UNITY IN AMERICA
After Dallas,
Minnesota, and Louisiana, Let’s Come Together
By Pattie Mosure
In Minnesota and Louisiana two black men are shot and
killed by police. Five police officers
die in Dallas, Texas after being shot by a black assailant. These incidents are tragedies not only for
the victims and their families but of the country we love.
I write this not to assess blame or condemnation. I don’t know what was behind the actions and
motivations of those involved. At this
stage I don’t care. What I do care about
is bringing this country together.
I have a favorite expression: Good comes from bad. Maybe not always but we should try to make it
so, particularly now when we remember the seven who have died in the tragic
events of recent days. Maybe this can
turn us from the confrontation we see too much of these days to a determination
to do better, to get along better.
President Obama got it right when he spoke at the
memorial for the slain peace officers in Dallas. “Scripture
tells us,” the president said, “that in our sufferings there is glory, because
we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and
character, hope. Sometimes the truths of
these words are hard to see. Right now, those words test us. Because the people of Dallas, people across
the country, are suffering.”
Former President
George W. Bush, who lives in Dallas, struck home as well. “Too often we judge other groups by their
worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions.” He added, “And this has strained our bonds of
understanding and common purpose.”
Let us take that
suffering that President Obama spoke of and turn it into hope. Let us use the horrible events of the past
few days to inspire us to conciliation, to cooperation, to hope, and, yes, to
unity as a nation. Let us leave the
divide behind.
Surely we are
capable of doing this. I hope all of us
will listen to our fellow Americans more.
I believe we will be glad we did.
_____________________
Pattie Mosure is
the president of Lee & Grant Company and the wife of a 20-year retired U.S.
Army veteran.
