5/31/20 RMB TEN OF US posted 5/31/20
Dear Rita Mae Brown,
If ten of us were in a lifeboat in
the middle of an ocean with light blue skies overhead and the peaceful sway of
the water below us, would we allow one man to kill another while we filmed it
on cameras? Then, as his body lay still, would those remaining of us, hurt and
angered by the loss of our friend, set fire to the boat, tear at its structure,
and destroy it?
If we did, we would sink.
There are more than ten of us and
the sky is not light blue; a dark grey atmosphere blankets us. And the waters are
not peaceful. They are choppy and dangerous. We could use our numbers to
support one another and keep this boat from tipping in the rough seas. We could
hold on to one another to ensure no one falls overboard and drowns.
But we don’t.
Lives have been taken and others
damaged. The perpetrator hides amongst our vast numbers, behind shields, in dark
corners, and in the recesses of our minds silently cultivated from hundreds of
years of conditioning. And when brought forward, the urge to retaliate
overwhelms those who remain.
It takes strength to combat hate
with peace.
We must find that strength, because
in the end…we are all in this boat together.
One of the many,
Loraine
