I am certain that most of us have been following the story of Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. & Sgt. James Crowley these last few weeks. The story was blasted all across the media & has been the source of many "elevator talks" and "water cooler chats" throughout our nation. President Obama was asked at the end of a press conference on health care what he thought about the incident and he was quoted as saying that, "the Cambridge police acted stupidly". He later apologized for making such an assumption.Ok, enough of me spitting out sound bytes....
What I appreciate about this story is what occurred this past week on Thursday. All 3 gentlemen (along with VP Biden) sat down and got to know one another. The content of their conversation is irrelevant....they made a statement to the American public & to the world that we can listen to one another....and that in fact, we should.
The polarization that occurs when the issue of race comes up is something that disturbs me in our country. There is always the need for us to "choose sides" rather than listen to one another's stories. Whether we want to admit or not, our reality is shaped by our own experiences. The beauty of true freedom (not a patriotic sort, but rather spiritual) is that we can all sit together at one table and actually empathize with the one who sits across from us.
Let's be honest - our country has always struggled with perking up our ears....& listening to the harsh realities of injustice. In order for true peace and justice to be reached, we have to open up our ears (and perhaps, depending on who you are....our beers) and listen to the story of the person who sits across from us.
We each have our own stories and experiences that make us who we are. Could it be that someone else's story might actually intersect and add to our story, making it more fully complete. We will, of course, never know unless we shutup and listen.... putting our mouths on mute so that we can better understand all of those around us and how we, as humans, are actually more similar than we could have ever thought.
To beer or not to beer....that is the question. Who's story have you been interrupting or avoiding? Is it time to grab a cold one & get down to listening for a change...
