Don't pretend it didn't happen

Oh, no!  I see that I have failed to post here during February.  I feel like a failure. It was my only real goal for my blog… to post at least once a month - and I have mostly succeeded for well over a decade.

But now I have failed.

What should I do with my failure?  

Too late to fix it.  

Okay; my first thought was that maybe I could still write something and pre-date it.  

To pretend the failure didn’t happen.

To give the appearance of doing well.

Or I can choose to admit my error and move on.

Go ahead and write a post for this month - or maybe even two.

But don’t pretend to be perfect.

.  .  .  .  .

Diana Butler Bass recently wrote about her visit to The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Two female names and one “unknown” caught her attention - all died the same day in Calhoun County, Georgia.  When she asked about them, she found this:  

After Calvin Mike voted in Calhoun County, Georgia, in 1884,

a white mob attacked and burned his home,

lynching his elderly mother and his two young daughters,

Emma, age 6, and Lillie, age 4.

Diana Butler Bass continues:   "I wanted to reach through time and throw myself between them and the mob; I wanted to save them. I wanted them to grow up to be women, to have their own children and grandchildren."

.  .  .  .  .

I too wished there was something I could do.

I didn’t even know about so much of this national horror until recently.

Now that I do know, I am appalled.

It’s too late to fix it.

We can't turn back the clock.

We can’t pretend it didn’t happen.

To give the appearance that all is well.

.  .  .  .  .

It is a bit absurd to compare these horrific stories with my silly little tale about my blog failure. Of course they are nothing alike… except maybe for that sneaky temptation to pretend it never happened.  To try to give the impression that everything is fine. 

But once again, the only thing I know to do is to admit the truth. And my ignorance. And then to take time to learn anything I can about how to stand for justice now.

Do the best you can until you know better.

Then when you know better, do better.

- Maya Angelou

The National Memorial for Peace & Justice...

A sacred space for truth-telling and reflection

about racial terror in American and its legacy.