Building Bridges--Not Walls

photo courtesy of MarineCorps NewYork/ flickr
"Troops become citizens on Liberty Island"

One of the charges we all have is to make sure that we live up to our name: United States of America. As we know every generation must hammer this dream out for themselves until it becomes a reality. Remember the pledge of allegiance: "with liberty and justice for all." 

There have always been forces in our country that would divide instead of unite. We must all make sure that we are part of the all-ness that our forebears dreamed of. 

Wise theologian Walter Brueggemann throws out this challenge in his book, Journey to the Common Good.

"The great crisis among us is the crisis of 'the common good,' the sense of community solidarity that binds all in a common destiny--haves and have-nots, the rich and the poor. We face a crisis about the common good because there are powerful forces at work among us to resist the common good, to violate community solidarity, and to deny a common destiny. Mature people, at their best, are people who are committed to the common good that reaches beyond private interests, transcends sectarian commitments, and offers human solidarity."

photo by Celso Flores / flickr


--Roger Lovette / rogerlovette.blogspot.com