Ucraine, I’m sorry. I have a hard time feeling sad and outraged for you. Not because what is happening isn’t awful. But because, there are so many other tragedies I’m still grieving. I’m pissed about what violence generates outrage and what is considered “normal.” I ache as to why people wake up now. Why is this war worth 24/7 coverage on local and national news? Why about the conflicts in Ethiopia, Congo, Yemen not get such attention? Why the 400 deaths in Philly in 2020 go unnoticed? The murder of a 12-year old in Philadelphia by the police just a few days ago? And unjustified violence is every, single, day news?
What will it take for humanity to give up war as a form of fake problem-solving all together?
I’m still grieving the land we stole from Native Americans—just to flaunt how we could exploit and destroy it for profit that still—doesn’t even make us happy.
I’m still grieving the violence of exploited and unpaid work of tortured Africans on American land—for 250 years.
I’m still grieving the people in Ghana who lost their homes when the US funded the dam that would create Akosombo lake to provide electricity to an aluminum factory and dispossess them forever. I’m still grieving that people lost their homes, their land, their farms, so we can throw away aluminum as if it weren’t a metal extracted from ground on the backs of the land of the poor and unheard. And this is just one of infinite examples of how we still hurt Africa.
I’m still grieving the 400 people killed in Philly in 2021. I still can’t find the words to describe the presence of trouble–passed on souls that I feel the presence of walking down the street.
I’m still grieving the 12-year old who was shot and killed in the back by police, just two weeks ago. Where is the outrage and the 24-hour coverage for him? How dare the officer just be fired? Not even charged—just run free?
I’m still grieving the lives of all the people I know who tell me they’re “just fine” but stopped talking to their parents, or children, or brothers, or sisters, or childhood friends, believing a life with money but without authentic relationships is “rich.”
I’m still grieving the lack of trust in our ability to engage each other when we disagree—the war we make on our relationships, friends and family, without the ability to be honest in the face of conflict.
I’m still grieving the war we make on ourselves—when we tell ourselves that we’re not good enough.
There is so much violence in the world. It takes a tremendous amount of courage—every single day to wake up and remember the love, believe in the love, practice the love, that neutralizes fear and violence. It’s a moment by moment choice. I long for the time that humanity will expand our capacity to love that will end the war in Ucraine. But also everywhere else.
Native Americans passed the Great Law of Peace, which brought together five nations that have been devastated by war—who were tired of war. This great Law of Peace informed the US constitution.
What will it take to invest in a Great law of Peace—for the world?
How many dead will it take for us to become tired of war all together?