For those of you that don’t know what records are, they are vinyl disks that go around on a turntable and the grooves in them come into contact with a needle, connected to an amplifier and speakers. They play music, just like an I-Pod or the Internet, with much more effort and no where near the sound quality of either. It’s what we had until the 70’s and 8-track tapes came along. When a record was scratched or broken, every time it passed the needle, it made a loud and not so melodious noise. Irritating. Persistent. Relentless. Merciless. Unavoidable.

 I HOPE I AM BECOMING A BROKEN RECORD!!!!!!

WE NEED TO WAKE UP.

Until we wake up as individuals and society, more and more damage is going to continue to take place in our world. The shooting of Representative Gabriella Giffords a year ago, like all violence, is absolutely avoidable. The causes are known and the solutions clear. Yet the violence and damage continue. Primarily because you and I don’t think there is anything we can do about it. Nothing is further from the truth.

EVERY SINGLE ACTION YOU AND I TAKE IS EITHER A CONTRIBUTION TO THE SOLUTION OR PART OF THE PROBLEM!

EXAMPLES OF BEING PART OF THE PROBLEM:

1. Raising children who do not know they are loved absolutely and without condition.
2. Not being able to seperate people, including young people, from their points of view or attitudes.
3. Speaking ill of any person.
4. Engaging in third party conversations, i.e. talking behind peoples backs, gossip.
5. Watching or participating in gratuitous violence and/or sexual behavior.
6. Taking the risk of bringing unwanted children into the world.
7. Acting as if the nearly 7 Billion inhabitants (Estimated population as of April 1, 2012) of Earth are not our brothers and sisters.
8. Acting as if you are better than another person.
9. Abusing anyone, including yourself.
10. Blame others for how things got to be this way.

EXAMPLES OF BEING PART OF THE SOLUTION:

1. Coming from a place of loving-kindness, always.
2. Recognizing that being in a place of loving-kindness does not mean don’t act. It means don’t act in a way that is counter to what you want to achieve. “Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
3. Making children our most important priority.
4. Recognizing that there are many ways to access God.
5. Recognizing the divinity of all people.
6. Take responsibility for the condition of our world and remembering that responsibility and ownership have nothing to do with blame, shame or fault.

There is no way of knowing, unless it is discovered in his possessions, whether Gabrielle Gifford’s shooter knew who former Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, was or had ever heard of her. No matter whether he did or not, no one piece of rhetoric is responsible for this kind of violence. You will notice that I have not used the name of the shooter, nor will I again use the name of one committing this kind of violence, because attention is part of what a damage doer seeks. Well people don’t damage others intentionally. Unwell people seek attention through negative actions and unwellness.

Remember the letter that Ronald Reagan’s assassin wrote to Jodie Foster at Yale: “After I shoot the President, you will know who I am.” Unfortunately we continue to act as if there is nothing we can do and consequently we allow people with public access to speak things that are not true without being challenged or questioned. The following are quotes fromSarah Palin following her being accused of being responsible because of her rhetoric of contributing if not causing the violence in Arizona.

“Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own,” the one-time vice presidential candidate-turned-reality-TV-star said. “They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle.”…..”It’s inexcusable and incomprehensible why a single evil man took the lives of peaceful citizens that day,” Palin said.

Contrary to Ms. Palin’s notions, acts of monstrous criminality like Columbine, Hitler’s rise to power and the systematic genocide he committed and the shooting of Representative Gabby Gifford in Arizona arise when people do not value themselves and have no experience of their worth. Every single thing we do influences the whole.

1. Live in a violent society, expect violence.
2. Make children adults before their time, expect damage.
3. Act as if you can correct people into wellness, expect a continuation of violence.
4. Seek out people who see themselves as contributory and responsible.

There are no evil men or women, contrary to Ms. Palin’s opinion, there are only damaged people who take out their violence on other people. Bullies are profoundly unwell, not powerful. Arrogance or acting in anyway superior to another is to openly acknowledge one’s fear and insecurity.

• Decide today what kind of day you intend to make it and how you intend to show up.
• Possibility for all of us resides with the choices we make.
• If you want to continue to create a world full of violence, keep acting as if you have no responsibility for its condition.