BRIDGES, a URI member group in Bulgaria, hosts an event where young people meet and forge friendships with youth of different backgrounds, religions, and cultures. "The fabric holds."
When the fabric is quietly, lovingly sewn together, hardly anyone notices. But when the fabric is brutally ripped apart, all heads turn toward it.
So it is with the fabric of society. Slowly, the children immigrate from countries around the world and find themselves together in playgrounds, schools, swimming pools. Patiently, the parent teaches the child to respect children of other races, religions and cultures. Deliberately, the children are taught that all people are created equal. The fabric is beautiful to behold and is the muted treasure that makes life livable and promising. The fabric holds.
But then...the most powerful man on earth says, “I have the support of the police, the support of the military...I have tough people, but they don’t play it tough until they get to a certain point, and then it will be very bad, very bad.” The bone-crushing threat! In order to rip asunder the fabric of the respectful society and to instill a regime of intimidation whereby dissenters are promised the “very bad” wrath of the police, the military! Do these words sound familiar? Not in America but certainly in other countries at other times. The message is: don’t displease the leader or he will unleash the chaos of brutality on us.
Did anyone else hear the American fabric tear asunder? Why aren’t all heads turning toward it?
Bottom line: in our hearts and in our actions, we either chose unity or we chose division. This great experiment, the United States of America, is based on the positive potential of unity. I work for the United Religions Initiative which “believe(s) that our religious, spiritual lives, rather than dividing us, guide us to build community and respect for one another.” I believe in sewing threads of societal fabric, slowly, patiently, deliberately. The threat to use the powers of weaponry against us has been uttered. As the President says, the day is coming. Thread or Threat! No one sits this one out.
