The tragedy of being 'right'

Jun 27, 2021 1:51 am

In Canada, we are reeling with the news of over 1,000 bodies of Indigenious school children found in unmarked graves throughout multiple provinces. Their ages range from birth to early 20’s and there are no known records of their names or origins. It is the confirmation of a hideous truth about our country:


  • We are capable of genocide and racism at the highest levels of both the church and state and none of us are immune
  • No longer can we sit back and believe the niceties that the world dolls out towards us
  • No longer can we act as though our confederation was so we could carve a ‘new & better” way of governance


As humans, we are all susceptible to hate, desired separation from those we call ‘others’ and the overwhelming need to be ‘right’ and it is the latter that I am most fascinated by. A humans' desire for righteousness. It is such ego centric work that creates division, comparison and ultimately believing that you are better than someone else. But, why do we want to be better? Why do we want our ‘rightness’ to cower over others. Why are we so afraid of the ‘other’ or the ‘wrong’?


We must simply get over ourselves. It’s not about me; it’s not about you; it’s not about any one of us. None of us are ‘right’ which technically makes us all ‘wrong’. What could be gained by humans adopting wrongness, elevated to its highest state by admission of guilt, acceptance of responsibility and earnest desire to understand and be understood?


I believe it’s going to take this type of willingness to be wrong to begin the work of reconciliation.


Here are some ways to engage in the conversation and educate yourself to begin your own work:


Lament: Bearing Witness

Project of Heart

Legagcy of Hope


It is not going to come easy but we can ill afford to be tragically right,



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