FOOTPRINTS

 

They had a civilization…a way of life…a culture they held dear…this land was sacred to them…they buried their ancestors here.

When we didn’t understand their civilization…their culture…how they talked, lived, danced or prayed…we called them wild…we called them savages…and then we took their lands and their culture away.

We brought them over in chains on ships across the seas…We took them from their lands, their homes…we stole them from their families.

We did not like their color…didn’t understand they could be proud or noble or brave…We called them less than human…and we turned them into slaves.

We have treated many people shamefully in this country…women, LGBTQ+, Japanese, Muslims can be added to the list…and I’m sure there are some groups or individuals I probably have missed.

There are only two reasons for treating another human being…in a way that’s so unfair…either we didn’t know any better…or, perhaps, we just didn’t care.

Neither reason is a good one…never…never….never

For the shadows or our inhumanity will stay with them…forever..

Because whenever we do an injustice to another person…cause their harm;…their pain…their dying…the spirits of those we hurt will never stop their crying.

Oh, how I wish we could change all this…to have life put on the breaks…so we could go back tin time and reverse our horrible mistakes.

But no matter how many times we’ve hoped or or wished or got on our knees and prayed…we cannot erase the footprints we’ve already made.

But we can take a close look at those footprints… at the pain they caused…the shock

and try to be more careful in the future as to where and how we walk.