Don’t let current hate, madness infect us
In the Bible, at Luke 10:29 Jesus is asked “Who is my neighbor?” And Jesus responds with a story about how a person of the Samaritan faith (that was considered as unacceptable by the Jews) showed he was a good neighbor to a Jew. Check it out through verse Luke 10:37.
You don’t need any Christian faith experience to benefit from the story. It’s just great social studies for today’s madness of treating other ethnic and cultural groups with a lack of empathy, dignity and respect.
I am writing this letter on “Giving Back Day” which is, unfortunately, the same day The Bee reported a person delivered a hate letter to the Fresno Islamic Center. No, I am not a Muslim and I am not a Latino, even though I can speak Persian from the Peace Corps and Spanish from working in Mexico.
What I am is just a voice in Kings County calling out to my neighbors to dignify and respect all our cultures as brothers and sisters. Don’t let the current hate and madness infect us.
“Because we are different provides the opportunity for harmony like an orchestra,” is an old Sufi saying.
Dave Jones, Hanford
This story was originally published December 5, 2016 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Don’t let current hate, madness infect us."