Tuesday reader's view: No standing in race conversation
Mr. Chris Stevens, the religious person in me wants to forgive your shallow and heartless diatribe on Sunday, August 25 as merely misguided and ill-informed. But, the realist in me hears the voice of the bigot, the snap of the overseers’ whip and the angry shout of whites claiming righteous indignation when the target of their oppression dares to advocate for equality. Your editorial exhibits a shocking and remarkable vacancy of knowledge of the black experience in this country and in American history.
How dare you, the beneficiary of much privilege in this country, equate any paltry response in retaliation for the Zimmerman travesty with the countless examples of white racism perpetrated over centuries. You are obviously an educated man, but apparently have not availed yourself of African American history courses or any of the many informative books detailing the unique actions of white racism in this country. Sadly, the fact that you use your position to spew such malicious trash on readers in this community displays an unwillingness to learn about our history of racial cleansings, pernicious economic and social violence against blacks and ongoing systemic efforts to impoverish and dehumanize people of color and the poor. Recent efforts installing dictatorial emergency managers have targeted mostly black communities, and state governments passing voting rights restrictions to resolve non-existent fraud but clearly aimed at poor people and students, are just two examples of current deliberate attempts to disenfranchise blacks from the American dream that you so easily take for granted.
The common ground you call for starts with you, and all whites, educating themselves about the black experience in the United States. The common ground you seek starts when you learn about our history of violence against blacks, our history of legal repression of blacks and our ongoing social and economic assault on blacks in this country. The common ground you call for starts when you accept your complicity in accepting the largess of white racism through the accident of your birth and recognize the vastly unlevel playing field we live on. Until you accomplish this, you have absolutely no standing in this conversation.
As we mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, all people of good will and believers in social equality remember the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his commitment to nonviolence. But, violence is not just about hitting someone with a fist. Violence is also persistently paying people low wages, restricting access to affordable health care, underfunding public schools, providing little of no access to avenues of social mobility readily available to others and supporting a separate and not-equal justice system. If you want to trot out your handful of examples of violence, then you must be prepared to answer for the wave after tsunami wave of violence perpetrated on blacks in this country by whites for the past three centuries. Once you are prepared to undertake that work, then and only then, will you understand that you have no claim to victimization. Then and only then will your heart be tempered with the humility and compassion needed to serve, honor and respect the true victims of racism.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Truth and Meaning: Privilege
Truth and Meaning: Privilege
As you read this post, Jody and I will have just returned from Washington, D.C., after taking part in the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The memory of that event and the leaders who spawned it humbles me as the impact of their greatness lingers on today. Sadly, also lingering on today is the root cause of so much injustice in our nation – racism – and the privilege that racism engenders.
To understand this issue, you must understand this basic fact – the concept of “race” is a lie. The notion that homo sapiens is somehow divided into subspecies based on skin color and other physical attributes has no foundation in fact. Race is a fabrication of 19th century Europeans and Americans who presupposed that “white” culture is superior to other cultures and that all people must be converted to the “superior” religion of Christianity. And out of this flawed thinking derived theories of eugenics, which ultimately were responsible for multiple genocides in the past century.
Racism also creates the sense of privilege in our society. Privilege is the common conception that certain birth attributes are somehow “better” or more natural and therefore deserving of greater inherent worth. It is privilege that promotes the notion that non-whites are inherently more violent, more criminal than whites, and not simply that whites dominate our criminal justice system and control most of the wealth in society. It is privilege that blames women for being raped and abused, and not simply that misogynist men promote the objectification of all women as whores and house slaves. It is privilege that breeds fear of the non-existent “gay agenda,” and not simply a lack of education about sexual orientation and gender identity in nature.
