Responding as We

Let us respond from a sense of we.
We the community of the world.

We may all be targets of violence.
None of us want that.

We offer condolences and sympathies
to the loved ones of those who died from violence.

We hope for healing and recovery
the those injured by violence.

We pray for the broken minds and souls
of those driven to do violence.

We promise to work
to connect with those we disagree with.

We commit to quiet
our overly judgmental selves and listen more.

We hope for better times
and know we must co-labor to bring them.

The labor starts with you and me,
and becomes ours, and then?

Let us begin, and continue,
and never give up on each other.

About the Author

Rabbi Jonathan Freirich, a Reconstructionist and Reform rabbi, with training in public policy and community organizing, originally from New York City, now coalition-builds, facilitates, listens, learns, and writes in Buffalo, New York. Dedicated to compassion and cooperation, thoughtfulness and thinking, and effective collaborative actions, Jonathan aims to contribute to a better connected, more peaceful, and more sustainable world.