You need to see this.
A week of challenging, contentious, combative and quarrelsome news needs an antidote. And you're going to find it in the way this school community in middle Tennessee has come out in support of their beloved crossing guard, Don "Cool Breeze" Vaughn, who was recently diagnosed with a terminal illness.
If you want to see how life was supposed to be, how God wants it to be, consider this clip from Williamson County Schools in Tennessee:
You might have picked up on the fact that Mr. Vaughn is a black man, and many of the students and their families are white. You might have also picked up on the fact that they all acted and behaved as though it didn't matter. Because it doesn't.
You might have picked up on the fact that everyone was showing love and appreciation for a good-natured man who is going through a difficult time. You might have also picked up on the fact that it's extremely unlikely that all those people would agree with Mr. Vaughn on every political, social, or religious issue of the moment. But nobody was working overtime to figure that out before they rallied to support him. And given the way he was reacting, Vaughn himself clearly didn't seem to think it mattered too much either. Because it doesn't.
That's how it's supposed to work. That's how it should work. That's how it can work. And that's how it will work when we spend a little less time tribalizing every issue, arguing with faceless voices on social media, and dismissing one another's humanity in the name of our latest cause - when we spend more time investing in our local community, learn the names of those we encounter regularly, and love our fellow man.
God's Word tells us how to achieve peace and harmony. Even if I can't find exactly where, it's sure nice to see a community following His advice. May we go and do likewise today.
