Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Good advice relevant to today's political climate.....

There's so much going on in politics that my mind is a jumble trying to sort it all out. Instead of going off on some half hatched opinions, I thought I'd share with you something inspiring that was emailed to me today from the president of Washington & Lee University, Ken Ruscio. It was a message on the university's non-discrimination policy but I think the way he framed it was nicely done. It is also an apropos reminder to all our representatives in Washington D.C.
Respect for each other is a cornerstone of this community, respect that is not based on one's status within the community, one's race, one's gender or one's sexual orientation. We share a common humanity that obligates us to be mindful of the benefit each of us derives from working alongside individuals with unique talents, strengths and backgrounds.

I think I'll print it out and post it on my wall is a constant reminder.

2 comments:

David A. Davison said...

Kind of reminds you of the Muppets doesn't it? Or being in band? No matter who you were, you were accepted because you were just another band geek and that's all that mattered.

Life Junkie said...

Excactly! We have the tendency to want to classify someone immediately instead of getting to know them as a person.

It happened yesterday with the 17 year old boy that I tutor in the high school. We were walking down the hallway together when one of the administrators said hi to us. After he passed, my student told me he never says hi back because the guy looks like a prick. I tried to explain to him that first impressions shouldn't be the only thing used to make a final conclusion. He just kinda gave me a funny look but hopefully he filed that away somewhere.....