in the town . They perceived that powerful people didn ’ t seem to care that lives were being stolen from those left behind . In time , as their resentment grew , leaders emerged to harness and express it . Whereas before , harmony appeared to be a hallmark of these towns , now discord reigns .
We say that it takes two to tangle , meaning that responsibility lies on both sides of most disagreements . When we quarrel , we tell simple stories to defend our points of view . To move ahead , we need to accept that things are more complicated than we like to admit . Accordingly , we may need to accept that progress saved a town , but it also created winners and losers . We may need to pay more attention to what was lost and who lost it . Or , we may need to understand that there is no going back
to a way of living that feels lost to us . We can shape history into the future , but we cannot freeze it in the present or turn it back . Moreover , as much as we long for the way things once were , we may need to admit that those ways favoured the people who were seen to belong . They didn ’ t favour everyone .
In an age prone to polarization , perhaps we need a goal that can inspire and instruct all sides , a goal like Martin Luther King Jr .’ s “ beloved community .” The beloved community , King taught , is not a place without differences . It is a place where everyone belongs .
Lloyd Den Boer is a retired educator . He and his wife live in Edmonton where they do their best to inspire more harmony than discord .
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SUPREME EGYPT
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