Two weeks ago - an awful week which terminated with the
shooting of five law enforcement officers in Dallas - my friend Jason wrote a
long, heartfelt post on facebook which concluded with the call for a love
rebellion. A revised version of that
post is HERE, printed on this blog with his permission.
Jason makes a point that I happen to agree with - change
begins at the roots. There is a reason why the term grassroots came into
popular use. Those of you who garden
know that no matter how healthy a plant is, if its needs are not met at the root
level it will not flourish, it will eventually wither and die.
We are faced with a lot of top end problem solving these
days, as bursted-blooms on the national level declare that they can solve the
problems that fuel our fears - they can lead us to prosperity. And all the leaves surrounding them rustle
the echo of top-down solutions. We want
to believe them, because living in our increasingly violent, hate-shame-blame
filled world is getting unbearable. Somehow
our society has turned into Strange Days and we want to shout
"No, no, this is not what we wanted!
That was supposed to be fiction. Can we get a retake, please!"
This descent is aided by the medias, which reflects the culture
of our times as much as they shape it.
The news media is generally ready to provide you with the dirt on
whomever you don't agree with, so you can not agree with them even more. Social media creates the illusion of public forums
for civil discourse that are false, that amplify discord and divisiveness, and
propagate the spewing forth of opinions and ideas with a frightening anonymity
which holds the individual minimally accountable for their role in the
clamor. It is a culture of entitlement
where my right to be right, overrides any obligation to be kind and good. The
whole rambling mess becomes a committee-of-the-whole in which everyone talks,
no one listens, and nothing is resolved except that everyone becomes more
entrenched in their established positions.
We have to start by treating the roots. People are angry because they are afraid,
they feel threatened. In many cases
there are legitimate causes for that.
Fingers are pointed, labels are placed and replaced. The hopelessness and frustration can be
overwhelming. I know that is how I feel
very often.
