“What I’m talking about is more than recompense for past injustices—more than a handout, a payoff, hush money, or a reluctant bribe. What I’m talking about is a national reckoning that would lead to spiritual renewal. . . . Reparations would mean a revolution of American consciousness, a reconciling of our self-image as the great democratizer with the facts of our history.”
—Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Case for Reparations
Stunning words from Mr. Coates! Finally, white power and white privilege accustomed to the old, distinctly American adage “money talks” is challenged to the crux of what African-Americans want. They don’t want handouts, payoffs, hush money, or bribes. They want white America to do a conscience check and transform the inner soul that makes us racist and bigoted. What a challenge! Can we do it?
St. Francis of Assisi was raised by his wealthy father in luxury and social privilege. He loved to party with his young friends and remained isolated from the poverty which was the norm for most of society during the Middle Ages. His transformation occurred while riding away on horseback to join the Crusades, a worthy undertaking for a man desiring to prove himself to his family and friends back home.
Lepers were social outcasts who were feared, according to stories about Francis, greatly by the young man. Approaching a leper along the highway, he turned his horse and rode quickly the other direction not wanting to see or engage this man who was rejected by society. However, whether by conscience or whether by God, Francis could not remove the image of the diseased man from his mind, decided to turn around, determined to face this fear and spent time with the leper thus conquering his unfounded prejudice.
St. Francis, Jesus of Nazareth, Clare of Assisi, and documented mystics throughout history laid the foundations for a Christian philosophy which transcends popular belief that sin is the inherent nature of man and that ‘salvation’ is the goal of faith. Contrary to this contemporary Christian doctrine is the concept that mankind is a community of brothers and sisters who, in loving co-existence with the entirety of Creation, are designed to serve one another in peace and fellowship, engaging those at the bottom of the social ladder in service rather than aspiring to climb the ladder to a promised salvation in a far-away heavenly home thereby avoiding the ‘lepers’ of modern society, the disenfranchised.
In years past, blinders were put upon work horses to avoid distractions in the field or along the road. It seems that some of today’s Christians voluntarily put on blinders to avoid the dark side of today’s world, to avoid the distractions of intolerance, racism, hatred, white nationalism, homophobia, Islamophobia, homelessness, poverty.
Garth Brooks famously sang “Friends in Low Places” back in 1990. Could we (and I include myself at the top of this list) search the lowly places for those who have been cast by the wayside, commune with them, walk the talk with them, look beyond that which makes them different from us and somehow connect in solidarity with the One who makes us one humanity?
Perhaps we could get down into the nitty-gritty of humanity, love those whom St. Francis and Clare of Assisi loved, stand shoulder to shoulder with the ones Jesus addressed in the Beatitudes as “blessed”….perhaps then we could shun those Christian blinders (human and doctrinal) which prevent us from seeing the world as it is.
Maybe we need to look in the ‘low places’ rather than the heavens for Jesus?
Most of us know our kin, sometimes wish we did not. Can we imagine a world of kinship, a place where the man who is black, the woman who is Muslim, the neighbor who is gay, the co-worker who practices Buddhism, the homeless man on the corner, the drunk in the gutter – can we somehow see each of them as kin? Related? Worthy of our love and compassion?
Society, governments, and religions often, inadvertently or overtly, put separations between us defining our differences thereby reducing relationships to a status of “us” and “them” in denial of the paradigm which the great wisdom leaders throughout history from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Gandhi, to Muhammad, to Jesus of Nazareth to Lao Tzu to Gautama Buddha tried to teach during their lifetimes.
Even when placing our lives in service to others, we are not recognizing God’s dream for his/her Creation – being one with the other and not separate. Kinship is what Jesus practiced. He was one not standing outside the circle, but in the midst of those “… whose dignity had been denied…with the poor and the powerless and the voiceless….the easily despised and the readily left out…the demonized…the disposable.”cac.org
We, who are eternally hopeful that the time for non-violence, for peace, for kinship has arrived, read the words of one of the revered prophets of the Judaic tradition, HABAKKUK, who said, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time, it speaks of the end and will not prove false.”
“In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together, the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them.” ISAIAH 11:6
It paints a beautiful picture of what life on earth could be – was intended to be. Do you see it? Are you willing to live it? It’s our choice.
“An important element of this new power is that it is not power for the sake of personal gain, but power for the sake of all the oppressed, ignored, forgotten, and exploited members of society. The powerless are recouping power . . . the power of the gospel, which works for the betterment and liberation of all, especially those in greatest need.” cac.org
June is PRIDE 🌈 month. Part of the celebration is recognizing that equality is not freely given without bloodshed, heartache and tears even in a democratic society. Each of the oppressed, ignored, forgotten, and exploited members of societyhas paid the dues to rise above inherent societal intolerance, ignorance, and hatred. We agree to love ourselves as created and then expect the same love from others. Black or white, any shade in between, short or gangly, genius or challenged, flighty or pragmatic, artistic or color-blind, wealthy or poor all belong in the grand scheme as devised by the all-knowing Creator.
The LGBTQ+ community understands this, has realized enormous gains in recent years. However, that progress is not guaranteed and not free. Transparency in who we are as people, as lovers, as neighbors, as workers, and as activists ensures that our rights will not go away at the whim of a repressive political system or religion.
This is why PRIDE month is important. The parades and celebrations, fun and colorful, are merely the tip of the iceberg. The legacy we leave for future generations is dependent on the actions we take today to inform the world,
“Here I am, love me or hate me; it’s OK because I am a child of this Universe, the same Oneness that has created all of us in the image of goodness and mercy.”
