I get frustrated by the way we treat each other. Recently some houses in my neighborhood got tagged with graffiti. It saddened me to think that a person would do that to another person. It saddens me to think that they would do it to feel better about themselves.
I believe that there are so many things that bring us closer as people, but the most important of them is the recognition that we all matter on this planet of ours. What we believe about ourselves is largely a result of what others have told us coupled with our own resiliency and wisdom to process that information.
Education, I believe, is the great equalizer.
When I first saw the tagging, I reacted emotionally--were there gangs in our neighborhood, who my wife or i be in danger. Next I reacted intellectually--it is a problem and it needs to be solved. Next I reacted empathetically, what message did it send to the people living in the houses that were tagged. Next I reacted with community in mind--what could be done to help the neighbors.
I talked to other people, we worked out a plan, and there will be kids from a restorative justice project helping those neighbors who chose to do it to clean off the graffiti and repaint.
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