This Time, Hoping for Conversation that Matters to Us

Much ado about last week’s arrest of a Harvard professor by a Cambridge police officer.  The arrest and its ongoing dispute certainly hit a nerve with me, and, obviously, with President O. Not sure that all the drama, investigations, possible lawsuits, trash-talk, apologies, meet ups over beer, and Presidential pronouncements will do much to help sort out the real issues.  Aside from reoccurring tensions surrounding race and the role of police and government in our lives, maybe the issue is simple – that we just don’t know each other.

Big ups to President O for stepping into this issue – let’s not get upset with him for jumping to conclusions; being too political or not political enough; being unhelpful; calling it as he sees it; or, being real.  He can bring attention to the right issues and help us understand how this incident should matter to all of us and how we build good communities and a place in our society for everyone.  Let’s hope he can artfully push us towards better conversations about race.

Even better, greater to have gatherings and in depth reporting about compassion and the kind of neighbor I am?  Have I taken the time to really understand the narratives, language, viewpoint and stories that are important to the people I live and work with?  Have I taken the time to share my joys and concerns, too?  Do people, learned about each other, get themselves stuck in situations like the one in Cambridge?  Will I treat all people I encounter, despite their own personal narratives, better if I just took more time to understand my neighbor?

Hoping this time we get the conversation right.  And, hoping we all can be our better selves next time.  Peace.

By the way – Nice opportunity to check out Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink.