6% for the governor

I finished my purchase and the salesperson added, "and 6% for the governor." How hard would it be to speak the truth: "6% for the health, safety, and well-being of our community?" Call me naive, but I wonder where the money to repair the collapsed 35W bridge or to prevent further collapse is supposed to come from? Or the money for the police and fire vehicles I hear regularly sirening their way north or south on highway 41 visible from my kitchen window. Or support of our schools which should be the best we can offer our children. Or keeping our land free of pollution. Or solutions to the problems of homelessness and starvation.

Maybe it's because I've been around so long, but I can remember when we pulled together as a community to make life better for all of us. Did it take the horror of WWII to do that, following up on the disaster of the "great" depression? Do we have some kind of objection to peaceful progress?

'Nuff said for today.

Forgiveness and Restorative Justice -- Different?

I've been challenged to keep my blog focused on one topic in order to avoid confusion.  More specifically, it was suggested that I might have two blogs, one for Forgiveness and another for Restorative Justice. (Of course, in either case I'd reserve the right to talk about other stuff, like what happens when I can't sleep.)

The challenge came up when I referred to two things I'll be doing in October at Shepherd Of The Hill Presbyterian Church. (See my link to the church). On Saturday, October 4, I get the opportunity to do an all-day workshop on forgiveness and on Tuesday, October 14, I expect to participate in the dialogue series by presenting on "Save One; Save All: Restorative Justice/Restored Community."

I decided against separation into two blogs because Forgiveness and Restorative Justice rely basically on the same thing -- good problem solving as opposed to the emotional but vain and short-lived pleasure of vengeance.  In the long run, what action will do the most good for individuals and, more broadly, for the community of which we are a part? And both attend first to the needs of the victim(s) of wrongdoing.