Peace on earth, goodwill starts with each individual

By Judy Miller Gerard

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008 | midnight

I went caroling last week, and as we sang the age-old songs, I was warmed and inspired by the words, especially “peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” As the sound of the last note faded away, however, I found myself adding a postlude: “beginning with me.’’

We tend to think of peace on earth, goodwill toward men as taking place in some far-off country with people we don’t know, like some sort of missionary endeavor. However, peace and goodwill must begin with me, where I live, and with the people in my life, or they will never begin at all.

If I cannot live peaceably with those nearest and dearest and best known to me, as well as strangers whom I encounter occasionally, then all my high-sounding sentiments and words about peace and goodwill mean nothing. As Harry Truman once said: “The buck stops here.”

A basic respect for others is essential even when — or maybe if — we have different points of view. Common battlegrounds are politics and religion, although the list of possibilities is long, and the need for tolerance and patience is great if we want to understand and accept one another.

We don’t have to leave the country to find people who really have trouble accepting someone from any background other than their own, especially if the person looks, dresses and speaks in ways that are unfamiliar. And yet, the door swings both ways: The person we consider foreign may find us just as strange.

Have you ever lived as a “stranger in a strange land?” I have. I looked different, dressed differently and spoke a different language from most everyone around me. I often felt isolated and invisible. This happened to be in a foreign country, but it can be just as difficult in our own country when we don’t fit in with those around us. In fact, it may be more difficult.

It can happen simply from living in a culture or economic level that is markedly different from that in which we grew up. People dress differently, speak differently, seem to have a whole different vocabulary and lifestyle, and we feel like a square peg sitting hopelessly next to a round hole, wishing we could just fall into it and through it.

My family was very poor when I was young, and I often felt embarrassed by my clothes and lack of social skills when I was in a setting where people obviously lived, dressed and spoke differently than I, and had much more in the way of material possessions. I was often ignored, so when someone had a smile and/or a kind word for me, or reached out to me in some way, it was a priceless gift to my well-being.

Casual encounters can be mini opportunities to reach out to people we don’t know in simple little ways, with a smile and a “Good Morning” or “Hi.”

We don’t even have to stop walking as we offer that friendly greeting that says, “I see you. I wish you well.” It could have a profound impact on their day — and their life.

In our community and our country, let’s practice making the world around us a little warmer, a little friendlier for everyone.

When we are able to do this with a measure of grace and courtesy, perhaps we can then move out into other parts of the world with our message of peace and goodwill toward men.

Judy Miller Gerard is a Henderson senior and can be reached c/o the Home News, 2360 Corporate Circle, Third Floor, Henderson, NV 89074; by fax at 434-3527 or e-mail at [email protected].