PEACE OUT

Peace Out!

I am typically a “glass half full” kind of person, but this week I am struggling to stay optimistic in the light of daily, tragic news.

Robert Burns wrote a dirge in 1784 lamenting human cruelty and injustice – Man Was Made to Mourn. I remember, long ago, having to analyze the meaning of his poem in a high school literature class, and feeling depressed. One line that is often quoted “Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn” still makes me shake my head and scream.

Anyway, that line kept going through my head this week, so I decided to try and find some other, more encouraging quotes to shut Robert Burns out. I landed on Mother Teresa. She said “People throughout the world may look different or have different religion, education or position, but they are all the same. We do not need guns and bombs. We need love and compassion to overcome evil. All the works of love are works of peace.”

So now I’m trying to start that reel going in my head. And while I will fiercely defend myself, family, friends and America if attacked, I believe, until that time, in using respect, compassion, forgiveness and love to find common ground and peace.

Humans have a moral responsibility toward one another. Resist tyranny and insist our leaders embrace morality.

Let’s channel Mother Teresa and consistently role-model love & peace.

Janet Jeffery, Gold Beach