All Are Welcome
Thanks, Jeff. It's good to know that the cavalry is coming directly.
I'm told some of our conservative friends will soon arrive and be reading, and of course commenting. That's fabulous -- I may sometimes be snide and cheeky, but this Loggia belongs to the world.
Let's face it: when push comes to shove, we're all in this together. None of us are nutcases (well, OK, I may be one... on occasion) -- disagreements are a healthy and necessary element of community life, especially in this community of which we are each a full and equal part (or, as I like to say, "we're all just a drop in the bucket").
If we air our differences in a manner which is mutually respectful of others' contributions, is logical and doesn't resort to ad hominem attack -- i.e. condemning everyone who doesn't agree to hell and defaming their competence and experience because we see things differently -- then we are all the better for the exchange of views. If I am in any ways guilty of this, then I seek that mercy which is greater than my faults.
I'll be the first to admit that I like going over-the-top. It's my nature -- I am one of those Italians who kicks and screams his way through crowds. But the state of things reflects such a polarization that, if we don't shut up and listen to each other when one among us gets really fired up, can be crippling. None of us has all the balance, all the level-headedness, nor all the facts. And more than just sometimes do we all need a little shock to get us out of our respective cocoons and talk to and hear out each other, and thus learn from those around us. That's what community is, that's what the church should be.
If I'm doing a little bit of that through this medium, then I am humbly grateful. So let's build some bridges, not walls. Speak up!
Benvenuti a tutti!
-30-
I'm told some of our conservative friends will soon arrive and be reading, and of course commenting. That's fabulous -- I may sometimes be snide and cheeky, but this Loggia belongs to the world.
Let's face it: when push comes to shove, we're all in this together. None of us are nutcases (well, OK, I may be one... on occasion) -- disagreements are a healthy and necessary element of community life, especially in this community of which we are each a full and equal part (or, as I like to say, "we're all just a drop in the bucket").
If we air our differences in a manner which is mutually respectful of others' contributions, is logical and doesn't resort to ad hominem attack -- i.e. condemning everyone who doesn't agree to hell and defaming their competence and experience because we see things differently -- then we are all the better for the exchange of views. If I am in any ways guilty of this, then I seek that mercy which is greater than my faults.
I'll be the first to admit that I like going over-the-top. It's my nature -- I am one of those Italians who kicks and screams his way through crowds. But the state of things reflects such a polarization that, if we don't shut up and listen to each other when one among us gets really fired up, can be crippling. None of us has all the balance, all the level-headedness, nor all the facts. And more than just sometimes do we all need a little shock to get us out of our respective cocoons and talk to and hear out each other, and thus learn from those around us. That's what community is, that's what the church should be.
If I'm doing a little bit of that through this medium, then I am humbly grateful. So let's build some bridges, not walls. Speak up!
Benvenuti a tutti!
-30-
posted by Rocco Palmo at 15:02
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