From the desk of Karl Bimshas

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Hi Reader,

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If you prefer, you can listen here.​

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Beyond Vengeance and Denial

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What frustrates people is others' lack of accountability. Getting away with something once is a lucky break, twice is an annoyance, thrice is an injustice, four or more times is an abomination.

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This is where it becomes dangerous because the thirst for vengeance grows. But vengeance does not heal a wrong. Only justice can do that. And justice, whether legal, political, poetic, or moral, is not distributed equally.

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There are thumbs on the scales, and because the affliction is so broad, if justice doesn't favor you, you assume you’ve been cheated. And you are right in this belief often enough to be distrustful. We must work to return justice. We must find a place to inhabit where, although an outcome may not be ruled in our favor, we accept the result because the process was fair.

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We must reject the escalation of small matters and the trivialization of the significant. There is unfairness, oppression, vilification, and hatred. The wronged feel justified, and the righteous feel a supremacy. The advocates of peace are threatened. The hate-mongers are idolized. Too many are tripping over the threshold of basic decency. One is tempted to urge a cooling-down period. An appeal to lower the temperature. These pleas appear strongest when the oppressed find ways to be heard and the oppressors feel threatened for the first time. A sample taste of their deeds, mirrored to them, creates pearl-clutching horrors.

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This has always been a violent nation; it is ridiculous, ignorant, or disingenuous to claim otherwise. What has always been does not have to always be. We can transform our culture and systems. We can make bold, uncomfortable, yet fair changes. Every citizen, some with loud and persistent resistance, has shown the ability to adjust and adapt. It is time for our institutions to catch up.

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We cannot sustain our cognitive dissonance. We cannot continue to transpose facts and opinions. It requires the best of us, and the dreams of better tomorrow’s to confront the worst of us and the fears we inherit from the past.

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This is not a call to forgive the hateful, nor a plea to gather around the campfire and sing. It is a challenge, an unfortunately difficult one in this era. We must seek to see commonality before differences. The angels before the demons. The point of view before the point of contention. We need to reach a place where we celebrate our differences and unite against threats to our values.

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Values can unite or separate. We are a multifaceted nation, with unique traditions and beliefs. That is our strength; we must not let adversaries convince us it is a weakness. When we come together around shared values, we are at our best. When consumed by righteous anger and a list of vendettas, we are at our worst.

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We have never agreed on everything, nor will we. That is annoying yet good, because it forces us to practice patience, tolerance, and understanding. For many, these skills are seen as weaknesses. They are mistaken. They are essential tools of discernment. Our national supply of discernment, dignity, and justice has fallen critically low. Each of us must, in our own way, help to replenish these reserves and restore the nation’s humanity lest we forfeit both.

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Keep advancing in the direction of your dreams, and help others along the way.

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-Karl

Karl Bimshas

Leadership Systems Architect | Author

KARL BIMSHAS CONSULTING

No Accountability. No Leadership.

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