Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Humanity




Let me begin this post by saying what happened in Boston is a real tragedy and my heart goes out to all who are affected. This post is not meant to make light of that horrible event or dismiss it as frivolous, if you interpret it in that way I apologize in advance.

I was watching the news in the lobby of a waiting room yesterday and a woman said to me: "What is wrong with humanity, what is wrong with the United States...we're becoming barbaric like other nations."

I know she was grieving the Boston Marathon bombings in her own way, but right away I was struck by our short sightedness when it comes to thinking the United States was/is a beacon of morality. As the movie "42" reminds us it wasn't that long ago that we treated African Americans horribly--and a short time before that when we treated them like property to be beaten and sold. I'm also reminded of the genocide that we perpetrated on the Native Americans from our moral high horse.

I wanted to tell this woman, "no ma'am we've always lacked respect for humanity as a whole." Instead I shook my head with her and said "it is sad." 

How can we move forward in peace? How can we live the life we're called to where we all love one another?