Our Community is a Great Example

The past year has truly opened my eyes to a lot of things involving gender and cultural equality, politics, social justice, and the fact that we really haven't progressed as far as I once thought in these areas.

Apple Think Different Poster (1990's)

However I have hope that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream will one day come true, because I witnessed first hand that people can hang out, work, and live together in relative harmony.

My Classroom

I was fortunate to grow up in a community filled with people from different ethnic backgrounds.  Was it perfect?  Of course not, but the vast majority accepted each other.  And I've witness people coming together to support each other much more often than the other way around.

I am also blessed to have family members, friends, co-workers, and students that span almost every ethnicity imaginable.  This experience has helped me have a deeper appreciation for other cultures.

This includes our amazing sports card blogging community.  We come from all over the world to write and read about a common interest.  On a daily basis we're able to read blog posts recapping generous care packages.  We can read comments offering condolences for the loss of loved ones or congratulations on new additions to families.

Over the past eight years, I've published over 1,600 posts and I can't remember a single offensive comment left on my blog, nor do I remember reading any racist comments on the blogs I'm subscribed to.

The beautiful thing is we find a way to keep things positive among us, even though we don't always agree.  We might argue over who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame.  Our favorite sports teams might battle each other.  Heck we might even talk a little smack.  We collect different things and it's safe to say that there aren't two collections out there that are exactly alike.  But at the end of the day, we accept and respect each others' differences.

Now don't get me wrong.  I realize that our cardboard community is only a small sample size in regards to our country or planet.  But it's a start in the right direction.

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King Jr.!  Happy Monday and sayonara!