What can I do about the world spinning out of control?

Do you ever get the feeling the world is spinning out of control?  I do not generally write about politics but it’s hard to ignore the way things are evolving (or is it devolving) south of the border.  Positions of authority previously help in such high esteem that they were unquestionable are now brought down to earth.  The President, nominees for the Supreme Court, Senators, and Congressmen have been rightly brought to task about their behaviour and how they treat others.  In Canada we are no better.  Even the Catholic Church has been brought to its knees in many ways.  There are those who even question the Pope and his handling of the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Church and the world.

It is 100% a good thing that people who have done bad things are being called out.  We need to root out bad behaviour and hold offenders accountable.  We need to change the culture so that all people are treated with equal dignity and respect. 

The problem I am grappling with is how to go from being angry to being part of a solution.  We can all feel angry at stories of abuse.  We are capable of anger.  We don’t all feel capable of changing things.  I think that’s why Social Media can be so inflammatory.  It is usually a place for arguing and posting gripes, but rarely a place for collaboration and healing.

So what can I do?  Here is what I have so far:

1)      Focus on what I can control: I don’t know if some one I see on the news is guilty of something or not.  I can’t control the outcome of each latest news story.  What I can control is how I reflect the virtues I wish I saw more of in the world: peacefulness, patience, temperance, chastity and forgiveness.

2)      Keep things positive for kids:  Many of our world leaders have let us down.  Presidents, Prime Ministers, even some religious leaders have shown themselves to less than worthy of our obedience.  Nevertheless, children need to feel secure.  They need to know that their world is stable.  They are loved.  In general, they are safe.  I had a Grade Three student say to me “Donald Trump hates me.”  Regardless of the truth or not of that statement, where did he hear that?  He doesn’t need to live with that idea in his head.  I think we’ve allowed too much anxiety about our world fall to our kids.

3)      Forgive in my heart: Who am I to forgive some one who harmed some one other than myself?  I cannot truly understand the pain a victim of abuse has suffered.  Still, I do not have to hold on to resentment and anger on behalf of every victim.  Jesus forgave.

4)      Don’t judge:  I could spend entire days on Social Media and news websites reading every story and every new allegation.  No matter how long I do this, I will never arrive at a meaningful conclusion.  I need to pray for the victims and the accused not hold myself up as superior to either side.

That’s all I’ve got for now.  I sure hope I can live up to my four ideas.  What ideas do you have?

Thanks for reading!