Posted 2016-07-08Fear Gone Amok
The Daily Groove is meant to be uplifting, and if you scroll down to review this week’s “Classic” grooves, there’s plenty of light-hearted inspiration to be found.
But I can’t ignore the heartbreaking tragedies that took place this week here in the U.S., where videos of police officers shooting and killing African-American men have generated outrage across the country, which now includes a retaliatory sniper attack and even more tragic deaths.
Why is this happening? Most would attribute the violence to racist hatred, and I wouldn’t disagree, but we need to dig deeper. Underneath the hatred is fear. Massive fear.
You can hear the terror in the voice of the cop who kept his gun pointed at Philando Castile even after Castile had been shot several times and was bleeding to death.
How do we heal the fear that breeds racism? The only way fear ever heals: through courage, which means heart, which means love.
Love will heal the scourge of racist fear and hatred, not in an obvious way but through billions of unrelated and seemingly insignificant acts of courage — people choosing love and compassion instead of giving in to fear.
If you are choosing to parent compassionately, non-punitively, creatively, in partnership with your children, then you are contributing to this long-term, collective healing process. Your children will stay connected to their authentic power, so they won’t be interested in taking power from others, nor will they tolerate any attempts of others to take power from them.
They’ll know that real power is found in partnership with their fellow human beings, regardless of their age, sex, orientation, religion, or race.
The Daily Groove “Classic”
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