Sameness

It's all around us, this focus on differences. Democrats and Republicans. Christians and Muslims. Blacks and Browns. Men and Women. We're different. We should accept, even embrace, these differences. Celebrate diversity. I do, by the way, and I appreciate others allowing for my differentness.

And then I see the coverage on the devastation in Japan. It looks a lot like the coverage of the devastation in Haiti. And New Orleans. Same.

The faces, reflecting all those emotions - despair, worry, fear, anguish, numbness, relief - all those same emotions you and I feel and express. All those same emotions people in every culture everywhere feel and express everyday. Sameness.

Maybe it isn't morbid curiosity that compels us to watch this type of news coverage. Maybe what holds our attention is an identification with those feelings, those reactions. We can only imagine how we might feel in those situations, but we CAN imagine it. Because at our cores, we truly do want the same things for ourselves and our loved ones.

I can't help but wonder if things would improve if we were to celebrate sameness.



.