So I march as an ally for those who cannot march; I speak when the oppressed have no voice; and I help open doors that are closed to those without our society’s privileges. For, like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I have a dream of a society where all of our boys and girls, gay or straight, will be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. I have a dream that all people, however they appear, whatever the gender of their identity, or whoever they love, will have the same access to housing, to jobs, to health care and to civil rights. Like Jefferson, I believe that we are all created as equals and that we are all endowed with the inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
To understand this issue, you must understand this basic fact – the concept of “race” is a lie. The notion that homo sapiens is somehow divided into subspecies based on skin color and other physical attributes has no foundation in fact. Race is a fabrication of 19th century Europeans and Americans who presupposed that “white” culture is superior to other cultures and that all people must be converted to the “superior” religion of Christianity. And out of this flawed thinking derived theories of eugenics, which ultimately were responsible for multiple genocides in the past century.
Racism also creates the sense of privilege in our society. Privilege is the common conception that certain birth attributes are somehow “better” or more natural and therefore deserving of greater inherent worth. It is privilege that promotes the notion that non-whites are inherently more violent, more criminal than whites, and not simply that whites dominate our criminal justice system and control most of the wealth in society. It is privilege that blames women for being raped and abused, and not simply that misogynist men promote the objectification of all women as whores and house slaves. It is privilege that breeds fear of the non-existent “gay agenda,” and not simply a lack of education about sexual orientation and gender identity in nature.
So I march as an ally for those who cannot march; I speak when the oppressed have no voice; and I help open doors that are closed to those without our society’s privileges. For, like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I have a dream of a society where all of our boys and girls, gay or straight, will be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. I have a dream that all people, however they appear, whatever the gender of their identity, or whoever they love, will have the same access to housing, to jobs, to health care and to civil rights. Like Jefferson, I believe that we are all created as equals and that we are all endowed with the inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Truth and Meaning: Integrity
Truth and Meaning: Integrity
Recent years have given us much reason to despair at the seeming lack of integrity among our elected officials. Whether it involves questionable personal ethics, or a clear disregard for democratic processes, few politicians show a true commitment to ideals such as truth, honesty and openness.
Wiktionary offers three definitions of the word integrity — and I frankly find each lacking.
“Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.” I do not believe stubborn or dogmatic thinking shows integrity. It takes little courage or talent to simply follow laws without any personal judgment or interpretation. The language of moral and ethical codes is far too inexact for our adherence to be so rigid as to not allow for unique circumstance, or for human weakness and frailty. No prescription can take into account every possible situation or demand on our dedication or compassion. True integrity lies in living morally and ethically — not adhering to rules carved in stone, or to the unyielding tenets of a particular person or group. Integrity demands individual application of human reason and relevant experience.
“The state of being wholesome; unimpaired.” Personally, I view life as a wonderful, but challenging crucible of experiences. The joys and delights of one day can only be truly appreciated in the perspective of the challenges and sorrows we face on others. Life is about impairment and how we respond to events and situations that make us face our fears, our limitations, our darker impulses. Wholesome is for milk; for human beings, give me good intent, effort and passion and the result will usually result in the presence of integrity.
“The quality or condition of being complete; pure.” Here, I imagine the dictionary is referring to integrity as it relates to a person possessing all of the requisite parts, to being integrated. But again, I believe that the most important element of integrity is the recognition that none of us are complete or perfect. We each possess unique strengths. However, we each also must own up to the gaps in our perspective, our thought processes. How can we really grasp and make most use of our strengths without a firm knowledge of our weaknesses? And when we understand our shortcomings, we are best able to work in community with those best able to help us overcome our failings.
So, when I look for integrity, I look for someone open to the thinking and experiences of others, and whose judgment is not up for sale to the peddlers of easy answers and single-mindedness. I look for a hard worker with a vision and the drive to strive for that vision whatever the cost. And I look for someone who makes the most of his or her strengths, but then also is strong enough to lean on others for help.
Recent years have given us much reason to despair at the seeming lack of integrity among our elected officials. Whether it involves questionable personal ethics, or a clear disregard for democratic processes, few politicians show a true commitment to ideals such as truth, honesty and openness.
Wiktionary offers three definitions of the word integrity — and I frankly find each lacking.
“Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.” I do not believe stubborn or dogmatic thinking shows integrity. It takes little courage or talent to simply follow laws without any personal judgment or interpretation. The language of moral and ethical codes is far too inexact for our adherence to be so rigid as to not allow for unique circumstance, or for human weakness and frailty. No prescription can take into account every possible situation or demand on our dedication or compassion. True integrity lies in living morally and ethically — not adhering to rules carved in stone, or to the unyielding tenets of a particular person or group. Integrity demands individual application of human reason and relevant experience.
“The state of being wholesome; unimpaired.” Personally, I view life as a wonderful, but challenging crucible of experiences. The joys and delights of one day can only be truly appreciated in the perspective of the challenges and sorrows we face on others. Life is about impairment and how we respond to events and situations that make us face our fears, our limitations, our darker impulses. Wholesome is for milk; for human beings, give me good intent, effort and passion and the result will usually result in the presence of integrity.
“The quality or condition of being complete; pure.” Here, I imagine the dictionary is referring to integrity as it relates to a person possessing all of the requisite parts, to being integrated. But again, I believe that the most important element of integrity is the recognition that none of us are complete or perfect. We each possess unique strengths. However, we each also must own up to the gaps in our perspective, our thought processes. How can we really grasp and make most use of our strengths without a firm knowledge of our weaknesses? And when we understand our shortcomings, we are best able to work in community with those best able to help us overcome our failings.
So, when I look for integrity, I look for someone open to the thinking and experiences of others, and whose judgment is not up for sale to the peddlers of easy answers and single-mindedness. I look for a hard worker with a vision and the drive to strive for that vision whatever the cost. And I look for someone who makes the most of his or her strengths, but then also is strong enough to lean on others for help.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Truth and Meaning: Shame and Guilt
Truth and Meaning: Shame and Guilt
During his high school years, a very good friend of my son committed suicide. Eddie had been to my house. He was successful in school, had many friends, and seemed to have it made in life. His suicide was sudden and completely unexpected. We will never know why this handsome and gifted young man took his life.
Tragically, there are stories like Eddie's every day. Over 36,000 people die yearly by suicide in the United States. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young adults and the third leading cause among teens.
Suicide is also strongly linked to mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health reports one in four adults experiences a mental health disorder annually. But, because of the stigma society attaches to mental illness, far too many people lack access to the help and support they need to treat their disease.
The shame and guilt felt by those who suffer from mental illness is unfair and unwarranted. Our society's inability to help the victims of mental illness is tragic and inexcusable. We can change this. We MUST change this.
Through education and awareness we can reduce the number of deaths by suicide and increase help-seeking behaviors. The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective; between 70 percent to 90 percent of individuals have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports.
Next Saturday, Aug. 17, my wife and I are joining others in a Walk for Hope — Depression and Suicide Awareness at Northwood University. All funds raised will be used in the Great Lakes Bay Region to host special events, training and education in an effort to build awareness of mental health and suicide prevention, intervention and aftercare. Just as important, this walk gives people the opportunity to come together and share their stories. And by sharing our stories, we may prevent just one person from reaching the desperate point where they view suicide as their only viable option.
If you believe that you suffer from depression or other symptoms related to your mental health, please seek help. If you suspect that someone you know suffers from mental illness, do not wait. Reach out to them and invite them to share their stories. Consider registering to walk with us or sponsoring a walker at http://www.crowdrise.com/walkforhope2013
Together, let us eradicate the shame and guilt felt by our friends and neighbors in need.
During his high school years, a very good friend of my son committed suicide. Eddie had been to my house. He was successful in school, had many friends, and seemed to have it made in life. His suicide was sudden and completely unexpected. We will never know why this handsome and gifted young man took his life.
Tragically, there are stories like Eddie's every day. Over 36,000 people die yearly by suicide in the United States. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young adults and the third leading cause among teens.
Suicide is also strongly linked to mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health reports one in four adults experiences a mental health disorder annually. But, because of the stigma society attaches to mental illness, far too many people lack access to the help and support they need to treat their disease.
