I live in downtown Dallas and I was just finishing my packing and getting ready to take the DART train to the airport as I heard the chanting of what was intended to be a peaceful protest in the park across the street. I could also hear a helicopter overhead and I decided to go down to the street to get a closer look. Before I was able to leave my loft, my friend Nick texted me, "Active shooter downtown. Stay inside buddy." I then turned on my tv and monitored the events as they unfolded.
I was in grade school and didn't live in Dallas when President Kennedy was shot. Fourty years later, after I moved to Dallas, I was riding DART for the first time when the train passed Elm street and I saw the bend in the street next to the grassy knoll. Though until that moment, I had only seen photographs and video of this infamous street, I recognized it instantly and memories of that tragic day flashed through my mind.
As I write this entry into my blog, I am in flight heading to Bangkok. I have not been able to get the latest news. I don't know who the shooters were or what their motives might have been. I do know that the images of this day will have a lasting place among my memories. My question is: How must we as a society preserve our collective memories of events like this? There are many social issues related to these events with many different perspectives. Many of us have very strong opinions and I have already seen many fingers pointing at one another.
You have heard me say that the ability to recognize and understand different perspectives is an important skill in becoming global citizens. We needn't travel beyond our own neighborhood to practice this skill. Some of you may still be deciding how you feel about some of these issues and some of you may already have formed strong opinions. It's important to become familiar with the issues and understand them as best you can before you form your own opinions. But, it is even more important that you strive to understand how and why others have formed their opinions. That is the only way we as a society can grow.
As the events went into the early morning hours, the shooters were taken into custody and police began letting people out of some of the downtown buildings. My friend, Nick, had been detained in a downtown restaurant and was now able to get to his car. My street was still blocked off but, I as was able to meet Nick at a 7 Eleven and from there, he took me to the airport.
Yes, I have now begun another great adventure but, at this moment, my heart is still with my Dallas community.
It is now Monday morning here in Bangkok and I have now learned that it seems to have been a lone shooter. I have also been reading a lot on both news and social media sites. I am saddened by much of the ongoing discourse. Clearly, we, as a society, have many problems that we must address. I would hope that we all begin by looking at ourselves, individually, with the same critical eye we use to judge others. How can I improve or grow as an individual to address these problems? Until I am able to address the problems that reside in my own heart, I can not sincerely work together with my brothers and sisters to better our world.
ReplyDelete