-As Madison reminded us, "Men are not angels," and America has made and makes many mistakes as we progress. It is, however, precisely the language of the Declaration that has enabled us to correct many of those mistakes. Over 250 years, we have moved ever closer to realizing the unalienable rights of all Americans
-There is no substitute for live/in-person/IRL interaction. Put Americans of any stripe together in a room, and they will find shared beliefs, experiences, and values. The remove of online communication is th death knell
My feelings exactly. In my niche of working with immigrants over the past 6 years I've seen so many ordinary Americans come forward to help immigrant families they barely know. Help in the form of an American family with their own kids to raise, giving thousands of dollars and/or hundreds of hours of time, stretching themselves to take on helping an immigrant family they just met. Or I go to a church group hoping to raise a few hundred dollars and wind up getting more than $10,000 to pay a family's rent for 8 months. It's a moving reminder to me that most Americans have a sense of fairness and caring. The "regular spiritual work" you mention is the only antidote to hatred and the endless push to "buy more stuff". Dr. King appealed to the "goodness that he knew existed in the hearts of white people'. This may have been, as some say, a bit of crafty political nudging on Dr. King's part, but I think he believed it as well.
Love this, Carol. It's what the Internet needs more of. I honestly believe that what you've described in terms of different everyday peaceful encounters with a wide variety of people is still the dominant norm. The Internet doesn't want you to believe it, but when we disconnect and choose presence over passive rage-bait media consumption, it resets us. Thanks for the reminder.
Beautifully said, Carol. Thank you!
Right on the money.
Two thoughts:
-As Madison reminded us, "Men are not angels," and America has made and makes many mistakes as we progress. It is, however, precisely the language of the Declaration that has enabled us to correct many of those mistakes. Over 250 years, we have moved ever closer to realizing the unalienable rights of all Americans
-There is no substitute for live/in-person/IRL interaction. Put Americans of any stripe together in a room, and they will find shared beliefs, experiences, and values. The remove of online communication is th death knell
My feelings exactly. In my niche of working with immigrants over the past 6 years I've seen so many ordinary Americans come forward to help immigrant families they barely know. Help in the form of an American family with their own kids to raise, giving thousands of dollars and/or hundreds of hours of time, stretching themselves to take on helping an immigrant family they just met. Or I go to a church group hoping to raise a few hundred dollars and wind up getting more than $10,000 to pay a family's rent for 8 months. It's a moving reminder to me that most Americans have a sense of fairness and caring. The "regular spiritual work" you mention is the only antidote to hatred and the endless push to "buy more stuff". Dr. King appealed to the "goodness that he knew existed in the hearts of white people'. This may have been, as some say, a bit of crafty political nudging on Dr. King's part, but I think he believed it as well.
Love this, Carol. It's what the Internet needs more of. I honestly believe that what you've described in terms of different everyday peaceful encounters with a wide variety of people is still the dominant norm. The Internet doesn't want you to believe it, but when we disconnect and choose presence over passive rage-bait media consumption, it resets us. Thanks for the reminder.
Well spoken. The best of America. We need to remember that we have this in us, too. This is what I served to defend.
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