We live in a viciously partisan atmosphere. Sadly. While the viciousness may or may not be rooted in valid emotion, the vicious expressions are making life worse and damaging relationships. It matters. We are losing respect for one another.<\/p>\n
Hence, if there is ever a moment the Intramuralist can highlight that shows what\u2019s better \u2014 what\u2019s good and right and true and thus moves beyond the hatred and partisan viciousness \u2014 we\u2019re going to grab it. We\u2019re going to talk about it. And we\u2019re going to encourage something better and wiser in one another.<\/p>\n
Today, we find a glimpse of the better.<\/p>\n
Former First Lady Barbara Bush passed away yesterday at 92 years old. For 73 years she was married to George Bush, a man she met at a Christmas dance as a young teen. Before marrying, George, went off to World War II as a Navy torpedo bomber pilot. He later named three of his planes: Barbara, Barbara II,<\/em> and Barbara III.<\/em> There was something sweet about Barbara and George.<\/p>\n That sweetness is evident in her words\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cNever lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people \u2014 your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cCherish your human connections \u2014 your relationships with friends and family.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cYou are a human being first and those human connections \u2014 with spouses, with children, with friends \u2014 are the most important investments you will ever make.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cYou have to love your children unselfishly. That is hard. But it is the only way.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cOur success as a society depends not on what happens in the White House, but on what happens inside your house.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cYou may think the president is all-powerful, but he is not. He needs a lot guidance from the Lord.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cGiving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cI have had great medical care and more operations than you would believe. I’m not sure God will recognize me; I have so many new body parts!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cSome people give time, some money, some their skills and connections, some literally give their life’s blood. But everyone has something to give.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cBias has to be taught. If you hear your parents downgrading women or people of different backgrounds, why, you are going to do that.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n “You get nothing done if you don’t listen to each other.”<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cNever ask anyone over 70 how they feel. They’ll tell you.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cI have no fear of death, which is a huge comfort because we\u2019re getting darn close. I don\u2019t have a fear of death for my precious George, or for myself, because I know that there is a great God, and I\u2019m not worried.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cOne of the reasons I made the most important decision of my life \u2014 to marry George Bush \u2014 is because he made me laugh. It\u2019s true, sometimes we\u2019ve laughed through our tears, but that shared laughter has been one of our strongest bonds. Find the joy in life, because as Ferris Bueller said on his day off , \u2018Life moves pretty fast. Ya don\u2019t stop and look around once in a while, ya gonna miss it!\u2019 (I am not going to tell George you clapped more for Ferris than you did for George.)\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n What a sweet, wise, and witty woman. Sweeter still, perhaps, is the gracious glimpse we have available this day, moving beyond the viciousness.<\/p>\n Find the joy.<\/i><\/p>\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We live in a viciously partisan atmosphere. Sadly. While the viciousness may or may not be rooted in valid emotion, the vicious expressions are making life worse and damaging relationships. It matters. We are losing respect for one another. Hence, if there is ever a moment the Intramuralist can highlight that shows what\u2019s better \u2014 … <\/p>\n