I have been proud to be part of the Peace Center and stand with all people who want peace. Sometimes a situation arises where it seems clear which “side” peace is on. In reality, it isn’t that simple because we all see from our own perspectives and we understand based on our own experiences. From time to time, I have written things here that someone disagrees with. And I appreciate all of you who are willing to speak up and dialogue with me about it because we both grow and get a chance to see the bigger picture.

Here in Montana, many people note with pride how many generations of their family have lived in this state and nurtured a sense of belonging here. We are just beginning to understand the full costs of that belonging to the people who lived on and cared for this land before white Europeans arrived. As I watch the increasing violence in Israel and Palestine, there are similar themes of colonization, oppression and destruction.

One of the most important skills we can master in our world is communication. Increasingly, our world requires us to work in teams and the ability to communicate our thoughts and listen to others are the tools of that work. In our work as advocates for a more peaceful and just world, we are exposed to many different opinions and ideas.

We see what we want and deny the rest. We paint people, companies or governments as evil to justify our position. And I am just as guilty of using this brushstroke as anyone. As Laura Ingalls Wilder says, “Persons appear to us according to the light we throw upon them from our own minds”