we are finally back from our trip. we saw so many beautiful things--churches, government buildings, palaces, museums filled with art, mountains, rivers, fjords, far too many to list. we returned exhausted and happy to be in our own home among things that are familiar to us. as always when we travel, we were amazed at the kindness of strangers: the man who showed us the best butter in the grocery store, the woman who gave us directions, the family that made sure we got off at the right stop on the s-tog, the young lady who insisted that i take her deck chair on the boat. i hope that we showed others the same kindness that they extended to us and that the danes, norwegians, russians, finns, germans, swedes, and estonians that we encountered saw the basic goodness of americans in our behavior towards them. that is, i suppose, the main goal of travel, to remind ourselves that we are all basically the same, all human beings with intrinsic dignity and good will for one another. sure, we found some people that were thoughtless, mainly other travelers who were more interested in being at the head of the line, first off the boat or train, willing to do whatever it took to insure their own convenience, but those were the minority. their rudeness and selfishness were easily dismissed when compared to the vast majority of kind-hearted, considerate people we met.
now that we are back home we face familiar problems--getting the yard back in shape, washing the clothes, charging the car battery that has run down, restocking the larder, catching up on the news from family and friends. it's good to deal with the mundane again, just as it was good to escape it for a few weeks. the national news is pretty much the same--hearing lies from a leader who should embody the best ideals of our country, listening to hateful rhetoric directed at those who don't deserve it, blaming the victims for their own victimization, looking for scapegoats for the ills that confront us. many of our country's leaders embody and embolden hatreds that were long buried in our national psyche, and americans of good will wonder how to end these old prejudices and bring our government back to serving, rather than harming, the people who live here.
we must discern the best way forward. the hatreds given legitimacy by the last election are part of our culture that have been suppressed rather than dealt with. now they are exposed, and we see that what we thought had ceased to exist was only hidden. how do we teach people to love rather than hate? is confrontation the best way? is treating others as we wish to be treated the solution? perhaps, it is a combination of the two. we can't let vicious words and actions go unchallenged, but we can't end hate by more hate. we can't call people "deplorables," but we can condemn deplorable actions and rhetoric. we have to find the underlying humanity of those who seem to be filled with hate, and we must try to understand the root causes of the hate that seems to have found a home in their hearts. the great stain of slavery has long been a curse that disfigures our national fabric, and we must recognize it and work to cleanse that fabric so we can enjoy the many beautiful hues that are woven into it. our country is like a coat of many colors, all lovely when we can see their beauty. we are a song in many tongues that can only be sung if we embrace its diversity and treasure its great richness.
may we see the intrinsic greatness of our experiment in the rule of law that embodies the principle that all "are created equal." may we encourage all our people, no matter the color of their skin or the language they speak, to join together in mutual kindness and respect. may our daily lives exemplify those ideals which have always made our country great, rather than spreading hate in the name of "making it great again." shalom.
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