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Summoning courage in the face of violence...

6/14/2017

11 Comments

 
by Gwendolyn M Plano
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​Today's tragic events at a baseball practice in Virginia prompt a reflection on violence - violent words and violent actions. It's a topic most of us would like to ignore, but sadly, we cannot because we are its victims. 

​                                                             ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

           My country, the United States of America, is armed. Not just the South, as Northerners like to imagine. Not just the inner cities, as suburban folks might suggest. The entire country is armed – from New York to Florida, from Chicago to the Gulf States, from Seattle to Arizona. But, why?

Are we all afraid of the drug dealers down the street or the thieves who prey on innocents? Why are we armed? I suspect that the real reason we are armed is because of the precipice at which we stand - the chasm of failed trust.

We’ve suffered through a very contentious election process. If it weren’t battering enough to listen to months of ugliness, we now deal with post-election nastiness - which erupted today in the cowardly shooting of unarmed people. 

As a person who has experienced violence up close and personal, who has known diminishment because of my gender, who has been ridiculed because of what I believe, I know what it is to be considered valueless. But I also know what it takes to face that abyss straight on. 

My heroes, those who accompany me through life, are Harriett Tubman and Martin Luther King, Jr, Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu. They walked a path marked by courage, choosing non-violence over hate, as they traveled into the heart of conflict and sorrow. Their path is one I believe we need to embrace.

We see the evidence and surely we must know that a choice for violence in words or deeds is a choice to destroy. The rhetoric defending such actions moves me not. I may be old and foolish, but I believe we each can summon the courage to bridge the divide, to restore trust in humankind. 

You and I ultimately hold the possibility of hope for our country, for our world. Plato's words "Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle," get to the heart of the problem.  If we find ourselves hating someone or someones, we need to pause, because hate unraveled reveals a hurting heart. 

I care about our country – profoundly. I care about my loved ones – profoundly. I care about our beautiful earth – profoundly. And, I know that all that I love, all that I care about, teeters on your choice and mine. 

If we could summon the courage to attend to our hurting hearts, would we still feel the need to lash out in word or deed to blame another for our misery? ​I wonder, don't you?

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11 Comments
Suzanne Burke link
6/15/2017 00:23:55

It saddens my heart to look at our world, and what we have through unconscionable acts of indifference permitted to implode on the innocent.

There will always those willing to inflict damage, that is the sad nature of violence. As those people that perpetrate it seek the ultimate state of control, the world weary ask 'but what can we do?'

We can do plenty, my friends. We can refuse to give up our right to freely abstain from the violent alternatives constantly paraded as necessary and essential in our damaged world.

Your words have moved me as always, my friend. You are wise indeed, with an age old wisdom born of pain, and enlightenment. Thank you for touching me yet again with your words.

Reply
Gwen Plano
6/15/2017 08:59:25

Thank you, Soooz...you reach to the heart of the topic, to our right "to freely abstain from the violent alternatives." I doubt anyone can speak more wisely than you on this. Blessings.....

Reply
John Fioravanti
6/15/2017 07:44:14

Your eloquent words, wise and insightful, touch my soul, Gwen. I've never thought about a wounded heart being the root of violence, but it only makes sense upon further thought. Yes, we can attend to our wounded hearts - all we need do is be aware and willing to act as a self-healer instead of a perpetrator of violence, verbal or physical. Thanks for this wonderful insight!

Reply
Gwen Plano
6/15/2017 09:11:48

Thank you very much, John. Facing one's woundedness requires a special kind of courage. Too often, attention to matters of the heart is seen as weakness. It is anything but that.... Thank you, again.

Reply
John Howell link
6/15/2017 08:06:16

When the single act of a deranged individual causes me to doubt the freedom principle, I try to think of how many people have not been brutalized in a similar manner on that particular day. I think of neighbors and friends who cherish what we have in this country. I ignore the cowardly politicians who speak of blame rather than comfort. There are more of us who find the act in question reprehensible than not which gives me the comfortable feeling we will endure. My heart goes to the victims and my gratitude to those willing to fight to keep us free. Your post is a wonderful reminder that we all have a responsibility to support what is good about this country and the world and to speak out against the evil individuals bent on our destruction. Thanks, Gwen

Reply
Gwen Plano
6/15/2017 09:15:36

Thank you, John. There is so much that is good about our country and our world....and you are right, it is that which we need to support.

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John Howell link
6/15/2017 14:58:14

So true. :-)

Jan Sikes link
6/15/2017 09:43:12

Oh my goodness, Gwen. Your post touched me deeply. Love will always win over hate just as light will always win over darkness. But, I for one, sure wish it would hurry. Thank you for sharing this beautiful post.

Reply
Gwen Plano
6/15/2017 11:07:31

Thank you, Jan....I, too, wish it would hurry....Blessings, Gwen

Reply
Davy D link
6/15/2017 10:49:18

Wonderful words Gwen. I can only speak from a UK perspective where the gun laws are completely different. Recent events in the UK have brought a lot of anger to the surface, but behind that there are great displays of love and community. If enough of us take responsibility to show there is another way then maybe things may start to change.

Reply
Gwen Plano
6/15/2017 11:38:47

Thank you, Davy. I so agree...we can collectively turn things around. Always wonderful to hear from you!

Reply



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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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