Spring 2001, President's Message - Historic Aviation Property Owners Association of Dearborn, Michigan USA

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE
-Thoughts from APOA President, Mary Beth Rieth
Spring 2001

The topic I have chosen to discuss has been a personal and professional passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I believe this timely and challenging topic is relevant and touches all of us... in our own lives, in our neighborhoods, throughout our fine city, our country, and indeed throughout the world. It directly affects the quality of life for ourselves and for our children both now and in the future. I humbly address this issue to gently and optimistically encourage all of us not to give up hope and to continue moving in a positive direction toward achieving important goals. Understandably, some people may doubt, be cynical or negative and think that we cannot make a difference. However, I prefer to view life as a half full glass and I have seen much evidence over the years which proves that people can indeed make a significant difference in the quality of their lives and and in their community.

When I was a young girl, I first learned from my Mother and Father to be aware of and interested in one particularly vital issue. However, when I first encountered this concept, it had no particular name. Many years later in the 1960's and '70's when this controversial, volatile topic became one of my major areas of academic study and expertise (I'm still learning), it was often identified as "Human Relations" or "Race Relations." Nowadays, similar topics are often referred to as "Diversity" or "Inclusiveness." Whatever name(s) you choose to call it, many of the concepts, principles, and challenges have remained the same. Thanks to the legacy of my Parents, it is still as much a passion and concern of mine today as it was so many years ago.

Mom shared with us that as a child and youth growing up in her small town, she and her family were the only visible foreigners -- the only people in town who "looked different" from the majority. When Mom was a very impressionable, sensitive young girl, as she took care of running errands for her immigrant parents, she would often have to pass right by the jail. As she walked by, she would be subjected to loud angry voices and hateful, sneering expressions on the contorted faces of the prisoners as they shouted out the window at her, "Get out of town! We don't want any dirty foreigners living here." Ironically, they also varied their taunts and threats with, "You'd better get out of town, you dirty little Jew, or else...!" At that time, Arabic people were an unknown quantity. It did not matter to the lawbreakers that she was part of a law abiding, educated, hardworking, cultured, and well-to-do family. They only knew that this little child was dark, foreign... and "different" from them. Thank goodness she *was* different from them. She chose not to sow and thus perpetuate ignorance and hate. Instead Mom used that personal painful example to gently and lovingly teach us how *not* to treat and hurt other people as she had been treated and hurt. Directly and indirectly, Mom and Dad taught us how to empathize. They taught us how it truly feels to walk in another person's shoes.

Throughout their entire lives in a million different ways, my Parents taught us to understand, to communicate with, to relate, and to treat
ALL human beings with respect, dignity, kindness, love, forgiveness,
appreciation, and acceptance... yes, even, and especially, if someone was "different." It did not matter what your race, ethnicity, skin color, religion, age, gender, or socio-economic status, etc. was. I firmly believe that though this is sometimes very difficult to do, nonetheless it is worth working toward and striving for.

Because I am human, admittedly I may not always succeed in being a consistent and perfect example of what I sincerely and truly believe. But I keep working at it. And I keep on working at passing on the legacy that my parents lovingly passed on to me. I guess my husband John and I must have done okay at passing the torch to our daughter, Jackie. As a senior in high school, when Jackie was choosing her academic major for college, John and I tentatively suggested that with her outstanding ACT scores in Algebra/Trig (98th percentile!) that perhaps she should consider being an engineer. Although she acknowledged that that was indeed a wonderful, honorable, and important profession, it wasn't for her. Instead our sweet,gentle, yet strong willed 18 year old daughter responded to us respectfully, yet very firmly, "No. I want to go into a field where I can help people directly." Jackie is now a certified Social Worker and a psychotherapist who lovingly helps people better their lives. She received her grad degree from Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan's Graduate School of Social Work where she received all A's and one B+. Thankfully, there are many 'Jackie's' out there who are the hope of the world who unselfishly and altruistically work to make their communities and the world a better place.

In conclusion, one simple, non-threatening suggestion for how one might begin to achieve these worthy goals of improving human relationships is to acknowledge that although individuals may in fact be different in various ways, surprisingly we are also very similar. Sharing how we are alike and what we have in common often helps facilitate the process of tearing down walls and building bridges. This simple positive exchange often helps to promote harmony and improve communication and relations with people by identifying and focusing on the many important and essentials ways that we are the same.* We are all part of the same race... the HUMAN RACE. I will conclude and illustrate this lesson from my Mother by showing you a sweet poem that she wrote in the 1960's about a simple conversation between two young boys...

©2001 Aviation Property Owners' Association