Today, more than ever, I am thankful for the growing awareness of our moral lapses and failures as a great nation. Looking in the mirror is not easy. We will not hide from our failures. With our eyes wide open, we will humbly ask, “God mend our every flaw, Confirm our Soul in self control, our liberty in law!” (America the Beautiful lyrics). In this new year I am hopeful that those who “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) will continue to expose the raw nerves of our culture’s chronic inequalities. I am doubly hopeful that through the work of dialogue at your favorite coffee shop, in the classrooms of study or in the exchange of opinions in print, together we will find a new path forward. Like the feeling of a fever that finally broke, this great gift of free speech, especially in the marketplace of daily life, will open the door for healing between opposing views. This is the America that works. Respectful conversations will set the stage for justice. Anyone for coffee?
Terry Frovik
Lake Shore
