After this week I now know the feeling that comes when a dozer levels a wooded
lot. I guess the land owner is pleased with the progress of the clearing.
Ironically mrs dirtyrig was presenting a session on habitat preservation to
100 2nd graders while the dozer was busy knocking trees down right behind her.
Change is hard, change is inevitable. I know the land owner. He is our new
neighbor. He built a relationship with us over the past few years. So while
it is painful to watch the destruction it helps to know the man who will be
living in the new space opened by the destructive works.
It is hard to witness.
How would I respond differently if the land owner was a young person? Would I
trust that they ultimately had a worthy plan for the land? Would I forgive them
for the changes to my world? What if the land owner was an immigrant?
Would I be as generous with my forgiveness?
How would I forgive them if they were a woman, black, hispanic, transgender?
What if they were a white supremacist? What if they were a nationalist? What if
my neighbor was my own son?
I know for sure that I would respond in a different manner. There is a popular
hashtag #lovethyneighbor that is typically followed with 'no exceptions'. On
the surface it seems easy.... but it is a lot of work. Can I do it? Would I
have done it?
