Where do we begin? Where does it end?

The headlines and social media this week have been filled with vitriol and furor about yet another senseless act of murder, terrorism, cruelty or whatever you want to call it. Day after day our country seems to be succumbing to violence as the answer to disagreement. Twenty four years ago on September 11, the United States was attacked by terrorists, a day that "lives in infamy," as Franklin Roosevelt said about the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. And last week, a senseless cruel act of murder happened to a young man who preached what some thought was a divisive gospel of judgment and others thought was the way to being a nation of good Christians. Social media, news media, etc are full of accusations; "social media has fallen into well worn grooves," as the NYT headlines say today.

Friends are becoming enemies as our country becomes more and more polarized and angry. And yet the story below reminds us of how enemies became friends in an effort to find peace. Rather than a battlecry and vengeance after 9/11 and the death of their son, Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez chose reconciliation and nonviolence and began a transformative journey confirming and challenging their convictions. They publicly opposed the death penalty of avowed 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and befriended his mother. In the same way, The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) is a prominent organization of over 800 bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost an immediate family member in the conflict, have chosen a unique and courageous path: to transform their pain into a force for reconciliation, dialogue, and peace through joint dialogue and educational initiatives. I have a bracelet from them which has peace written in Morse Code in English, Arabic and Hebrew.

Where do we begin this journey of reconciliation in our current situation? Do we profess to know all the answers, fight for justice and continue to separate ourselves into warring parties? Or do we follow the Rodriguez' lead and that of The Parents Circle – Families Forum and offer a loving hand to those with whom we disagree? I believe we hold the answers to these questions and can have much control over where this debauchery all ends.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding prevail among us as we go forward in this mixed up, muddled up world in which we find ourselves.