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Friends, we need to do something to drown out the hate right now. It is hard to ignore the increase in violence, in prejudice, in division, and we need to walk swiftly up the escalator toward higher ground or we will go under.
The truth is, there are far more lovers than there are haters, but good Lord we seem silent in comparison. In the face of terror. In the face of hate speech. In the face of provocation we must choose to love loudly, to love boldly, to love generously.
Not since the time of the Civil War have we seen this much division amongst our people. Each side digging their heels across every line of difference. Our news sources have become polarized. Our parties have become extremified. Our communities have become caricatured and we are losing our ability to connect in our shared humanity. Enough is enough!
In this critical moment, we can not choose to be silent. By doing nothing, we allow the tone to be set by those who leverage our fear of one another as bait.
From May 1-10, more than 170 organizations and corporations in South Florida are joining together to kick off this year’s “10 Days of Connection”. During these ten days, we ask everyone in South Florida to purposefully build a relationship with someone across a line of difference. Someone who has a different way of life. Someone you’ve never taken the time to connect with. Someone who you think might not be interested in connecting with you. Your choice. But do it and do it loudly. There’s a massive calendar of connection events if you don’t know where to start. Events where the entire purpose is for people to connect in their shared humanity.
Join an event. Host an event. Or just invite someone to a meal who is different from you in some way. Show up. Not just for your own growth but for the sake of all of us. The toxic hate around us can not be diffused with silence. It’s up to us to be louder.
We are better than this and from May 1-10, we will drown out the hate. Join in. Go to www.10DaysofConnection.org to learn more, and to help shape this initiative.