Sal's Reflections

I was reminded yesterday again how small the world is. Jayson Collins a professional basketball player revealed that he is a gay man. His grandmother worked for my in laws years ago and she was intensely proud of Jayson and his brother. Both were marvelous athletes and exceptional students, and she kept our family abreast of all of their accomplishments. Yesterday the world learned that Jayson was a gay man and immediately the airwaves were filled with those who support him and those who feel that this is a ploy to further an agendum that they find unacceptable.
I applaud this decision to be the first athlete still in the league to openly state who he is.It takes courage to share the most private part of one’s life and I look forward to the day when this is no longer the exception rather than the norm. Whether we are straight or gay the day has arrived when more and more people realize that love does not know race, gender or sexual preference.
I have always rooted for Jayson on the court, and now I have the privilege of rooting for him off the court as well.

We learned again in Boston that there is a price to pay for our way of life. The freedom to congregate, celebrate and have access to major sporting events has long standing tradition in this land. In the midst of the cheers and support for all the runners two people who had no grasp of what has made this a place where dreams are always possible committed murderous acts. Their hatred and misguided cause will make us more aware, and some of our way of life will have new restraints. However, we cannot and will not become a place where all of our freedoms are ended. We may be more cautious and look over our shoulders but the price of freedom is to resist the temptation to abandon that which makes this still a place that is open and free.
The events temporarily terrorized not only Boston but the entire country, but like the aftermath of 9/11 we will hold the hands of the wounded, mourn the deaths of those murdered and stand tall by never allowing hatred to prevent our endless search for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Washington D.C. and as I watched all of the people enjoying the glorious sunshine I thought about the Boston Marathon victims. Many are in the first phase of adapting to a life they could not have imagined before the event. Some have lost limbs and face ordinary tasks of the past with mammoth challenges.The psychological and physical trauma will not vanish because the culprits have been apprehended. They face days ,months and years to piece together their new realities. The burst of support for them was important, but ongoing signs that we truly care will be the foundations that enable them to press on.

It dawns on me that each one of us can change the world through our own part of social media. It is stunning when you consider all of the people within your network and then expand it to all of your friend’s networks. If each of us focused on some act of commitment toward changing the world for the better it would be like a series of positive waves. Imagine if each day we dedicated ourselves to making the lives of all children better or to remember the children murdered in Newtown by seeking common ground on sensible gun legislation. It is wonderful to communicate with all of those people who make our lives special, but imagine what good we can do together each day. There is a wealth of talent and human concern in all of the networks and harnessed it is not naïve to believe we can alter the world for the better.

We are constantly aware of the differences between red and blue States. Politically through the years there is a plethora of data that suggests we see the world differently based on our location in the states. There are often harsh words hurled back and forth from these diverse areas ,and at times it appears that there are no bridges over troubled waters. However, in the past two weeks those differences have been set aside by our compassion and concern for our fellow citizens. Massachusetts did not seem so foreign to Texans when Boston was in the throes of a terrorist nightmare. Houston, Dallas and every Texas community joined in their pledge of assistance and compassion. Bostonians reciprocated when a horrible series of explosions devastated the community of West,Texas.Those political and cultural differences that separate good people seemed trite, and the desire to help was resident in both red and blue states. Tragedy showed us that underneath the harsh rhetoric there is a commitment to all Americans, and hopefully we will retain some of this respect and concern whether our neighbors are in red or blue states.

So much time has been spent on the family of the Boston bombers that lost in the shuffle are the family members who at this moment are motivated by love .Some bear the burden of a lost child while others visit loved ones who have lost limbs or suffered brain injuries. Everyday of their lives has been changed forever but their commitment and devotion are unyielding. There is also the larger family of Bostonians who have been selfless in their commitment to all who have suffered. There are no strangers in this story because each and every person that has suffered has been adopted by Boston and every person with a good heart. Two dysfunctional human beings willfully chose hatred, but that decision should not blind us to the goodness of countless people who have portrayed the wonder of family love.

Most people grow up in the real world with some group being the object of a stereotype. I know in my own experience it was painful to experience the consistent “Mafia” image indiscriminately applied to all Italians. I know that this can also be applied to people of color, Jews and literally every racial and ethnic group. In the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombing I have noticed some inflammatory references towards Muslims in the Media ,and unfortunately in some overheard conversations in my area. What occurred was heinous but it is harmful and dangerous to take the actions of two terrorists and apply their behavior to the rest of the Muslim community. Muslims are like any other group and to question their patriotism by the standard of this incident is unfair, dangerous and counter to our belief system.Now is not the time to finger point and find villains. It is more than being politically correct, it is about being fully a place where we base behavior on rationality not raw emotion.

It is heartwarming to see the solidarity in America when something like last week’s tragedy occurrs. However, it would be a great tribute to the American spirit that we not revert back to our polarized behavior. Disagreement and diversity are iron strong components of our democracy but they become divisive if they are not accompanied by respect for those who have different views. We leaned on each other this past week and felt the common bonds of our beliefs, and I believe it is a good time to honor those feelings by continuing to listen and seek common ground on all the challenges we face.

It is only a week since the awful event that occurred at the Boston marathon but lives have been changed forever. Some have been buried, others are facing years of therapy and adjustment, and all have been changed by the experience. It will not be the same in Boston or for that matter anywhere in our country. The events have changed us and at some level we know that we are all vulnerable. However ,we are a resilient people who will not spend every second cowering in fear. We will remember what hatred can do to innocents without being immobilized by the realization that it may and will probably happen again. Like that awful day in 2001 we will find resolve and strength in the courage and love that has so abundantly been evidenced by so many in this tragedy. We will remember and renew our resolve to lead our lives with a commitment to never let hatred rule the patterns of freedom that have so richly blessed this land.

To all you losers creating weapons of destruction in your shabby hiding places I think there is a lot you need to know about Americans. We have strong differences of opinions, and you might take comfort in the fact that we are split in many ways. We argue and march over issues like the size of government, the deficit, unions and a host of social issues like gay marriage. Some of us are extremely conservative and others are ultra liberal. Many were vocal in their displeasure with President Bush and many feel the same way about President Obama. We worship differently and have the right to believe or not believe. There are tremendous cultural differences in our land ,and because most have come from other places we have literally thousands of traditions and customs. At first glance you may think that all of these differences will cause a wedge that you can exploit. You may feel a warmth as you wire your weapons and read whatever your manifesto is, but let me tell you that you are on a road to complete failure. The one thing we have in common is that we are all Americans and despite our differences we love this land with a passion which blocks out a billion times whatever your belief system is. Nothing you have or will do will ever make us lose faith in each other. You may kill some of us, and others may take years to overcome the harm you inflict but all you will do is make us temporarily nervous. We have been bombed in 1941 and have shed our blood on beaches all over the globe. Time after time miniscule brains like yours have decided to take us on, and check the records because there is a long line of losers that made that fatal mistake. My advice to you is return all the parts of the bombs you were making, get your money back and rethink whatever motivates you to believe that you can destroy the will of the American people. You in the end will be safer trying to push a rope up a Bengal Tiger’s behind than believing you can quell the American spirit.