Words into Plowshares?

Coach John Wooden tells a story of the intransigence of the family mule, who wouldn't cooperate for the young Wooden, leading him to push, pull, yell, cajole, and heap other indignities on the beast. Finally, his father came over, whispered in the mule's ear and the mule began to plow. Gentleness can sometimes triumph over toughness. Do what the situation demands.

Day to day we encounter situations that we find intolerable, unfair, unexplainable, or simply at odds with our beliefs. Everyone doesn't share our convictions. After being the winningest coach over a five year period, with two NCAA championships and three trips to the Final Four, North Carolina coach Roy Williams' popularity stood at...76 percent. Eight voters didn't think Willie Mays had done enough to get first ballot induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Surely nobody had whispered into those mules' ears.

If you don't like a policy (or the politics behind it), that's perfectly fine. Coach Wooden would tell a player who objected to his policies, "I admire and respect your position. We have enjoyed having you at UCLA. We'll miss you." Invariably, the player found religion and a solution to his objections. Stubbornness and disagreement without proposing alternatives might be good politics but seldom good policy...especially when you lack authority to effect change.

We received heartening news about over a thousand local youngsters enrolling in summer reading. Reading isn't enough. Ask your child what she thought the author intended from her writing, and how the message might affect her life. Did the book raise other questions for her or suggest other points of view?  Did it encourage her to read more of the author's work or more about the topic? What powerful words did she learn?

There is a saying that the difference between who we are now and whom we become in the next five years relates to the people we meet and the books we read. Do what the situation demands.