THIS HAS TO STOP!
“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
1 Peter 3:8-9
This has to stop.
There was a mass shooting in Gilroy, CA yesterday. Another NYC Police officer took his own life over the weekend. And on a “Typical Weekend” in Chicago, some where between 30 and 60 people will get shot.
This has to stop.
And if you are thinking, “why is this on Linked In?”, first these cops were working, and if 5 folks you worked with killed themselves, wouldn’t you be concerned?
This violence is not just limited to individuals and festivals. Violence, shooting, can occur in the work place too. There was a mass work place shooting less than 20 minutes from me in February.
Next, isn’t the idea of Linked In to build connections, and communities to create a better world? That is why it’s on Linked In.
This has to stop.
We are dying as a culture, a county, and a civilization. Is that what you are committed too? We are killing each other, and slowly killing ourselves.
This has to stop.
We need to end the attacks on each other. President Trumps tweets about Rep Cummings this weekend, was wrong, divisive and feeds the breakdown. Rep Omar’s comments about white men are equally wrong and divisive. AND our being offended does not change anything.
This has to stop.
The solution is not new laws and more security. There were metal detectors and searches at the festival yesterday, they made little difference. The solution lies in us.
This has to stop.
The solution is not to “be woke” (God I hate that phrase). Our woke-ness does not seem to working.
The problem is not over there. The problem is not Mr. Trump, or “The Squad” or men, or feminist, or LGBTQ, or white supremacist, or any other easy label that will become click bait.
The problem lies within us. The good news if we are the problem we also hold the solution. The questions becomes are we willing?
Are we willing to look inside first, before we get offended, or upset, or scared? Are we willing to look at what is at the source of this. Are we willing to inquire how someone else may see the issue, someone’s who view point may be completely different that our own. Are we willing to listen?
Are we willing to admit we don’t know? Are we willing to accept that we are in a new condition, one we may not be prepared for?
I don’t have the answers, and I am willing to look, to listen, to inquire. If you are in a place where you don’t know either, and want someone to connect to and are unclear who to reach out to, please call me, I am sure we can figure it out.
This has to stop.
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
1 John 4:4