We have a mutual responsibility to engage with that which appears to be in juxtaposition to all that we are. Whatever our creed, ethnicity, or culture, we have the potential to communicate and co-operate with one another like never before. But will we? Which is the wolf we are feeding?
For all our advancements in communications technology it seems we still have a deep and sometimes dangerous fear of those different from ourselves. We can communicate in ever more instant ways and yet this freedom also provides a platform to amplify our fears and prejudices of all that is ‘other’. “Who is my neighbour?” This question was once posed to Jesus who responded with what is called the ‘Parable of the Good Samaritan’.
Names have the ability to be creative, inclusive, affirming. But names used negatively have the ability to do the complete opposite and become destructive, exclusive, undermining. Names have power to build up and break down. From pet names, to nick names, to rude names – we learn the power of names from the playground upwards.
We cannot change the past but we can learn from it and faithfully shape the future. ‘Tomorrow’ is a precious gift that has been entrusted to us by those who gave their ‘today’.
