“I see their ugly and their beauty … I wonder how the same thing can be both.” — Death from The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak

Our continued exploration of the human experience (How does the human experience connect and divide us?) takes us away from the Holocaust and lands us in 1941 America where we will seek to understand the impact of the Japanese internment camps.

In preparation for our honored guest speaker Rod Tamura (my colleague Jenna Tamura’s father), whose family experienced the camps, we watched a brief documentary about this time from our nation’s history to give our kids some context. Sadly, many of our kids had no idea about our use of the camps during WWII.  In addition to the historical context, I asked the kids to consider the timeless context of the human experience by discussing the following statements.

It is easy for people to do the right thing

A greater injustice excuses a lesser injustice.

Security is more important than freedom.

Remaining neutral is wise during conflicts that arise from oppression.

Humans learn from their mistakes.

Hate is learned.

Humanity is greater than individuality.

Fear is a powerful manipulator.

People are too smart to be manipulated by propaganda.

Eventually, society will reach a point where racism is no longer an issue.

The kids had to agree or disagree and explain in their small groups of five. I simply moved from group to group and listened in on their discussions. I just listened. And as I listened, I learned from the wise words of those who have yet to fully experience or understand how we can be both–ugly and beautiful. And while I wish I could only show the beauty, there is an ugly that I cannot hide. And it is my earnest hope that from our journey this year, the kids discover that we can choose beauty, that we can fight the ugly, that we can have hope, that they can be the hope. They can.

And we–the adults–can learn from them. We need to learn from them. I will not wade into the political here, never have never will, but I will wade into humanity here. We can do better. All of us. We can choose beauty. We can fight ugly. But we have to understand that the fight begins within. Gotta settle it their first. And maybe, just maybe, if we did that, then the fight without would take care of itself, and our connection would overshadow our division. Seems we need some connection right now. Desperately.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…identifying, stating, and supporting theme statements from key passages in Night (performance). 

…reflecting in our Journey Journals.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday, all. May you find and be beauty today. We need beauty.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.