The shame and guilt felt by those who suffer from mental illness is unfair and unwarranted. Our society's inability to help the victims of mental illness is tragic and inexcusable. We can change this. We MUST change this.
Through education and awareness we can reduce the number of deaths by suicide and increase help-seeking behaviors. The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective; between 70 percent to 90 percent of individuals have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports.
Next Saturday, Aug. 17, my wife and I are joining others in a Walk for Hope — Depression and Suicide Awareness at Northwood University. All funds raised will be used in the Great Lakes Bay Region to host special events, training and education in an effort to build awareness of mental health and suicide prevention, intervention and aftercare. Just as important, this walk gives people the opportunity to come together and share their stories. And by sharing our stories, we may prevent just one person from reaching the desperate point where they view suicide as their only viable option.
If you believe that you suffer from depression or other symptoms related to your mental health, please seek help. If you suspect that someone you know suffers from mental illness, do not wait. Reach out to them and invite them to share their stories. Consider registering to walk with us or sponsoring a walker at http://www.crowdrise.com/walkforhope2013
Together, let us eradicate the shame and guilt felt by our friends and neighbors in need.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Truth and Meaning: Taking Sides
Truth and Meaning: Taking Sides
As children, we were always taking sides. Whatever the game – red rover, tag, softball, or soccer – we set up “us” versus “them.” Winning always seemed to require that someone else lost. And expressions like “everyone is a winner” usually rang hollow in our ears.
Because even as children, we knew the score. Winning is better than losing. Winners are better than losers. One should be willing to do almost anything to avoid losing, even if that means bending a rule, being called for a foul, or spending time in the penalty box.
Well, listen up everybody. It’s a lie. The better player often doesn’t win. The playing field is never level. And life is rarely fair.
As adults, we know that hard work is not always rewarded. We know that some people get a head start, no matter what the race. We knowingly play a game that it is rigged. And we learn that “not getting caught” means the same thing as “following the rules.”
Why? Why must we endure unfairness and injustice? Why do innocent people get hurt while others seem to get away with murder. Why? Because we keep taking sides.
Well, do you want to know something? There are no sides. There are just people. There is just you and me and how we choose to treat each other. And right now, we are doing a pretty lousy job.
Life is not NASCAR. The only way to truly win the game is for everyone to cross the finish line together.
As children, we were always taking sides. Whatever the game – red rover, tag, softball, or soccer – we set up “us” versus “them.” Winning always seemed to require that someone else lost. And expressions like “everyone is a winner” usually rang hollow in our ears.
Because even as children, we knew the score. Winning is better than losing. Winners are better than losers. One should be willing to do almost anything to avoid losing, even if that means bending a rule, being called for a foul, or spending time in the penalty box.
Well, listen up everybody. It’s a lie. The better player often doesn’t win. The playing field is never level. And life is rarely fair.
As adults, we know that hard work is not always rewarded. We know that some people get a head start, no matter what the race. We knowingly play a game that it is rigged. And we learn that “not getting caught” means the same thing as “following the rules.”
Why? Why must we endure unfairness and injustice? Why do innocent people get hurt while others seem to get away with murder. Why? Because we keep taking sides.
Well, do you want to know something? There are no sides. There are just people. There is just you and me and how we choose to treat each other. And right now, we are doing a pretty lousy job.
- When a woman is molested, abused, beaten or raped, we fail as a society. I don’t care what she wore or said or did. We fail if our women feel unsafe, objectified, and unloved.
- When a gay person is taunted, bullied, or discriminated against, we fail as a society. I don’t care whether you believe homosexuality is nature or nurture. We fail if our GLBTQ folk feel hated, victimized, and afraid.
- When a person of color is mistrusted, pigeon-holed, stalked, and murdered, we fail as a society. I don’t care what neighborhood they are in or whether you feel misguided superiority. We fail if our Black, Latino, Asian, Indigenous and other neighbors live in constant fear of our judgment and violence.
- When a person winds up homeless, jobless, or hopeless, we fail as a society. I don’t care how much money or political clout you have. We fail when those with privilege oppress those who build our machines, serve our food, or teach our children.
