The events surrounding the death of George Floyd while in police custody impact us all. The resulting protests highlight frustration, pain, and a deep rooted desire for change. These feelings are valid even as we are dismayed by the portion of events that shifted to riots and violence. This weekend, broadcasts of these protests flashed across our phones and televisions. They sharply contrasted with those of our nation launching a spacecraft via a public-private partnership that sent American astronauts to the International Space Station from US soil for the first time in nine years.
The images of the past weekend simultaneously reveal the worst and best of our nation while we are in the midst of enduring a pandemic that has cost us over 100,000 lives. As the protests reached our region with curfews and lockdowns in Philadelphia we are reminded that racial injustice, in fact – all injustice, is not someone else’s problem but reaches and touches every one of us.
A short week ago, we honored those in the Armed Services who died for our right to be free. In honoring their memories, I wrote that we have an “unwavering commitment to form a more perfect union”.
America cannot be perfect but we can and must work towards it. We must respect our differences, set them aside, and work towards compromise in support of the common good. This work begins locally – right where we encounter the people with whom we interact most – the people we live and work with.
I encourage you to talk with each other. Some of us are angry, hurt, or sad, others don’t know what to say or are afraid what they say will ‘come out wrong’, some are realizing views they once held are shifting and, yes, some do not see a problem.
We are individuals, first. We are also a team comprised of a multitude of backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual and gender identities, religions, political views, physical, mental, or sensory disabilities, and life experiences. That diversity is what makes us good. Embracing each other’s differences, mutual respect, and the inclusiveness that comes from listening and seeking to understand each other is what makes us great. We may not always agree but we must always respect each other and endeavor to see situations through someone else’s perspective.
Some of the people we work with have become friends. Check in with them.
Some are acquaintances. See how they are doing.
Reach out to a coworker you don’t normally talk with to see how their weekend was. Take advantage of the Virtual Walks our social committee have arranged.
Open dialogue. Engage. Listen.
Starting small can achieve big things. SpaceX started with a handful of employees and has now begun a new era in spaceflight.
I’m encouraged by the family atmosphere in our department. We’ve already started small in building strong connections with each other. Let’s fortify those connections and keep it going outside of the department.
It’s a new month today, so let’s turn the page. Not to move on and forget but to dedicate ourselves to truly beginning to engage with others and to actively working on a more perfect union.
Stronger together.