By: Charlotte Jackson
By working at a community college as well as serving as an advisor for two student groups on campus, I have been given an opportunity to help bridge not only the generational gap, but also racial and economic gaps. In doing so, I have found that at the end of the day, we truly have more similarities than differences.
When viewing life through anyone else’s, yes, we get a distorted view. Yet if we take the time to look a person in their eyes and listen to their story, we develop not only an understanding, but so much more. It is by listening to older people in my life that I have learned most of the things that seem to instill fear in us are truly “False Evidence Appearing Real.”
I have also learned that if we learn the power of touch, we learn that life is not nearly as hard as we think. Touch? Yes, another acronym: “Trust, Others, Unconditional, Community, Hope.” If we will trust God, everything really will be okay. (He has not failed anyone yet, why do you think you are so special you would be the first one he fails?) Others must always be a part of our decisions. This is something I learned from the Rotary International Four-Way Test; “Will it be beneficial to all concerned?” Unconditional love and acceptance make the world a much better place. Do you really have time to worry about how others spend their money? Do you really care if they keep their home clean? Yet, we have to respect them as a unique person with their own desires. Let them live their life. Community—no man is an island. We must think about how our choices will affect others in our community. An example would be if we keep building entertainment venues and displace the chronically homeless, where will they sleep at night? Like it or not, they are our brothers and sisters. If we get so busy thinking about how improvements will benefit our bank account, but do not stop to think about others, is it really a good choice? And “hope” is something that is like water to a dry soul. If you do not share with someone a reason to succeed, why should they try? If we tell the younger generation that they are destined to fail, I wonder where they will be by the time they are 20 years old? It is sad that often elected leaders have listened to special interest groups who benefitted from the multiple prisons and jails being built in Texas (and across America) and voted for millions of tax dollars to build warehouses for youth instead of spending that money to develop the minds of children.
Can you imagine if for the next five years, Texas would not build any additional prisons, but instead put that money into school programs and renovations? If children felt like someone cared about them, they just might do better in school. How do I know? Because I have experienced this first-hand. I had people who shut me down due to choices I had made in the past and I felt pretty hopeless. Yet, when I met several of the older people in my life who have become mentors, I found hope. I found love. I found encouragement. I found success. And now, all I want to do is give that same opportunity to a younger person. The gifts that we need to bridge the gap can all be summed up in one word: Love.