Life is not NASCAR. The only way to truly win the game is for everyone to cross the finish line together.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Truth and Meaning: Prayer
Truth and Meaning: Prayer
According to Merriam-Webster, the word prayer comes from Middle English and Latin roots meaning "obtained by entreaty." The modern definition centers on an earnest request or wish to a God or god.
Hexham's Concise Dictionary of Religion calls prayer the "means by which an individual or group attempts to enter into verbal or mental communication with a deity."
I believe that prayer can be separated into two categories: prayer with and prayer to. When we are with others, either during a worship service, at a meal, or alongside one who is ill or troubled, we can pray with. Prayer with begins with listening to and caring about those we are with. Our prayers reflect their needs, and the matters afflicting their minds and hearts. The purpose of prayer with is to let others know that they have been heard, that they have had the opportunity to articulate their fears, and that they are not alone in their struggles. Prayer with aims to help others find within themselves, their family, and their friends the resources to cope and to explore the wonders of existence.
If one does not believe in a deity or a specific God or god, then what is the target of prayer to? We are all part of a universe of forces, fields and life. We may never comprehend all of the levels of consciousness that exist in that expanse. As constituents in that enterprise, prayer to simply means asking for help from whatever resources there are — whether those resources lie in the depths of time and space, or deep within ourselves.
So for me, prayer is the act of engaging spiritually with our inner selves, with others, and with the universe by reaching out and asking for help, support, and reassurance.
Today, when we are so beset with challenges in our lives and in our society, we need prayer to but we also need prayer with. With so much distrust, selfishness and sadness in the world, we need to come together in prayer with each other asking for help from whatever source exists to supply it. So, whether you are a theist with a firm belief in a specific deity or an agnostic who simply doesn't know, or an atheist who resists the construct of god, we can all unite in prayer with each other for peace, for justice and for love. And when help appears, we can unite in gratitude for the grace of the world.
According to Merriam-Webster, the word prayer comes from Middle English and Latin roots meaning "obtained by entreaty." The modern definition centers on an earnest request or wish to a God or god.
Hexham's Concise Dictionary of Religion calls prayer the "means by which an individual or group attempts to enter into verbal or mental communication with a deity."
I believe that prayer can be separated into two categories: prayer with and prayer to. When we are with others, either during a worship service, at a meal, or alongside one who is ill or troubled, we can pray with. Prayer with begins with listening to and caring about those we are with. Our prayers reflect their needs, and the matters afflicting their minds and hearts. The purpose of prayer with is to let others know that they have been heard, that they have had the opportunity to articulate their fears, and that they are not alone in their struggles. Prayer with aims to help others find within themselves, their family, and their friends the resources to cope and to explore the wonders of existence.
If one does not believe in a deity or a specific God or god, then what is the target of prayer to? We are all part of a universe of forces, fields and life. We may never comprehend all of the levels of consciousness that exist in that expanse. As constituents in that enterprise, prayer to simply means asking for help from whatever resources there are — whether those resources lie in the depths of time and space, or deep within ourselves.
So for me, prayer is the act of engaging spiritually with our inner selves, with others, and with the universe by reaching out and asking for help, support, and reassurance.
Today, when we are so beset with challenges in our lives and in our society, we need prayer to but we also need prayer with. With so much distrust, selfishness and sadness in the world, we need to come together in prayer with each other asking for help from whatever source exists to supply it. So, whether you are a theist with a firm belief in a specific deity or an agnostic who simply doesn't know, or an atheist who resists the construct of god, we can all unite in prayer with each other for peace, for justice and for love. And when help appears, we can unite in gratitude for the grace of the world.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Truth and Meaning: Belief
Truth and Meaning: Belief
The second wedding I officiated years ago was for a gay couple. The ceremony was beautiful and after delivering the blessing, I began to eat dinner at the reception. An older gentleman sat alongside me and introduced himself as the father of one of the young men.
