Last night I was driving to a meeting and got thinking about the days events in London. First, ALA Exec Board members have heard from our President (Michael Gorman) that he is safe in London. He is there at the CLIP meeting representing ALA. That was good news.
The events there had me first thinking about the four days I spent at the Rotary International Convention in Chicago just ahead of ALA. London is a diverse community with folks from all over the globe, not unlike the Rotary Convention which had folks from 162 countries around the world. Many dressed in the clothes native to their countries so there were folks from Africa in colorful dresses and shirts (many with a colorful print which included the Rotary wheel), from various Asian countries, and a bunch of Scotsmen in kilts.
It got me to thinking about who was likely to be on the subways and buses of London: Britishers on their way to work; immigrants from the former British colonies in Africa and Asia; tourists from the Continent and the U.S.; in other words, it looked just like the crowds in McCormick Place from June 18 - 22.
Why do people do the horrible things like setting off bombs. The backlash against the people or groups responsible is not going to help the presumed cause.
I was driving by the Hemlock and Aspetuck Resevoirs. They are the source of drinking water for the greater Bridgeport area, and are owned by the Aquarion Company (founded originally by P.T. Barnum). It is a beautiful drive along the shore, and I got to thinking about human nature.
Over the years I have noticed that people who are truly happy, are accepting of others they way they are. Happy people don't care about the color of your skin, the religion you practice/don't practice, who you love. They accept each individual. It is the people who are unhappy who seem to be driven to have everyone be like them. They want everyone else in the world to think and act they way that they think and act. I have to admit....I try to be like those who are happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment