I sit here at the computer looking blankly, trying to think of something profound to say, fearing that all words have left me
and that I am on that slippery slope downhill to the rest of my life.
It has been a strange week, my first true week away from The Madison Times in over six years. Putting out a paper is a
consuming task if you are going to get it right and you are going to seek the truth; for truth is not something that we can take
a vacation from or wander away from and expect to find our way back to it in an instant. Truth itself is always moving with the
cascade of human events that continue ever onwards even if we find our own lives to be stagnant and uneventful.
We cannot say to ourselves that we will tell this lie at this moment or be deceptive in this way and then get back to the
truth as if nothing happened. When we begin to shade our own perceptions and begin to deceive ourselves because of the
"deadly sins" that lie within us -- envy, greed, lust, etc. -- we lose track of truth as if we have been placed into another
dimension in which truth looks slightly distorted and we begin to think that this is how, indeed, truth looks.
A piece of the truth is in all of us and the lives that we lead each day. It flows from each of our lives and truth is something
so complex and awesome that when you catch a glimpse of it in the roadway up ahead, it blinds you and overwhelms you. It
will keep you up all night in wonder. That is why no one, not the journalist or the Sunday preacher, can say they have truth
and they know what truth is. I know I cannot.
This understanding of truth is what led me to work so feverishly at The Madison Times these past six years. And it is
through this understanding of truth that I know why stereotypes, bigotry, and racism are so wrong. They are a form of insanity
because they distort reality -- the truth -- and ignore it. They cause people to act and react under false pretenses and with
misunderstanding. They cause people to act because of images in their own minds and not the reality of the world around
them. They cause people to act not in the world of God's creation, but in a false world of their own creation. They lead to
anger and hate.
I have been so blessed to understand this fundamental truth. With each story that I wrote at The Madison Times, it gave
me a small glimpse at truth. It gave me a better understanding of God's creation. It gave me a better understanding of my
own ignorance and some of the falsehoods I was taught as a child. Each story was like a small piece of a large puzzle, a
puzzle I could never completely put together because it was so immense.
I have to admit to having some fear and trepidation now that I have left The Madison Times. There is a certain amount of
disconnect because the paper has been a part of my life and now, suddenly, that connection is no more. It was my home
and connection to Betty Franklin-Hammonds for so long.
But in writing this column each week, I pledge to keep to the principles that I have learned through the years in seeking
truth and justice. I will continue to write positively about this world of ours and the people within it, even during those times
when I feel that life has been cruel and unjust to me because truth and beauty must win out. I must make decisions about
what to write about because there is both good and evil in this world of ours and I cannot cover everything. I will choose the
good.
There are times when I will write a story and there will be times when I just reflect. I will write knowing I do not hold truth in
the palm of my hand. I will write knowing that I, too, am a part of the world and also have the "deadly sins" within me. I hope
you will bear with me.
If you wish to give me feedback or just say hello, you can e-mail me at gramljon@aol.com.
Love yourself!
and that I am on that slippery slope downhill to the rest of my life.
It has been a strange week, my first true week away from The Madison Times in over six years. Putting out a paper is a
consuming task if you are going to get it right and you are going to seek the truth; for truth is not something that we can take
a vacation from or wander away from and expect to find our way back to it in an instant. Truth itself is always moving with the
cascade of human events that continue ever onwards even if we find our own lives to be stagnant and uneventful.
We cannot say to ourselves that we will tell this lie at this moment or be deceptive in this way and then get back to the
truth as if nothing happened. When we begin to shade our own perceptions and begin to deceive ourselves because of the
"deadly sins" that lie within us -- envy, greed, lust, etc. -- we lose track of truth as if we have been placed into another
dimension in which truth looks slightly distorted and we begin to think that this is how, indeed, truth looks.
A piece of the truth is in all of us and the lives that we lead each day. It flows from each of our lives and truth is something
so complex and awesome that when you catch a glimpse of it in the roadway up ahead, it blinds you and overwhelms you. It
will keep you up all night in wonder. That is why no one, not the journalist or the Sunday preacher, can say they have truth
and they know what truth is. I know I cannot.
This understanding of truth is what led me to work so feverishly at The Madison Times these past six years. And it is
through this understanding of truth that I know why stereotypes, bigotry, and racism are so wrong. They are a form of insanity
because they distort reality -- the truth -- and ignore it. They cause people to act and react under false pretenses and with
misunderstanding. They cause people to act because of images in their own minds and not the reality of the world around
them. They cause people to act not in the world of God's creation, but in a false world of their own creation. They lead to
anger and hate.
I have been so blessed to understand this fundamental truth. With each story that I wrote at The Madison Times, it gave
me a small glimpse at truth. It gave me a better understanding of God's creation. It gave me a better understanding of my
own ignorance and some of the falsehoods I was taught as a child. Each story was like a small piece of a large puzzle, a
puzzle I could never completely put together because it was so immense.
I have to admit to having some fear and trepidation now that I have left The Madison Times. There is a certain amount of
disconnect because the paper has been a part of my life and now, suddenly, that connection is no more. It was my home
and connection to Betty Franklin-Hammonds for so long.
But in writing this column each week, I pledge to keep to the principles that I have learned through the years in seeking
truth and justice. I will continue to write positively about this world of ours and the people within it, even during those times
when I feel that life has been cruel and unjust to me because truth and beauty must win out. I must make decisions about
what to write about because there is both good and evil in this world of ours and I cannot cover everything. I will choose the
good.
There are times when I will write a story and there will be times when I just reflect. I will write knowing I do not hold truth in
the palm of my hand. I will write knowing that I, too, am a part of the world and also have the "deadly sins" within me. I hope
you will bear with me.
If you wish to give me feedback or just say hello, you can e-mail me at gramljon@aol.com.
Love yourself!
| Reflections After the storm By Jonathan Gramling |
| Some Soul Soup |