Notes from the President - October 2022

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”  

So much of mankind’s behavior, from children to nations, is justified by that basic argument — the need, the mutuality, of getting even. Even today’s nuclear threats are based on the concept of “mutual assured destruction” (MAD). It seems this feeling can last from five minutes to five generations or longer. Is this “garment of destiny” our only outcome, our only recourse in a world of hurt?

Justice is one of our core values at Loma Linda University Health. We believe it is indeed at the heart of human values. Justice is something we all can and should aspire to. We regularly send out our graduates into challenging situations to bring peace and healing to a broken world. This may include equal access to health care or education. It may be removing the shackles of poverty to allow the birth of potential and promise. Sometimes it is going into the face of danger while bringing healing and hope.

I can think of many current examples, both globally and locally, of our alumni doing just this right now. Yury Bondarenko and his team at the Angelia Clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, are bringing healthcare to many across Ukraine in dangerous situations. Scott and Marnie Nelson and colleagues in Haiti are delivering life-saving care literally on the edge of gang warfare in Port-au-Prince. Staci Davenport is leading the team at Béré Adventist Hospital in the face of angry young gangs in the northern African nation of Tchad.

Locally, the stories are replete with this search for healing as well. Amy Young and her team identify and protect young children from abuse and give them the tools of resilience. Sharmel Weerasinghe leads her Precious Hearts Academy for autistic children, giving them and their parents the hope for acceptance and some degree of normality. Jana Boyd and her team at our counseling center help bring balance back into lives that are struggling with depression or anxiety or gender identity or cultural dissonance, or so many of the other issues in the stress of life.

Some conflicts are steeped in history so deeply that the causes are forgotten, but the battles continue. Certainly, attempts at understanding all sides of an issue, and their root causes, are a prerequisite to any step forward. There’s an old saying that goes: “Ain’t no pancake so thin it don’t have two sides.” Being self-assured and brave enough to listen to someone else’s perspective is vital. 

I am not suggesting we will solve the Ukrainian disaster, or gang warfare, or even child abuse, by careful understanding. But I do believe we should enter every conflict with a sense of questioning, of trying to understand all sides of an issue’s origins as clearly as possible. Knowing when to take sides and when to stay neutral to help all involved is a skill set not easy to master but essential in many situations. 

Everyone who reads these notes can identify someone or some issue that seems to express injustice or unfairness to someone. It may be the homeless on the street corner, the kid being bullied or ignored on the playground, the margin we give someone who does not fit in, or turning the other way when someone is slighted. May each of us commit our lives to balancing that scale, investing our passion and energy to both understanding and healing the dividing lines among us.

Finally, I am pleased to announce that Yury Bondarenko, mentioned above, will be on our campus in November. For those of you who live locally, I hope you will join us in the Damazo Amphitheater here on campus at 6 p.m. on November 11 as he shares the incredible stories of bravery and resilience his team has encountered in their service in Kyiv and across Ukraine.

Sincerely,

Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH
President
Loma Linda University Health