My earliest memory from school is this:
“It’s a free country.”
Later on, I recall:
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.”
What I didn’t know then was the underlying truth –
We’re mostly soul, wrapped in flesh and blood.

Please send a few things
from bygone days to help us connect,
like common courtesy, tact and gentility.
Allow us to remember that we are a civilization,
And as such, really should be civil in our discourse.
Soften the tone for the sake of the children.

Bless us as we breathe life
into the world with our words.

-Ruth Williams