My friends marvel at how different they are from each other. They have different religious traditions, celebrate different holidays, have different kinds of families, vote for different political parties, hold different values, and come from different ethnic backgrounds. Some want to gather together in groups; some don't care to. One thing they all have in common is that they care about me. And I care deeply about them. Even when we have very different opinions -- say about what the problems are in the world and how we can address them -- we still care about each other. If we can accept each others' differences and share a meal or an evening and still be civil, how do we spread that kind of compassion to people we don't know?
Whether we're talking about health care, voting rights, public education, or taxes; whether it's your friend, your sister, your brother, your parents, your grandparents, your child or your spouse; why would you not want the same for someone else's child or parent or sibling or spouse?
What has happened to compassion?
For several years, I have lamented to my friends and family about my deep concern for our communities because of the great divide our political and economic mistakes have created. I've started this blog to give me a place to contemplate these issues publicly. This will make some people uncomfortable, but I hope they will continue to read Clarkwood Connect. My intent is to use this form of communication to help build bridges.
