|
|
Post by osuft3 on Sept 5, 2020 19:43:47 GMT -8
We all learned the first verse in school, and sometimes the fourth verse. The second verse seems most appropriate in these times.
O beautiful for Pilgrim's feet, whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat, across the wilderness.
America, America! God mend thine every flaw.
Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.
|
|
|
|
Post by Werebeaver on Sept 5, 2020 20:08:37 GMT -8
We all learned the first verse in school, and sometimes the fourth verse. The second verse seems most appropriate in these times. O beautiful for Pilgrim's feet, whose stern impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat, across the wilderness. America, America! God mend thine every flaw. Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law. Absolutely, we should honor the Pilgrims. Both the historical ones and the present-day ones amongst us. Their story is America's story. |
|
|
|
Post by osuft3 on Sept 6, 2020 8:10:18 GMT -8
That isn't the focus of the verse, but you knew that. Much like the intentional misinterpretation of the second amendment, the crux is in the final lines. Self-control and law will foster constructive change to heal our society. Destructive change will not.
|
|
|
|
Post by irimi on Sept 6, 2020 9:24:38 GMT -8
Of course. Written by a white woman. Try this on for size. Langston Hughes.
Let America Be America Again
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home—
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay—
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine—the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!
|
|
|
|
Post by beavs6 on Sept 6, 2020 10:53:01 GMT -8
Of course. Written by a white woman. Try this on for size. Langston Hughes. Would be nice if a white women(sic) (or man from your inferences) could have done anything or created anything positive for society, huh. Why perpetuate division instead of unity? |
|
|
|
Post by spudbeaver on Sept 6, 2020 11:16:39 GMT -8
This has always been one of my favorites. On my lake vacation mix. Nothing will make some folks on this board happy, so this is for the rest.
|
|
|
|
Post by irimi on Sept 6, 2020 12:05:23 GMT -8
Of course. Written by a white woman. Try this on for size. Langston Hughes. Would be nice if a white women(sic) (or man from your inferences) could have done anything or created anything positive for society, huh. Why perpetuate division instead of unity? Obviously, you didn’t understand (read?) the poem. |
|
|
|
Post by beavs6 on Sept 6, 2020 13:41:03 GMT -8
Would be nice if a white women(sic) (or man from your inferences) could have done anything or created anything positive for society, huh. Why perpetuate division instead of unity? Obviously, you didn’t understand (read?) the poem. I did and do. It's why I took that part out of my quote back. Would have more impact without the opening comment. You are the one that doesn't get it. You can't ask for true change and equality by tearing others down and diminishing them. You do it by lifting people up. Just differing opinion I guess. |
|
|
|
Post by irimi on Sept 6, 2020 14:18:43 GMT -8
Obviously, you didn’t understand (read?) the poem. I did and do. It's why I took that part out of my quote back. Would have more impact without the opening comment. You are the one that doesn't get it. You can't ask for true change and equality by tearing others down and diminishing them. You do it by lifting people up. Just differing opinion I guess. Odds are that in your education you’ve read mostly white authors. You’ve probably read only one or two of Langston Hughes’ poems, and if you weren’t an English major, you probably wouldn’t remember them. Those who educate Americans have been predominantly white, have selected white authors for awards and inclusion in the “great literature of America.” So it isn’t your fault per se that you weren’t exposed to other voices. This is the problem. America has had a multitude of voices from its beginning, yet predominantly it has been the white voice that has been elevated. This is why when you think of American literature, you immediately think of a bunch of white men and women. It is easy to see this in English literature, but if you apply critical thinking skills then you should be able to recognize that for hundreds of years, the defining voices of this country have been white. White politicians. White lawyers. White city councils. White educators. White TV producers. White filmmakers. It doesn’t take much to see it, but you do have to look. Now, onto the poem. America the beautiful is rather trite. It is a sugary-sweet depiction of the country, celebrating its accomplishments and the beauty. It isn’t difficult to see why it was written by a white person. Langston Hughes’ poem, on the other hand, is clearly not written by a white person. He is a voice speaking for those left out of Katherine Lee Bates’ America. But he doesn’t just rag on America or the white culture. He says that America, that idea, is worthy of being aspired to and that we can truly be America when we the people aspire to what America can be. Think about it. Hughes doesn’t just speak for Blacks. So it is I, actually, who is being inclusive. |
|
|
|
Post by Werebeaver on Sept 6, 2020 14:39:17 GMT -8
