Words

I am helping to research grant oppor-tunities and draft 'Letters of Inquiry' to different found-ations, and that has made me so aware of the power of words. When I was taking graduate history courses, I used to say that my thesaurus was my best friend! I am missing that friend right now!! It is sometimes difficult to convey the passion I feel in mere words for the projects that those here at the Wi'am Center want put into place. As I look out of the window next to my desk, I see the following quote on the Seperation Wall: "A country is not only what it does, it is also what it tolerates" ~Kurt Tucholsky, 1933. As a teacher, I would add that a country is also defined by how it educates its children. I am reminded of how important it is for us to teach our children not only how "the rest of the world lives", but why it is living that way. I just came across a new favorite quote by Vijaya Pandit: "The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war." What a call for us to be diligent in working for peace!