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As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day approaches, it seems appropriate to look at our efforts at communal bridge-building. How have we done in the past year reaching out to those around us? Have we spent some time and effort working to make the world beyond our doorsteps into a better place? These seem to be questions that Dr. King might ask of us, and also questions that most ethnic and religious traditions ask. A Jewish focus about these questions comes from the great scholar Hillel, who said: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when? In order to share the world with people that do not appear the same – either because of skin color, ethnicity, nationality, or belief – we must feel positive about our own heritage and selves. We must believe in ourselves – as humans, as citizens of an international community, as Americans, as people of a particular ethnic heritage, and as members of local communities organized around interests and faiths. Only when we feel personal strength, can we look towards others around us and see them as positive as well, even when they are different. Remember, people who feel insecure, or unsure, about themselves, more likely feel less positive towards those who are not like themselves. When we feel threatened we look to surround ourselves with only those who think and look like us, creating a divide between us and those who are different. Start with a strong sense of self – not arrogant, not over-confident, just strong – and then we can move to embrace those who are different, without asking them to become like us. Here is a sense of Hillel’s “being for myself,” and also an answer to Hillel’s second question – once we believe in our own way, then we recognize, in an unthreatened way, that we share the world with others, and then we can work together with them. Hillel teaches that by being both for ourselves, and for those around us, we work towards being better people. Finally, we must do this now! But how? Here are two quick suggestions, for the near future, and I would love to hear from anyone seeking to build more positive communal bridges as well. 1) There is an interfaith communal service on Sunday, January 18, at 4pm, at St. Theresa’s – join with your fellow community members in reflections of communal strengthening in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2) Participate in the Season for Peace and Non-Violence (SPNV), which starts with a kick-off event on Saturday, January 31, at 7:25pm in the Lake Tahoe Community College auditorium. The focus of the SPNV is to use each of its 64 days to reflect on how we can create greater peace in our own lives and throughout our own community. May 2004 be a year in which we all work to build bridges between ourselves and those around us to change the world for the better.
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