I did and do. It's why I took that part out of my quote back. Would have more impact without the opening comment. You are the one that doesn't get it. You can't ask for true change and equality by tearing others down and diminishing them. You do it by lifting people up. Just differing opinion I guess. Odds are that in your education you’ve read mostly white authors. You’ve probably read only one or two of Langston Hughes’ poems, and if you weren’t an English major, you probably wouldn’t remember them. Those who educate Americans have been predominantly white, have selected white authors for awards and inclusion in the “great literature of America.” So it isn’t your fault per se that you weren’t exposed to other voices. This is the problem. America has had a multitude of voices from its beginning, yet predominantly it has been the white voice that has been elevated. This is why when you think of American literature, you immediately think of a bunch of white men and women. It is easy to see this in English literature, but if you apply critical thinking skills then you should be able to recognize that for hundreds of years, the defining voices of this country have been white. White politicians. White lawyers. White city councils. White educators. White TV producers. White filmmakers. It doesn’t take much to see it, but you do have to look. Now, onto the poem. America the beautiful is rather trite. It is a sugary-sweet depiction of the country, celebrating its accomplishments and the beauty. It isn’t difficult to see why it was written by a white person. Langston Hughes’ poem, on the other hand, is clearly not written by a white person. He is a voice speaking for those left out of Katherine Lee Bates’ America. But he doesn’t just rag on America or the white culture. He says that America, that idea, is worthy of being aspired to and that we can truly be America when we the people aspire to what America can be. Think about it. Hughes doesn’t just speak for Blacks. So it is I, actually, who is being inclusive. Speaking just for myself. I have no problem whatever with Katherine Lee Bates' 1893 poem "America the Beautiful". It was inspired by a trip the Wellesley professor took to teach at Colorado College in the summer of 1893. It is an inspiring heartfelt tribute to the turn-of-the-century ideals of America. Like every work of art it is a product of its time and place. Although it is >120 years old, much of what it says is still relevant in 2020. She herself was a fascinating person. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Lee_BatesNo one work of art can hope to capture what it means to be an American, past present and future, but "America the Beautiful" is a splendid tribute ..as far as it goes. |
|
|
|
Post by irimi on Sept 6, 2020 15:20:34 GMT -8
Odds are that in your education you’ve read mostly white authors. You’ve probably read only one or two of Langston Hughes’ poems, and if you weren’t an English major, you probably wouldn’t remember them. Those who educate Americans have been predominantly white, have selected white authors for awards and inclusion in the “great literature of America.” So it isn’t your fault per se that you weren’t exposed to other voices. This is the problem. America has had a multitude of voices from its beginning, yet predominantly it has been the white voice that has been elevated. This is why when you think of American literature, you immediately think of a bunch of white men and women. It is easy to see this in English literature, but if you apply critical thinking skills then you should be able to recognize that for hundreds of years, the defining voices of this country have been white. White politicians. White lawyers. White city councils. White educators. White TV producers. White filmmakers. It doesn’t take much to see it, but you do have to look. Now, onto the poem. America the beautiful is rather trite. It is a sugary-sweet depiction of the country, celebrating its accomplishments and the beauty. It isn’t difficult to see why it was written by a white person. Langston Hughes’ poem, on the other hand, is clearly not written by a white person. He is a voice speaking for those left out of Katherine Lee Bates’ America. But he doesn’t just rag on America or the white culture. He says that America, that idea, is worthy of being aspired to and that we can truly be America when we the people aspire to what America can be. Think about it. Hughes doesn’t just speak for Blacks. So it is I, actually, who is being inclusive. Speaking just for myself. I have no problem whatever with Katherine Lee Bates' 1893 poem "America the Beautiful". It was inspired by a trip the Wellesley professor took to teach at Colorado College in the summer of 1893. It is an inspiring heartfelt tribute to the turn-of-the-century ideals of America. Like every work of art it is a product of its time and place. Although it is >120 years old, much of what it says is still relevant in 2020. She herself was a fascinating person. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Lee_BatesNo one work of art can hope to capture what it means to be an American, past present and future, but "America the Beautiful" is a splendid tribute ..as far as it goes. Disregarding the social message that I object to for the moment, it is disconcerting that the natural beauty of America much heralded in this song is rapidly disappearing and certainly not being protected, cherished, or respected by the current government. Coal and oil. Good for those spacious gray skies. |
|
|
|
Post by beavs6 on Sept 6, 2020 16:13:53 GMT -8
