"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
And so in that you can find the essence of our political divide. Race has been used as a means to divide us and for political parties to manipulate us and hold power.
I'm reminded of a story from Zen. A man's wife had died and he offered money to the monks if they would recite the sutras in his wife's honor. But before he would give the money he asked for their guarantee that she would be the recipient of their blessings. The monks replied that when the sutras are recited all beings benefit. And so he man asked, can't you recite the sutras without benefitting that woman who lives across the street? And so, people often live narrow lives that hurt themselves and others at the same time.
At some point, I hope we can learn to see and feel the commonalities of humanity in each other regardless of religion and race. This is a day of joy for me. I know there are many who feel hurt by the outcome of this election. I hope we all can put our feet in other people's shoes and walk.
Make, fix and create...
No comments:
Post a Comment