Screaming headlines
Brutal attacks on community leaders
Harangues of scorn
Harsh words of once-upon-a-time friends
“Lower the heat!” our PM pleads.
But the fire is escaping; the embers are flying.
Extinguishing the flame seems more urgent now.
Only then can a fire-break find repair.
High temperatures yield instant reactions.
Consideration is overwhelmed.
Vision distorted.
Outrage rewarded
Certainty claimed
Impetuous responses abound
Community thrives on lower heat
Warm enough to steep the slower virtues:
Listening
Patience
Restraint.
To adjust temperature is not to lower conviction
It is not a call to indifference
Nor silence in the face of injustice.
Disagreement is not hostility.
We hold strong opinions
Without descending into contempt.
Attention, curiosity, humility
These lower the temperature
Heat seeks victory
Wisdom seeks understanding.
We rediscover our common humanity.
The fiercest heat may win a moment’s fight,
Yet hearts are changed by patient, steadier light.
© Dennis Ryle (October 2026)
