I have enjoyed the comments on my June 11 commentary on the " 'Greek' Picnic." It would be nice if you now re-read it with the spirit of agape with which it and my earlier commentaries criticizing the use by media of "The 'Greek Mob' " (June 5 and 4, 1981, respectively, in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Bulletin) were written.
In the earlier pieces, I noted:
There is a calming effect when we discipline ourselves to afford the same courtesy to those with whose ideas we disagree as we do when we agree. That's a standard used by Socrates as he launched debates on controversial subjects.
It also helps to have a sense of humor, even if we're not Aristophanes.
Will we open our minds and hearts to recognize individual merit, individual wrongs, individual responsibility and accountability for one's actions? Will we reject the rush to judgment or an antipathy based solely on group labeling?
In America more than in Socrates' time 2,500 years ago, it's the individual we hold accountable. When someone breaks the law, it's that person we hold accountable. It is our common duty to work to prevent lawlessness, to punish law-breakers. We don't help our society by throwing up our hands and exclaiming "it's some other group's problem" - or, by "disassociating" ourselves by the invoking a group or collective name.
In the final analysis, we rise or fall as a people by how well we become our sisters' and brothers' keepers, and by our individual acts and comments. Turning away from the facts or playing the name game that "relieves" us of the burdens of life in America doesn't help. A good and cordial debate, does. And so does a sense of humor.