A time for reflection and action

What do we say? What should we do?

I don't know about you, but for me, it has not felt like the right time for business as usual these last five weeks. Not when our country, when our neighbors, when all of us cry out for justice and equality.

The killing of George Floyd did far more than touch a nerve. For most of us, it was the very last straw of far too many. For many, it was a wake-up call.

It is certainly the time to act, and there is great deal to do. But, many of us need to listen first. Many of us thought we understood. But there is a lot we have to learn, voices we must hear.

As we approach July 4th - Independence Day - it seems like there is no better time to listen, reflect, and commit. Our country was founded on grand principles, but too many of them have never been realized. What better time to commit ourselves to ensure that every one of us is truly free?

There is so much work to be done to realize the vision of liberty, justice, and equality for all. At our house, as we mark this holiday weekend, we'll be thinking of and discussing with our kids some simple truths at the heart of it all.

Among them: All people are created equal. When anyone is oppressed, no one is free. We are responsible for each other and to each other, and we want to leave our children a better world than we grew up in. Black lives matter.

Let us be the change together!