Wisdom of Our Sister

To the wisdom of our sister that follows this post, I can add only the words of Abraham Lincoln: "What happens in the school house in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next generation."

May educators and administrators not shirk their responsibility--no matter the pressure that's placed upon them!

Rachel Harrison Deavers

Facebook....the place where your opinion matters for a second. So here's mine....

The real problems in America right now are a lack of respect for authority, fear, & anger. 

As a teacher from 1999 (the year of Columbine) to 2013 I stood in a classroom with all types of kids from all types of families. Problems or attitudes in a culture show up in schools before society often recognizes them because kids don't hide who they are and where they are from. They often reflect their home life and attitudes of the influential adults around them. During my teaching career, I began to see a mistrust for anyone in authority & I saw a bowing to parents by people in authority-principals, school board members, etc. There were many instances when I saw what was best for a child, as far as creating a behavioral learning opportunity, side-stepped in order to please a parent. And there were many times when I've seen parents verbally assault teachers & administrators in front of their kids, creating a situation whereby to the student learns to disrespect the authority figure from their parents. What happened in Baltimore & Dallas and all over the country is a much larger version of what I saw. People do not respect authority.

Now, where does that come from? Fear. Fear casts a shadow on any relationship between the people & authority. Instead of having a healthy view or healthy fear of authority figures administering justice, somehow we have a view that ALL people in positions of authority are out for themselves & against the people they are supposed to serve. I'm not making a judgment here as to whether this view is correct or incorrect; it's just happening. Fear of cops and fear in cops is what is leading to these confrontations over & over again. And then the media increases those fears to make people tune into the 24 hr news cycle.

Then comes the anger. Anger over injustice. Anger over how far away we've come from our peace and American ideals. Anger that we don't have the respect that the other group has. Anger, anger, anger.

There is only one cause of all of this. His goal is to steal, kill, & destroy. His purpose is disunity. His purpose is injustice. And there is only one solution; and He is perfect love. In fact His perfect love casts out all fear. It's only in emulating this One that we will heal as a people. If we all started to live more like Him our problems would be solved.

So don't look to your favorite politicians or celebrities to get us out of this one. Don't go seeking justice in the form of laws & rules. SEEK THE PERFECT LOVE OF A FATHER WHO IS LOVE, WHO HIMSELF LOVES JUSTICE, AND WHO LOVED YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBOR MORE THAN YOU EVER COULD!

He loves the cops in Dallas & the man who shot them. He loves the cop in MN and the man he shot. He loves the cops in LA & the man who was pinned to the ground & killed.

He loves the judgmental Christian and the homosexual he criticizes.

He loves the drunk & the pothead.

He loves the drug dealer and the child molester.

He loves the liar and the gossip.

He loves you & the people you despise.

But he wants ALL of us to change and be more like Him.

And he wants the BEST for all of his children. If we could just unite around that?!