Personal Responsibility

Some things never change. I watch kids play and I notice two or three trying to make up the rules as they go so that they come out ahead. I can remember trying make up my own rules as a small child. I was quickly shut down by parents. But I sometimes still joke that the world would be a better place if everyone just did what I wanted. I could live in a world where I could do what I wanted, but punish others for doing the same things. I could take what I wanted from the store. No one could object. I could take days off and no one could object. Of I hit someone they could not hit me back. It would be my world.
But I cannot imagine the chaos of living in a world where everyone Did that. Everyone thought they could take what they wanted and no one had a right to complain or respond. People could kill one another and expect no punishment.  People could halfway finish a job and expect full payment. People could steal and blame it on the one they stole from. A world where no one bears any personal responsibility ..... I cannot imagine.
An ant cannot move a mountain alone. But an army of ants can move mountains if each one bears his own load.

Too

I do not know where to begin. Two more black men have been killed by police. The news media is flooded with witness accounts and videos. Social media is flooded with #BlackLivesMatter. And now 10 Dallas police officers have been shot by snipers during a protest. 3 of those officers are dead. I am watching my friends on Facebook unfriend people because they post about killing police or because they post about the criminal record of one of the black males and blame him for his own death. Most disturbing I have seen my black friends checking in to make sure everyone is safe and accounted for. They should not have to live in such fear. It has taken us centuries to get where we are today. And solutions do not come easily. But they will not come at all if too many of us remain silent. Straight people can march with LGBT. White people can fight for Mexican rights. Why can we not value black lives? That is not to say the blame fully lies with police. This is on all of us. We need to unify in all parts of our lives: church, work, neighborhood, and community. I will never know the fear a black person feels when stopped by police. Or the fear a black mother has for her son. And I have no idea how to make a difference in my world. I can only go one relationship at a time. Yes All Lives Matter. But Black Lives Matter TOO.