 It might seem odd to you that from the terrorism America has recently experienced, I can find something good to point out, but such is the case .... Forgive me, I'm an eternal optimist. I'm always looking for the silver lining. It's the way of life that I've chosen because the optimist and the pessimist are both right, for them. It's always up to us to choose which way we want to be. In my estimation and experience, the optimist leads a much happier life, so that is my choice. I watched the terror on people's faces. I heard their cries and screams of anguish and pain. I watched their tears create flesh colored streams through the ash on their faces. I saw the grief and desperation on the faces of those holding up pictures of missing loved ones. I saw it all .... and cried more in the last week than I have in the previous ten years. But I saw something good too .... I saw a young black man help an Asian woman away from the disaster scene. He had his arm around her and she leaned into him for strength and comfort. I saw an older white man help a black woman escape. They clung to each other for comfort and some tiny bit of assurance from each other that there was still some good left in the world. They found that point of goodness to connect with inside of each other. They didn't care that the other person was black, or white, or Asian; nor would have they cared if the person they helped or that was helping them was Latino, Russian, Cuban, Moslem, Christian, an atheist, or blue, green, or even plaid for that matter. Their differences didn't make a difference. What they did care about was their humanity connecting with another human being. The lesson to be learned is that we need to connect to one another as a nation, and indeed, as citizens of the planet earth, to find our common goodness. Each person has far more in common with others than they have differences. It's not our differences that determine who we are, it's how we treat each other in spite of our differences that reveals our true character. Some blacks treat whites with the same racism that some whites treat blacks. Both are wrong. The same can be said for some individuals of any race. It's not an ugly trait exclusive to one race, it's just an ugly trait, period. All whites aren't racist, all blacks aren't lazy, all Moslems aren't crazed fanatics. There is no stereotype that fits all people of any race or ethnicity. We need to learn to treat individuals as individuals, not as races or ethnicities. We need to learn .... period. As brilliant as we can be at times, we are also stupid and primitive all too often. If we can walk away from this with anything positive, let us learn that we are all in this thing called life together. We should be striving for accord and unity. We should celebrate our differences, they are what make each individual special, and make the world interesting. If everyone looked and sounded alike, people would just be walking mirrors of ourselves. Boring! ... Boring! ... Boring! Let us not judge anyone by our differences, but by our common good. This is true for all people everywhere, but especially for Americans. After all, what is the United States all about? Look at the initials for the answer. It's not the Y.O.U. It's not the M.E. It's the U.S., it's us, just us. And it's up to us to make a difference. ~Author Unknown~  |
