{"id":8009,"date":"2017-10-10T06:42:13","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T10:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=8009"},"modified":"2017-10-10T06:42:13","modified_gmt":"2017-10-10T10:42:13","slug":"somethings-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=8009","title":{"rendered":"something&#8217;s wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>\u201cHe said it all the time\u2026 when we left the car, heading to school\u2026 arriving home from something \u2014 anything\u2026 both a greeting and a goodbye\u2026 it was a signal, a statement, an awareness of peace\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Some words are difficult to fully define, be that because the application is so vast, the history so rich, or the concept so huge.<\/p>\n<p>I speak of something that affects us all. Regardless of where we come from, what we believe, what we have in common or what we don\u2019t, we can\u2019t deny that this affects us.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cShalom.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a word that transcends both generation and geography\u2026 religion and relationship\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Shalom.<\/p>\n<p>In English, shalom refers to peace between two entities or the peace, well-being or welfare of a person, group or circumstance. The Hebrew definition adds in the concepts of harmony, tranquility, wholeness and prosperity. In Arabic, it\u2019s called \u201csalaam,\u201d and the Maltese say \u201csliem.\u201d Shalom affects us all.<\/p>\n<p>Take note, for example, at some of the more significant, current issues, events and developments\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>A man murders the innocent masses from his luxury hotel room\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>People argue about the right to life, debating gun control \u2014 or abortion&#8230;<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>People argue about the right to protest when America\u2019s anthem is played&#8230;<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>An \u201cA-list\u201d film producer stands accused of decades of harassment\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>North Korea festers\u2026 <\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Politicians fight\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Others join in, justifying insults in the fight\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>There are tumultuous hurricanes \u2014 sometimes even in the weather\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>There is tension\u2026 <\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Poverty\u2026 hunger, too\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Something is wrong.<\/p>\n<p>In a phrase coined not by me, it seems we are witnessing \u201cthe vandalism of shalom\u201d right before our very eyes, played out daily in the mass and social media. Something has pierced our peace. Something has disturbed our overall welfare and well-being. This is clearly not the way it is supposed to be.<\/p>\n<p>And you know what strikes me most profoundly here?<\/p>\n<p><em>You don\u2019t have to know God or even believe in him to feel the vandalism of shalom.<\/em> In other words, it takes zero faith to realize there\u2019s something wrong. Shalom seems nonexistent.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s be clear then that with the hugeness of its meaning, its vast application and history so rich, shalom is far more than the absence of conflict.<\/p>\n<p>If not, we could simply silence all dissenters. We could arrest all who disagree. We could embrace the principles of dictatorship or despotism, where a single entity holds absolute power and authority, and we could demand everyone act and think like we do so we never, ever must wrestle with alternate perspective or unlike behavior again. But the squelching and thus complete disrespect of others has never proven to be an effective pathway for peace. Likemindedness \u2014 obtained via demandingness and disrespect \u2014 is not fruitful, effective nor wise.<\/p>\n<p>As often stated here, friends, the Intramuralist is an advocate for community. I believe wholeheartedly in the value of community. I believe we are to grow up in it, invest in it, and sharpen one another. Note that I didn\u2019t say a \u201clikeminded, look\/feel\/think\/act alike community.\u201d There is so much we can learn from those who are \u201cunlike me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That said, grieved by the current state of community around us, I have been profoundly challenged in recent days to seek shalom in my community. How do we do that? How do we contribute positively to the peace, wholeness, and harmony of where we live? \u2026 in our nation? \u2026 in our neighborhood? \u2026 in our homes? \u2026 in our hobbies?<\/p>\n<p>And\u2026 humbly&#8230; in a post that offers more questions than answers\u2026<\/p>\n<p>How are we contributing to the vandalism of shalom?<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201c\u2026He said it all the time\u2026 both a greeting and a goodbye&#8230; it is a signal, a statement, an awareness of peace\u2026 so vast, so rich, so huge\u2026\u201d\u2028\u2028<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So necessary, too.<\/p>\n<p>Respectfully\u2026<br \/>\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHe said it all the time\u2026 when we left the car, heading to school\u2026 arriving home from something \u2014 anything\u2026 both a greeting and a goodbye\u2026 it was a signal, a statement, an awareness of peace\u2026\u201d Some words are difficult to fully define, be that because the application is so vast, the history so rich, &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=8009\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;something&#8217;s wrong&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[647],"class_list":["post-8009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-issue","tag-shalom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8009"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8015,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8009\/revisions\/8015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}