It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I am writing this week’s blog a day early so I can watch the Eagles play in the NFC Championship game tomorrow. I hope they reward me with a win. I am recovering from a very busy week, as I chaired a CCSG site visit. It was a lot of work! I certainly learned a lot that is relevant to our cancer center, and for that reason alone, it was highly valuable. It was an in-person meeting, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to personally interact with colleagues for several days. That type of camaraderie simply cannot be replicated on Zoom. As I reflect on our upcoming CCSG application, I see quite clearly how our preparations are placing us in a good position for success.
Speaking of success, last year’s BellRinger bike ride raised $1.45M! Cancer does not take time off, and neither do we. Registration for the 2023 BellRinger ride opened this past week, and as of Friday, we already had 54 rider registrations and nine teams formed. The 2022 ride had more than 800 riders, and we are looking to at least double that number in 2023. So, please remember to register, volunteer and do what you can to support this ride, which supports our cancer research efforts.
I simply cannot let go of the events of this past week or two in the world around us. It seems as if every day we were plagued by multiple mass murders in California, violence on the West Bank, murders in a synagogue and evidence of horrific police brutality in Memphis. Closer to home, antisemitic symbols appeared on our own campus. We seemingly live in a world gone mad — and thanks to modern technology, each of us has access to the videos, audio feeds, and bodycams, amplifying the horror, the impact and the inescapable feeling that this is happening to us. And, in a real way, it is.
Have we lost our way? Or do we have a heightened awareness and sensitivity that makes us intolerant of the intolerable? If the former, then we have a big, big problem. If the latter, then perhaps we see the glimmer of a future solution. Problems can’t be solved until they are recognized as such. And that is what I think is going on today. We have big problems, and while some would celebrate or deny the existence or magnitude of the challenges we face as a society and in our world, most people are increasingly intolerant of intolerance, cannot stomach wanton violence and reject hate as an animating principle of life.
Solutions will not be easy, and my guess is that they will evolve only when there is a broad demand for meaningful change that will arise when we return to first principles of acceptance, tolerance, community, family and for many of us, faith. If we can view each other more as neighbors than strangers, and if we remember that common courtesy creates uncommon connectivity, perhaps we can recapture some of the magical innocence of my youth, when children played outside without supervision, front doors were unlocked, we all looked out for each other, and guns were for soldiers and the police.
Here’s hoping for a peaceful week.
Stay safe and be well.
Lou
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