All of Us

Out of tragedy, come our greatest opportunities. It did do my wounded heart good to see that even before the shock of yesterday’s shooting had dissipated, the members of congress were looking for the silver lining, and pulling together in an honest effort to bring unity to our fractured nation. These opportunities are available for us all.

We can all be grateful for the quick reactions of the Capitol police, who prevented the situation from becoming much worse. We can ALL be thankful that no innocent lives were lost and that the injuries were kept to a minimum. We can also be grateful for the opportunity to reevaluate our thinking and our actions. In the words of Chuck Todd, yesterday. It is time for ALL of us to ask ourselves, “What can I do?”

This is a troubling time in our nation. We are divided as we haven’t been for decades and there is something sinister among us, that magnifies the dark places and hides the light. What can “we” do? We ALL have complaints and criticisms. We will never, ALL, be satisfied with everything at the same time. We need to learn the art of compromise and persuasion and to forego judgement in the interest of tolerance and acceptance.

Like Speaker Ryan said, “An attack on one of us, is an attack on ALL of us.” That is not only true of the brother and sister- hood of congress. It is true for ALL of us. I would ask today that every single member of congress think about that as you go about writing bills and creating laws. The power you have is awesome. How you use it is sometimes terrifying.  You will be elected primarily by your party, but once you begin to serve, you serve ALL of us. You serve the country, not the party.

I will tell you what I think and will listen to you. I will challenge you when I disagree and will support you when I agree. I will expect the same from you. Violence is not the answer. No one wins in a situation like yesterday, but we can ALL take a lesson from it, and promise to work together. Because it is going to take ALL of us to heal this nation.