Changing Sides … (11/23/15)
Did you know that in the quite recent past, the majority of U.S. citizens favored slavery, and openly resisted those who were fighting for the freedom of people of color? I wonder, if you lived 150 years ago and were white, do you think that you would be in favor of freeing the slaves — or do you think that you would be in the majority of traditionalists who wanted to keep blacks shackled and subservient?
Almost all of us today hope that we would have been strong enough to affirm the former, and yet this hypothetical is almost identical to the question that will be posed to society at large in another 150 years, when people will undeniably look back and ask, “How could a murdered bird in the middle of a dining table ever have been a traditional symbol of gratitude and family?!?”
Indeed, this is the question facing all of you this week, my Friends. If you want to ever reside on the compassionate side of our upcoming history, then you have no alternative but to allow your Thanksgiving tradition to evolve to a higher standard of justice and a new level of kindness.
Peace to all … S
(~ inspired by Hope Bohanec)
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