I did and do. It's why I took that part out of my quote back. Would have more impact without the opening comment. You are the one that doesn't get it. You can't ask for true change and equality by tearing others down and diminishing them. You do it by lifting people up. Just differing opinion I guess. Odds are that in your education you’ve read mostly white authors. You’ve probably read only one or two of Langston Hughes’ poems, and if you weren’t an English major, you probably wouldn’t remember them. Those who educate Americans have been predominantly white, have selected white authors for awards and inclusion in the “great literature of America.” So it isn’t your fault per se that you weren’t exposed to other voices. This is the problem. America has had a multitude of voices from its beginning, yet predominantly it has been the white voice that has been elevated. This is why when you think of American literature, you immediately think of a bunch of white men and women. It is easy to see this in English literature, but if you apply critical thinking skills then you should be able to recognize that for hundreds of years, the defining voices of this country have been white. White politicians. White lawyers. White city councils. White educators. White TV producers. White filmmakers. It doesn’t take much to see it, but you do have to look. Now, onto the poem. America the beautiful is rather trite. It is a sugary-sweet depiction of the country, celebrating its accomplishments and the beauty. It isn’t difficult to see why it was written by a white person. Langston Hughes’ poem, on the other hand, is clearly not written by a white person. He is a voice speaking for those left out of Katherine Lee Bates’ America. But he doesn’t just rag on America or the white culture. He says that America, that idea, is worthy of being aspired to and that we can truly be America when we the people aspire to what America can be. Think about it. Hughes doesn’t just speak for Blacks. So it is I, actually, who is being inclusive. Say whatever you need to say to make yourself comfortable looking in the mirror. You are still missing the point. Expose people (or this forum) to Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Fredrick Douglass(a lay-up), or Ralph Ellison---not only an author but scholar and noted Professor at numerous prestigious institutions. To truly be inclusive, this endeavor should be done without tearing others down. Does that even register with you? It is A reason why our Country is having such a difficult time making the changes that need to be made. It isn't "Us vs Them" or "If you aren't with us you are against us.". It isn't a zero sum game. It is about trying to get EVERYONE to rise up and have EVERYONE on the same level. If Hughes "But he doesn’t just rag on America or the white culture." why do you feel the need to? I really do not want to delve to deep into politics. I just really get tired of the constant soapbox banters that will only perpetuate the divides we have. If you want to be inclusive, take your blinders off and be inclusive. I wish I knew the magical answer to make everything "alright". I don't. I do know what won't work. |
|
|
|
Post by irimi on Sept 6, 2020 17:12:13 GMT -8
Odds are that in your education you’ve read mostly white authors. You’ve probably read only one or two of Langston Hughes’ poems, and if you weren’t an English major, you probably wouldn’t remember them. Those who educate Americans have been predominantly white, have selected white authors for awards and inclusion in the “great literature of America.” So it isn’t your fault per se that you weren’t exposed to other voices. This is the problem. America has had a multitude of voices from its beginning, yet predominantly it has been the white voice that has been elevated. This is why when you think of American literature, you immediately think of a bunch of white men and women. It is easy to see this in English literature, but if you apply critical thinking skills then you should be able to recognize that for hundreds of years, the defining voices of this country have been white. White politicians. White lawyers. White city councils. White educators. White TV producers. White filmmakers. It doesn’t take much to see it, but you do have to look. Now, onto the poem. America the beautiful is rather trite. It is a sugary-sweet depiction of the country, celebrating its accomplishments and the beauty. It isn’t difficult to see why it was written by a white person. Langston Hughes’ poem, on the other hand, is clearly not written by a white person. He is a voice speaking for those left out of Katherine Lee Bates’ America. But he doesn’t just rag on America or the white culture. He says that America, that idea, is worthy of being aspired to and that we can truly be America when we the people aspire to what America can be. Think about it. Hughes doesn’t just speak for Blacks. So it is I, actually, who is being inclusive. Say whatever you need to say to make yourself comfortable looking in the mirror. You are still missing the point. Expose people (or this forum) to Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Fredrick Douglass(a lay-up), or Ralph Ellison---not only an author but scholar and noted Professor at numerous prestigious institutions. To truly be inclusive, this endeavor should be done without tearing others down. Does that even register with you? It is A reason why our Country is having such a difficult time making the changes that need to be made. It isn't "Us vs Them" or "If you aren't with us you are against us.". It isn't a zero sum game. It is about trying to get EVERYONE to rise up and have EVERYONE on the same level. If Hughes "But he doesn’t just rag on America or the white culture." why do you feel the need to? I really do not want to delve to deep into politics. I just really get tired of the constant soapbox banters that will only perpetuate the divides we have. If you want to be inclusive, take your blinders off and be inclusive. I wish I knew the magical answer to make everything "alright". I don't. I do know what won't work. OK. So this is a sports board, right? Yet osuft3 felt a need to post a patriotic song to the off-topic board to point out that second verse to post a political message. The picture painted in this song is of patriotism and love of country, riddled