Sometimes it is just plain difficult to recognize that I am part of a criminal species. I am a member of homo sapiens, a member of a species that I am certain killed many of its own kind last night. I haven’t seen the newspaper yet, but I am certain that I will once again receive the news of what we have criminally done to one another.
It is hard to be frequently reminded that I am one of those creatures who kill one another, cheat other humans and take advantage of the weaker members of our species. We are a species most capable of insight and compassion, and yet we use our advanced intellect to cause harm and havoc among our own species.
It is hard to daily hear more news of celebrated criminals whose political power allows them to do harm to many fellow humans. For this they are idolized and applauded. I live among many countrymen who are thrilled to have elected champions who punish the poor and shield us from those who might want to share in our abundance.
It is hard to be one of the criminals who participate in the destruction of parts of the earth out of greed and power and not out of need. How can I be comfortable to be part of a species made up of billions of people willing to ignore and even exploit an environmental disaster. We invite our own destruction and ignore our self-imposed fate.
It is hard to live among criminals, and it is especially difficult to recognize that, in my own way, I am one of them. I have my own individual role I play in the mob action that causes harm and havoc all across the world.
I have my own life of privilege that is built on the harm and deprivation of many others. Still, I rise each morning and take my part in this criminal drama that shields and comforts me in many ways.
I wonder who of us will be left. Who of us will survive to give and receive forgiveness for our criminal behavior? Who of us be left to repair and rise above what has been criminally done?