I have asked myself the question, if I lived in Germany during the reign of Hitler, what would I do? I wonder if I would understand the true implications of what was happening or not. Even if I did understand, would I have the courage to do anything? Would I even have an idea what I could do?
I ask myself these questions because sometimes I find myself feeling like there’s evil overtaking our world. I wish that could say it was something as simple as a terrorist bombing innocent people or an unjust war because in those examples the idea of evil is simple and easy to identify. Unfortunately, I ask myself those difficult questions because the evil I feel overtaking our world isn’t easy to identify.
Everyone seems to want to identify themselves as belonging to a special group, and then they want that special group to be recognized. Each race, each ethnicity, each gender identification, each special ability, each nationality, etc. It seems like we all want to feel special, and we all want to feel like we belong to a special group. On the surface, there’s nothing really wrong with it. However, if we are all special, then no one is special. If we are all unique, no one is unique. If we all belong to different groups, then there we will always be divided by “us and them” thinking.
There’s no issue that is only black and white: abortion, capital punishment, gun rights, etc. None of them have a simple answer. They are all complicated. It isn’t either or. Somehow the majority of Americans seem to have forgotten that.
So, on the eve before our Independence Day, I pray for peace and that we could remember that the one group we all belong to is humanity. It is our common ground.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
