BONANZA

My husband is a big fan of western movies, books, and tv shows, so we sometimes watch Bonanza in the afternoons.  It's a classic, set in the Nevada territory, in the 1880s or so, I would guess.  In a recent episode, Ben and sons became advocates/mentors to a young genius, Albert Abraham Michaelson.  "Mike" had been expelled from school in Virginia City, which was quite a shame for such a bright young man.  The Cartwrights were trying to help Mike get an appointment to the Naval Academy at Annapolis but were unable to persuade Mr Norton, the school teacher, to cooperate. 

As the episode progressed, it became evident that there was a bigger problem than first appeared; for Mr Norton had not only expelled Mike but several other boys...for various "offenses" which he generalized by saying, "They are troublemakers."  Ben Cartwright found that Mike was teaching all the expelled boys, in the loft of the livery stable.  They were Hispanic, Asian, Indian, and Israeli.

So the problem was not troublemakers.  It was bigotry on the part of the teacher.  Ben called a school board meeting, got to the bottom of the problem, then offered grace to the teacher.  Mr Norton realized his mistakes, was contrite, apologized, and was given a second chance.  Mike got the presidential appointment to the academy, the other boys were reinstated into school, and all "lived happily ever after," I imagine.

Moral of story:  there's a little bit of bigot in most all of us.  We must be on guard and squelch any signs of it.  It hurts all involved.  We must open our minds...our hearts...our spirits to truth, which is the Word of God.  When we see truth...and live it...then we have the problem under control.  There was a great lesson learned on Bonanza...and there are lessons to learn for us all, in our everyday lives, as we live and work with persons of other races, religions, political persuasions, etc.  Perhaps offering His grace to others is one of the greatest lessons learned.  May God help us in this journey.

By the way, Albert Abraham Michaelson was the first American to be awarded the Nobel prize, for  measuring the speed of light.  Just goes to show what can happen when ALL are given equal chances for education, etc in this world, regardless of race, gender, nationality, so on.  The sky's the limit!