He explained that he was life-long Catholic, but that the church’s position on his son’s marriage had shaken his faith. He asked me for my advice regarding his troubled beliefs. We talked for half an hour and I did my best to comfort him. I tried to reassure him that I believed that Love mattered more than our flawed ability to interpret scriptures written thousands of years ago or to establish ironclad rules of law that could apply equally in all times and places to all people. I suggested that he look to his faith for the core of his beliefs for strength. And I suggested that he not abandon his faith, but rather to stay and advocate for what he believed was true and right.
Recent events have raised more challenges to belief for people in our society. Last Sunday, I awoke to the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial. I was overcome with anger — anger that seemed to nearly incapacitate me. I knew that I needed reassurance — reassurance that this travesty of justice was an exception, that the death of Trayvon Martin was not an indication of hopeless racism and gun worship in this country. I needed to be with African Americans in worship. I wanted to be with them in solidarity, but I also wanted to ask them for something that I had no right to ask. I needed to ask them for reassurance that whites and blacks in this country CAN live together in love and peace, freedom and equality.
So Jody and I went to the Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Saginaw. We found a joyous congregation celebrating their love of Jesus and the gift that was his life to us. We found no sad faces, no complaining, no bitterness, and no anger. We were welcomed with open arms and open hearts. Even though I do not share their creed, or their mode of practicing their faith, I left reassured that we shared a common belief in the power of Love to overcome all evil.
I was in no position to help my congregants last Sunday to deal with their anger over this case and the verdict. I was too full of my own anger; my own belief in this country and its people was shaken. But, now I can help others to cope with the sad story of Trayvon Martin, and all of the other lives so stupidly wasted in this country. Sunday I preached about the roots of anger and how we can deal with it (see The Angry Jesus post for the full text). For I believe in the future of this nation and its people. I believe in the power of Love and the force of Reason as guides. And I believe in the strength of our Commitment to build the Beloved Community.
The second wedding I officiated years ago was for a gay couple. The ceremony was beautiful and after delivering the blessing, I began to eat dinner at the reception. An older gentleman sat alongside me and introduced himself as the father of one of the young men.
He explained that he was life-long Catholic, but that the church’s position on his son’s marriage had shaken his faith. He asked me for my advice regarding his troubled beliefs. We talked for half an hour and I did my best to comfort him. I tried to reassure him that I believed that Love mattered more than our flawed ability to interpret scriptures written thousands of years ago or to establish ironclad rules of law that could apply equally in all times and places to all people. I suggested that he look to his faith for the core of his beliefs for strength. And I suggested that he not abandon his faith, but rather to stay and advocate for what he believed was true and right.
Recent events have raised more challenges to belief for people in our society. Last Sunday, I awoke to the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial. I was overcome with anger — anger that seemed to nearly incapacitate me. I knew that I needed reassurance — reassurance that this travesty of justice was an exception, that the death of Trayvon Martin was not an indication of hopeless racism and gun worship in this country. I needed to be with African Americans in worship. I wanted to be with them in solidarity, but I also wanted to ask them for something that I had no right to ask. I needed to ask them for reassurance that whites and blacks in this country CAN live together in love and peace, freedom and equality.
So Jody and I went to the Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Saginaw. We found a joyous congregation celebrating their love of Jesus and the gift that was his life to us. We found no sad faces, no complaining, no bitterness, and no anger. We were welcomed with open arms and open hearts. Even though I do not share their creed, or their mode of practicing their faith, I left reassured that we shared a common belief in the power of Love to overcome all evil.
I was in no position to help my congregants last Sunday to deal with their anger over this case and the verdict. I was too full of my own anger; my own belief in this country and its people was shaken. But, now I can help others to cope with the sad story of Trayvon Martin, and all of the other lives so stupidly wasted in this country. Sunday I preached about the roots of anger and how we can deal with it (see The Angry Jesus post for the full text). For I believe in the future of this nation and its people. I believe in the power of Love and the force of Reason as guides. And I believe in the strength of our Commitment to build the Beloved Community.
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