What the World Needs Now…

We are entering the season of love – Valentine’s Day

St. Valentine was a martyr and there are different versions of his story. St. Valentine of Rome was executed on February 14, 269 because he refused to denounce his Christian faith. The other Saint Valentine story emerges during the Middle Ages and was recognized with love, loyalty, and devotion because in mid-February birds paired into couples, signifying the rebirth of spring.

We have been thinking about the upcoming season of love, loyalty, and devotion. Families are made of love, loyalty, and devotion, but what happens when your loved one is murdered by racism? Murdered by a racist, by a police officer who is sworn to protect us. We are watching the news reports and viewing the footage, watching the families cry out in agony. What about the families we watch who are identifying their loved ones’ bullet riddled bodies after a mass shooting? We hear their cries of anguish. As a society, are we becoming numb? Or are we becoming so scared for our loved ones and for ourselves that we cannot hear their pain any longer? Are violence and murder becoming the “new normal?”

Peace in Action does not want this to become the “new normal.” Everyone needs to practice love, loyalty, and devotion. Tyre Nichols’ mother RowVaughn Wells said it best when she addressed her son’s murderers: “you disgraced your families."

It is time to honor our families and not pull the trigger, nor beat someone to death, nor throw the Molotov cocktail at a house of worship. It is time to practice love, loyalty, and devotion.