begin, not by throwing barbs at those you disagree with, regardless of how you feel.  Begin with a moment of silence in which you look at your own words and actions.  Until you have made peace with these, universal peace remains an act of hindsight and, my dear friends, peace must be a forward motion.