“An important element of this new power is that it is not power for the sake of personal gain, but power for the sake of all the oppressed, ignored, forgotten, and exploited members of society. The powerless are recouping power . . . the power of the gospel, which works for the betterment and liberation of all, especially those in greatest need.” cac.org
WE ARE ONE HUMANITY ALL LOVED BY THE ONE NAMED GOD.
Matters not whom one prays to, the color of one’s skin, or whether one lives in Minneapolis or Memphis – WE ARE ALL ONE UNDER ONE GOD. Is that so difficult to understand?
“AS YOU DO UNTO THE LEAST OF THESE, YOU ALSO DO TO ME.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. – an impossible and unrealistic dream or a legacy squandered by hatred and division? Or might you be one who believes great strides have been made in equal justice and opportunity for not only our black and brown brothers and sisters, but also for those of different creeds, lifestyle and nationality – the Puerto Rican, the Muslim, the gay and lesbian?
Yes, laws have been passed and legislation protects, but has the heart of white, privileged America miraculously filled with compassion since the era of MLK, Jr.? What leads you to believe so? Equal job opportunities? Fair housing practices? Safe city neighborhoods? Justice in the court systems? Protected voting rights? Or maybe state and federal governments represented proportionately by members of all minority groups? Really? You truly believe this is so? Can you unequivocally state that a gay man, a black man, a Muslim woman, a white woman walks as securely through life as a white man?
Well golly gee, I would love to share some of that whacky weed you are smoking followed by a swig of the Kool-Aid you’re drinking. America, wake up! We are at a crossroads in our country’s destiny. We have been rent asunder by today’s world and national political powers who want to see us even further divided because it will be then that their vile plans can be instituted – race against race, black against white, straight against gay, Christian against Muslim, Democrat against Republican. Dr. King spoke often of the brotherhood of mankind as the only way to keep this ship (the earth) from sinking and the necessity of non-violence in solving our problems. So, is his dream dead or merely shifting gears? It’s up to us, isn’t it?
one nation, indivisible, with liberty & justice for all
“the time is always ripe to do right”
“morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated”
Several of my fellow Citrus County residents advocate the theory that educating incarcerated men and women only results in smarter criminals upon release from prison. The money spent, they say, could be put to better use in other programs and government projects. However, statistics following release from prison support the advantages of providing educational opportunities to inmates. We must recognize the need of communities to welcome back those who have served the time for the crime and honor their rights as restored citizens to pursue that which provides a fulfilling life. A recent amendment to our state’s Constitution supported the overwhelming will of Florida voters to reinstate voting rights to those who have served their sentences, yet the Legislature led by partisan politics is attempting to circumvent this amendment.
I am a strong advocate for education for everyone. A high school diploma is not enough. Only continued technical or college instruction will provide the tools necessary to gainful employment and competitive skills in the labor market. The failure to provide an affordable education to all young people has resulted in stunning statistics showing the United States trailing other industrialized nations of the world in areas of societal stability, happiness, and productivity. We, the wealthiest nation on earth, cannot provide for our citizens a healthy lifestyle free from the fear of unemployment or neighborhood violence. Our nation is depleting the future of its young people due to its unwillingness to spend a mere modicum of its wealth on education enabling economic advancement for the socially or economically disadvantaged.
That would include prison inmates who have made mistakes, erred on judgement. Due to an unfair for-profit prison system, the USA has highest rate of incarcerated men and women in the industrialized world. A controversial approach has been undertaken by the state of New York, a state which has 53,400 inmates. BPI (Bard Prison Initiative) has 300 of these inmates enrolled in a program funded by private donations to provide college degrees. Of its graduates only 4% return to prison after parole compared to a 50% rate overall. Opponents cite the expense to taxpayers, but this is not government-funded. Opponents claim educated convicts will become smarter criminals; this also is proving to be untrue. PBS has aired a 4 part documentary, ‘COLLEGE BEHIND BARS”, addressing a novel solution. We have a choice – spend the money on education or spend the money on prisons.
I normally don’t weigh in on this topic because I am…….a coward. Aha! You thought I was about to say that as a man I don’t feel qualified to offer an opinion. My friends, I have survived this life for 72 years by keeping most of my opinions regarding a woman’s rights between me and my Creator. However, should I be questioned about abortion and a woman’s reproductive rights, I would have to defer to an even greater right which we all have. And that is the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
But, I must occasionally quiz myself about my views. If I were a pro-lifer, would I value the life of a homeless woman equally to mine, would I embrace the life of a refugee from a country filled with violence and killing equally to mine, would I support the life of my Muslim neighbor practicing his faith, would I welcome the black or brown man as a life which matters equally in God’s eyes, would I cherish the life of a tiger or lion equally to mine? Would I value all of Creation equally?
Would I? Would you? Do you, who profess to be pro-life, value all life as sacred?
If you and I cannot affirm all of life and every creature’s right to live it’s designed purpose on earth, then we would probably need to approach the issue of pro-life this way:
the labeling is all wrong.
One cannot claim to be pro-life unless one supports every aspect of life, every human’s right to exist , every lion’s right to prowl and hunt, every butterfly’s right to flutter, every fetus’s right to be birthed. Perhaps some anti-abortion people who exclude a majority of life on earth as irrelevant ought to appropriately call themselves “pro-birthers.”
So, the question to me needs to be presented this way. “Whom do I choose to offend?” Whaaaaat? Did you really believe that after 72 years of survival in a woman’s world that I would offer an opinion? I may be old, but I am not yet senile. Yep, I’m a coward.
side of the oppressor.”
lpb quest - the twilight dance 