with keywords like “freedom” and “liberty.” His point, as I understand it, is that we need Law and Order and that those marching for change need self-control. It is a position that, as I explained previously, sidelines, if not completely ignores, the voices of others in our society. I posted the poem by Hughes to emphasize that there are others in this country for whom America has never been “beautiful.” At this time in America’s history, it is vital that we Americans speak up for the others in our society, that we embrace them in the spirit of brotherhood by supporting their efforts for equality and a full stake in the American way of life. This begins by recognizing that there are invisible walls and blockades that keep them out. We need to acknowledge them in order to overcome them. I am not pitting White America against Black America as much as you think I am. I am imploring you and others to open your eyes and help. Here’s another quote for you to ponder. "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Mark Twain I wish you many and distant travels! |
|
|
|
Post by beavs6 on Sept 6, 2020 18:24:31 GMT -8
Say whatever you need to say to make yourself comfortable looking in the mirror. You are still missing the point. Expose people (or this forum) to Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Fredrick Douglass(a lay-up), or Ralph Ellison---not only an author but scholar and noted Professor at numerous prestigious institutions. To truly be inclusive, this endeavor should be done without tearing others down. Does that even register with you? It is A reason why our Country is having such a difficult time making the changes that need to be made. It isn't "Us vs Them" or "If you aren't with us you are against us.". It isn't a zero sum game. It is about trying to get EVERYONE to rise up and have EVERYONE on the same level. If Hughes "But he doesn’t just rag on America or the white culture." why do you feel the need to? I really do not want to delve to deep into politics. I just really get tired of the constant soapbox banters that will only perpetuate the divides we have. If you want to be inclusive, take your blinders off and be inclusive. I wish I knew the magical answer to make everything "alright". I don't. I do know what won't work. OK. So this is a sports board, right? Yet osuft3 felt a need to post a patriotic song to the off-topic board to point out that second verse to post a political message. The picture painted in this song is of patriotism and love of country, riddled with keywords like “freedom” and “liberty.” His point, as I understand it, is that we need Law and Order and that those marching for change need self-control. It is a position that, as I explained previously, sidelines, if not completely ignores, the voices of others in our society. I posted the poem by Hughes to emphasize that there are others in this country for whom America has never been “beautiful.” At this time in America’s history, it is vital that we Americans speak up for the others in our society, that we embrace them in the spirit of brotherhood by supporting their efforts for equality and a full stake in the American way of life. This begins by recognizing that there are invisible walls and blockades that keep them out. We need to acknowledge them in order to overcome them. I am not pitting White America against Black America as much as you think I am. I am imploring you and others to open your eyes and help. Here’s another quote for you to ponder. "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Mark Twain I wish you many and distant travels! Well, I'm sure this is going to get shut down and deleted. "His point, as I understand it, is that we need Law and Order and that those marching for change need self-control."--Is the violence OK? Destruction, looting, trying to blind others, arson with the real potential of burning people alive. Do you subscribe to ACAB? Those marching for change cannot get that change without violence? "This begins by recognizing that there are invisible walls and blockades that keep them out. We need to acknowledge them in order to overcome them."--Acknowledging what needs to be changed does not mean throwing the baby out with the bathwater. "I am not pitting White America against Black America as much as you think I am."--why do you keep using inflammatory language instead of stating your thoughts and education for the rest of us? And the "as much as you think I am" admits that you ARE contributing to the divide in America that needs to be healed. Why perpetuate that stance? Your closing is to paint me with a "prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness" brush and wish me "many and distant travels!"--Here again your own prejudices are showing through. You don't know me. You keep trying to imply you know my race, color, creed, education, travels and experiences(a new one). Not only that, you claim to know all the shortcomings I have in relation to these perceived ideas you have. Isn't that heading down the definition of bigotry and prejudice? I guess I will leave you with my own quote" "How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye?...First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Matthew 7:5 |
|
|
|
Post by irimi on Sept 7, 2020 7:51:30 GMT -8
