to create a resolution that all sides are willing to honor. If we don’t, then we run the risk of never resolving the issue, or of imposing our will. Both
“We have to live our convictions.”
lead to continued conflict and unrest. Integrity and Accountability Are Vital
In today’s social media era, it’s difficult to know what’s genuine and what’s not. There are certainly people who are vocal because it’s good for business or because it’s the “right” thing to do. Some might argue that I wrote this post because it’s the “right” thing to do. All I can tell you is that I wrote it because I’ve made a commitment to my role in helping to make a difference and resolving this conflict. If you’ve made it this far through the post, then I suspect you may have similar intentions. We can be expected to do only what we say we’re going to do: To live with integrity and be accountable for our actions. That’s what many are asking of our law enforcement, our judicial system, and our government. But it’s also what we must ask of ourselves. We can’t just say that we want change; we have to be the change. We can’t just say that we want things to be better; we have to go make them better. We can’t just tell people about our convictions; we have to live our convictions. If we’re not willing to hold ourselves accountable, then how can we hold others accountable? As I said at the outset, this post is personal to me. The opinions are mine alone. I’m sharing them with you in hopes that they might inspire action to move the conversation forward. I believe that we need to resolve these ongoing conflicts in a meaningful way. I encourage you to do whatever you feel your part should be. Thank you for taking the time to consider my point of view.
— identifying the conflicts that exist within ourselves and consider how they may differ from person to person — that will allow us to begin our journey forward. Change Can’t Happen Without Listening Once we’ve acknowledged our conflicts, it’s time to listen. When we seek to resolve interpersonal conflicts, we must attempt to understand both sides of them. This past weekend, I was on a webinar hosted by the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity: Black Trauma: Police, Politics, and a Path Forward . The fraternity could easily have conducted this webinar without including numerous voices, but they didn’t. They hosted a police chief, politicians, attorneys, professionals, and community activists. All of them shared the goal of carving out a path forward, but each came with unique perspectives and conflicts. The one thing they shared? They listened more than they spoke. I believe that in order to resolve any conflict, we must first seek to understand it. We have to ask questions. We have to challenge our own thinking. We have to listen and gain empathy for the other side in order
“I leave those choices to you.”
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