I’M OFFENDED THAT YOU’RE OFFENDED
The launching of Blindsided, a Young Adult novel.
If your heart isn’t in the right place, you’re going to be
offended by some of the passages in Blindsided. One of my favorite pictures is
a poster that shows an adult down of one knee trying a little boy’s shoelace.
The caption says, “You will never stand as tall as when you bend to help a
child.” There are a lot of things in the world that the haters hate. The rest
of us have to endure more than we should or become like them. The LGBT movement
is not something I completely understand, but I know there are many who believe
they were born in the wrong body. I don’t understand people who shoot up
churches, or the ones who bring about a massacre in a school filled with
teachers and students. I don’t understand road rage, or racial intolerance, or
the people who hate the members of another religion. There are other things I
understand and wish they could be different. Why someone would want to bully
another person because they are different leaves me sad and somewhat puzzled.
It also seems that the people who know better are the worse offenders. Here is
something to seriously consider. God did not burden you with the task of
changing the world. Your assignment is to help those that need a helping hand,
and you can find some of them around your doorstep. If you want to change the
world, it can only be done by performing one small act of kindness after
another.
I received a notice from the moderator of one forum
informing me that Blindsided was too controversial to post my promotional notice
on her forum. She also sent me a copy of Yahoo’s TOS as if she was brandishing
a weapon. Blindsided deals with bullying, and the problems that occur when
someone is perceived as being different from the norm. Some of our young people
are going to read Blindsided and say, “This is what I put up with every day.
What’s the fuss all about?” Others might see themselves in the pages of the
book and consider the ways they can be better than they already are. Everyone
is different, and all of the characters in my novels are flawed in one way or
another, just as real people are. No two of us are alike. There is a song,
‘What the world needs now, is love, sweet love.’ Tolerance should be
incorporated somewhere in the lyrics. Most of the things that bother us so much
aren’t any of our business. Meeting hate, ignorance, or anger in the wrong
manner is like holding a railroad spike against a rapidly spinning grind wheel.
You are going to generate a lot of sparks, but very little light. There are
things worth dying for, but our private dislikes aren’t a part of it. Most of
the world is caught up in a tsunami of hate. We must do better or perish in the
process. Blindsided is about anger, rage, and revenge, but also about forgiveness
and the pain of lost love. Grab a copy of Blindsided when it becomes available
in a few days. If you enjoy it, write a review and let me know what you think .
. . or better still, let me know how you feel. There is nothing better than
being at peace with the challenges of the world. God bless each of you and
happy reading.