OK. So this is a sports board, right? Yet osuft3 felt a need to post a patriotic song to the off-topic board to point out that second verse to post a political message. The picture painted in this song is of patriotism and love of country, riddled with keywords like “freedom” and “liberty.” His point, as I understand it, is that we need Law and Order and that those marching for change need self-control. It is a position that, as I explained previously, sidelines, if not completely ignores, the voices of others in our society. I posted the poem by Hughes to emphasize that there are others in this country for whom America has never been “beautiful.” At this time in America’s history, it is vital that we Americans speak up for the others in our society, that we embrace them in the spirit of brotherhood by supporting their efforts for equality and a full stake in the American way of life. This begins by recognizing that there are invisible walls and blockades that keep them out. We need to acknowledge them in order to overcome them. I am not pitting White America against Black America as much as you think I am. I am imploring you and others to open your eyes and help. Here’s another quote for you to ponder. "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Mark Twain I wish you many and distant travels! Well, I'm sure this is going to get shut down and deleted. "His point, as I understand it, is that we need Law and Order and that those marching for change need self-control."--Is the violence OK? Destruction, looting, trying to blind others, arson with the real potential of burning people alive. Do you subscribe to ACAB? Those marching for change cannot get that change without violence? "This begins by recognizing that there are invisible walls and blockades that keep them out. We need to acknowledge them in order to overcome them."--Acknowledging what needs to be changed does not mean throwing the baby out with the bathwater. "I am not pitting White America against Black America as much as you think I am."--why do you keep using inflammatory language instead of stating your thoughts and education for the rest of us? And the "as much as you think I am" admits that you ARE contributing to the divide in America that needs to be healed. Why perpetuate that stance? Your closing is to paint me with a "prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness" brush and wish me "many and distant travels!"--Here again your own prejudices are showing through. You don't know me. You keep trying to imply you know my race, color, creed, education, travels and experiences(a new one). Not only that, you claim to know all the shortcomings I have in relation to these perceived ideas you have. Isn't that heading down the definition of bigotry and prejudice? I guess I will leave you with my own quote" "How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye?...First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Matthew 7:5 #1. MLK once said: “A riot is the voice of the unheard.” Naturally, a peaceful protest is preferred, but when peaceful protests are ignored in the hopes of them dying out while the behavior of the police does not change significantly, it is easy to see why protests can turn to riots. This is assuming, of course, that the rioting is being performed by the peaceful protestors and not simply instigators on a separate agenda. #2. I do not subscribe to the ACAB point of view. That’s ridiculous. I do agree that policing isn’t the same today as it was when I was a child. Police look more like stormtroopers these days than Andy Griffith. I had relatives who were policemen who never drew their gun during their career. These days, they are more likely to reach for their piece than the taser, it seems. Policing needs reform. #3. What baby? What bathwater? Whose throwing these things out? So you feel that my purpose is to completely tear down America and you fear that. I see. #4. If you are like me, which is to say a white man with a Christian background in middle class America, then it is a challenge to see the barriers already in place for colored, poor, immigrants, homosexuals, etc. These people have always lived at the fringes of societies—not just ours. There are people who do not want to acknowledge these barriers or who hold them in place due to religious or traditional beliefs. If people aren’t willing to see them, then how can we help these people have a decent life? Didn’t Jesus also say something about loving your brother? #5. OK. I freely admit that I see two kinds of people here: those who want change—minimally to hold police officers more accountable—and those who are fine with the way things are today. Those who want a society that is racially diverse and accepting of other people, and those who don’t—or at least don’t care and only want to stay within their own cultural world. As for healing this divide, well I think it is too soon to heal. People have been killed. How quickly should we forget that and just shake hands? And just when we seem to get over one police shooting, another jumps to the front page. Heal? How do you heal a recurring illness? #6. I like Twain’s quote for many reasons and one is just how much we get locked down in our day to day life and rarely think outside our small town. It’s important to see the world and especially the US from other perspectives. I actually believe that the world would be a better place if everyone would be able to travel and live outside their own country for a handful of years. Even if you have been abroad, I still wish you many long and distant travels. It’s the best blessing I could imagine ever receiving. #7. How about this one: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that....But love your enemies, do good to them, lend to them without expecting anything back.” Luke 6:31 or “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.” Exodus 23:9 The Bible has quite a few good verses about loving your fellow man, treating him with respect, not judging him, and not killing him. It also seems to thematically support the downtrodden, the immigrant, the slave, the poor, the homeless. We could use more of that in our society, I think. |
|
