It is offensive to read the opinion of others or even our own at times. I know I suffer this malady at times. That offense surely applies to the guest commentary by Edwin Axton about the homeless in Everett. (Friday, “Demand that officials make streets safe.”) Clearly he shares a view that others also hold; that is, too little is happening to address homelessness. I agree, but have another way to address this reality in mind, and it coincides with the much-needed implementation of the Everett Streets Initiative. Yet Axton demeans many of us seeking to address homelessness as “socialist” or not having “intestinal gall” or being “bleeding hearts,” and as being unclear on “the principles of their stated biblical mission.” What a surprise to me that he wonders why the mayor might be hesitant to return his message!
We call ourselves a civil society, and we are, until we are not. Opinions are not generally the friend of civility. In fact, when opinion declares others are “aimless souls” or con artists or “pests” in need of “pest control” or “vermin,” we are all demeaned, including the writer and every reader. We are also demeaned when well-meaning first responders decide to move someone to another jurisdiction, proving more than anything that we are not particularly good neighbors. What’s next? A wall? Opinions are also walls, built between, among, and within us. Can we practice civility? And maybe with that, use our good brains for building up rather than tearing down? We need everyone with their best head on their shoulders and an open heart to address the harm homelessness causes to everyone, especially those who are homeless. So, please, get better informed, and let the sword of opinion become the ploughshare of mutual remedies.
The Rev. Bill Kirlin-Hackett,
Director, Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness
Lynnwood
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