When I moved to Wellfleet 20 years ago, I went to get a library card. The librarian volunteered a bit of local flavor to me, the newcomer. “In Wellfleet,” she said, “everything is a controversy.”
The town sure lived up to its reputation with the recent showing of the documentary film The Occupation of the American Mind. I admire our library and town officials for taking a stand against those who attempted to shut down the screening.
The event was worth the struggle. There was bravery all around: on the part of the presenters, their opponents, who traveled far to manifest their objections, and the library staff. After the film, an honest conversation gradually emerged, with introspective and even confessional comments. For those who stayed until the end, the experience was thought-provoking, meaningful, and rewarding. There was no “winner.”
It’s fair to say everyone in that room preferred peace over conflict. But how do we get there when it’s only human nature to find difference, cast blame, and take sides?
Perhaps a local Jewish friend showed me a way last summer. At the farmers market table with Palestinian olive oil for sale to benefit Gaza relief efforts, she unleashed a tirade about the dangers of stoking anti-Semitism, which is always a sleeping dog with deadly fangs. But then she did the most extraordinary thing: in a clear gesture of peacemaking, she bought a bottle of that oil.
What she did was so startling that it inspired me to commit right then and there to follow her example: to overcome whatever I’ve learned that steers me toward a course of war and conflict and to make a connection instead.
Maybe as long as we’re willing to break through our own beliefs, there’s a path to peace. I’m grateful to my friend, to everyone present at the library that evening, and to Wellfleet for embracing the spirit of controversy.
