Reconciliation Begins With Truth.
A number of years ago, a neighbour reached out with some concerns about the way we were parenting our child.
You see, we’ve always been open with our kid, of the mind that if someone is old enough to ask questions, they’re old enough to hear the answer.
In this particular case, our neighbour was concerned that we’d shared the real history of the indigenous people in this country we refer to as Canada. Our kid was “too young” they said. Our kid “wasn’t ready”.
But the truth is, there are kids who are affected by brutal and systemic raclsm every day. Raclsm doesn’t ask how old they are. And the reality of our history is that it is an ongoing, present day, real world problem.
Today is a day of Truth & Reconciliation. Real Truth & Reconciliation starts with facing and telling the truth — to our neighbours, to our children, to ourselves. We can’t pick and choose our history simply because it’s uncomfortable.
Because there’s no reconciliation without truth. And that truth starts with all of us.