Editorial July 11, 2016 Issue

Humanity’s mediator

Barbara Vining

People respond to challenges in human experience in a variety of ways, depending on how they believe they can effect change for the better—or not. You’ve probably heard people say (or even found yourself saying), “I might just as well resign myself to the fact that nothing is ever going to change.” And then they either become complacently content with their circumstances, or they seethe with anger from within until at some point that anger boils up into some kind of unpleasant, or even dangerous, expression.

What’s needed, in any case where something seems to be standing in the way of beneficial progress, is a mediator—one who can win us over to a way of thinking that can move us forward toward harmonious resolutions, instead of being resigned to, or angered by, our circumstances.

So, where do we look for such a mediator? A counselor? A lawyer? A teacher? A preacher? A social worker? An organization devoted to settling disputes? A Christian Science practitioner?

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