What to Make of It

On November 15, 1993 my Father died suddenly in his sleep from a heart attack. He was one week shy of his 67th birthday. A week or so later I met his Father, age 95, at the airport. He had flown in from Portland, OR to attend Dad's Memorial Service in Ohio. When I saw him he simply said, "It is not supposed to be this way."

How many of us have said those same words?

There are many aspects in our lives, that, if we were in charge, we would change.

I know I wish Dad had lived longer and continued to love and befriend Mom in his inimitable way. He never met my youngest daughter who was born three months after he died. I wish he had.

Something else I know. Dad would be HUGELY disappointed in all of us. He would look around and say, "It is not supposed to be this way."

See, Dad was a person who respected all people, treated everyone equally, spoke without malice, was open to different opinions, studied history, cared for the planet, honored authority, enjoyed the arts, loved journalists, trusted in science, felt you should be free to believe and practice your faith, believed humanity would continue to improve through education and thought incivility would someday disappear.

If he saw American culture today, he would not know what to make of it. We are a mess.

Turning that around, and given what is going on in our Nation, I want all of us to consider what are we going to make of it.

A place to start is choosing to be respectful. If we come across something on Social Media that we disagree with, we can either

• ignore it
• denounce it
• attack the source
• or engage in a thoughtful discourse by offering our own viewpoint.

Which of these alternatives shows respect?

From the fountain of mutual respect, life and learning and mutual growth flow.

I personally commit to contribute positively to conversations, interactions and to make respectful contributions on Social media. Will you join me? My Father and Grandfather (and I) would be grateful.