Easter Week 2016

There was a Holy man that lived two thousand years ago, his message—his whole message—was to love and forgive.  At first, people were attracted to him, they followed him and sought his blessing (mainly to cure their infirmities not realizing it was their humanity to which he ministered) . . . but when earthly powers turned on him those followers chose to abandon him and support those in power, “We have no king but Caesar” . . . it was safer that way.  We remember him in Holy Week because we are still hoping to learn the lessons he taught.  Our very survival depends on it.  My thoughts bounce between what Holy Week means and what the world displays to us—it says civilization is under threat.

Tracing the gradual refinement of how rulers treated their subjects can point to civilization’s evolution.  In ancient times the Romans established special rights for those who were Roman citizens.  In 1215 The Magna Carter asserted individual rights.  The Americaan Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.  And in 1948 the newly formed United Nations established the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’.   Its’ preamble asserts: “Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world.”  As civilization advances, there is a notable improvement in the treatment of individuals within social order.

The Quran contains much wisdom, as do all Holy Books of all peoples (while each also contains some questionable statements).  At this point in time radical groups of Islamic fundamentalists have usurped all good in the Quran to be overshadowed by the ‘Satanic Verses’ that call for jihad, which they interpret as the slaughter of any and all who do not adhere to their rigid laws.  They are drunk on the heady powers of violence and destruction.  Because this is done in the name of Islam, all Islamists have come under suspicion. 

Many now state we are at war; but this is not a war like other wars we have known—those of territorial acquisition and material wealth—the primary objective of Jihadists is to enslave all and demand adherence to their perverted ideology thus destroying civilization as it now exists.  They trade on fear and shock, they are not just fighting an armed and uniformed ‘enemy’ but are sneaking into any place where innocent people gather to celebrate or conduct business or simply to go about their daily lives, and with suicide bombers blow up—MURDER—as many as possible.  The numbers dead and maimed measure their victory.  They capture young girls and sell them into sex-slavery, they shoot children wanting to learn to read and write, they torture and behead those whom they perceive as wrongdoers.  

We in America have the privilege of living in a free democratic country and tend to ignore ‘far-away’ problems.  We must wake up and take note of how different this scourge is, how insidious and threatening it is to civilization as a whole.  It is not the problem of a nation or region or continent, it is an attack upon universal human values.  Civilization is in the cross-hairs of the jihadists!  Look at the historical artifacts, cities and countries they have utterly destroyed causing millions to flee seeking safety, only to be met with hostility and closed borders.  Good people turn against the helpless and destitute because there are too many, and thus do the jihadists chalk up another victory against civilization.  Yes, they are a new kind of enemy. 

A new strategy is needed for the new enemy; guns and bombs aren’t enough.  I don’t have answers but believe a piece of that strategy needs to be the kind of total focus that WWII brought out; every person, young to old was ready and willing to do whatever they could.   Where are the rallying calls that bring people to awareness of what the world is facing?  Where are the musicians with ‘We Are The World’ concerts to raise money to help care for the refugees?  Where are the Internet appeals for ‘adopting’ individual groups of fighters or refugees to supply their needs?  Where are collection trucks in parking lots to gather blankets, dry goods and necessities for the millions stranded beside fenced and gated borders?  Yes, it takes planning but when the will is resolute it can happen. 

It may seem like subways and airports and 110 story buildings are the target, but make no mistake, the soul of freedom is the real target and that is of universal concern.  This threat challenges us all to finally work together to defend human rights.  Whether you are a Christian participating in the Holy Week rituals or a Jew celebrating Passover, or an eco-humanist appreciating the renewal that is Spring or a non-believer who lives by the laws that respect human rights, you recognize that there are ways of being that support and sustain life—we call that civilization.  Then there are ways of being that are deadly and destructive to all that we value—that is the enemy we must face together.

Like it or not, we are one world, one tiny blue ball in the vast expansive universe and our future is threatened—we, us, all life on this planet depends on the choices we make.  It is in our hands.  May the hope that Spring, Easter, and Passover holds translate to shared concern for the one home we all share.

Look in the Mirror

As I sit awaiting the outcome of this Super Tuesday Presidential race I worry about this country’s political future.  How did we get to this level of anti-civility and why does the public support it?  My last posting was of America’s love of violence and its refusal to acknowledge that it is a problem.   The Republican primaries highlight my point, it has been months of insulting in-fighting among candidates, vitriolic attack ads, physical violence erupting at speeches . . . what other than attraction to violence explains the hemorrhage of attention given to a foul-mouthed, egotistical, bigot running for president of our country? 

I’m a registered Independent and have given my vote to candidates in both parties, choosing not party but the character of the candidate.  I don’t always agree with our presidents, but I respect the office of president.  There is nothing about Trump’s candidacy that calls for respect, his tactics and demeanor are that of a dictator: ‘I’m great!  Obey me or be crushed!’

If we move a bit from the Trump haranguing we can return to a measure of civility despite differences.  The Democratic debates stick to issues and candidates disagree without resorting to personal insults.  Among Republicans, only Kasich has conducted an admirable campaign.

I can only hope and pray the general public awakens to listen to “their better angels” before leading the country blindly into disaster.

Addiction to Violence

There is a sickness in the American culture—we are in love with violence.  It is not just a casual indulgence it is an obsession.  We love violence in any form (be it in the pursuit of the bad or the good).  We love it in our movies, TVs, video games and even in our music—most notably in rap.  We can see it in our love of sports—the more violent the better and football tops all.  A subtler lure to violence is an increasing interest in extreme sports that thrive on the desire to ‘push the envelope’ ever farther.

 Among so many Americans there is an open love affair with guns and any attempt to set reasonable controls meets with angry resistance.  Mass shootings have become so commonplace as to be part of today’s norm. 

The political process of our nation has become a circus of verbal violence with shouts and insults and foul language and bold lies.  It goes on because the public responds not with criticism of it but with eager attention to it.  It is an embarrassment before the world that the highest office in our land is negotiated in such a manner.

I seem to be saying, “the grass is green”—yes, everyone knows of these things, but do we treat the love of violence as a serious problem that needs attention?  It doesn’t ‘just happen’ we choose it!  We respond eagerly at its display whether it is in the films we watch or the sports events upon which we spend billions of dollars.  As a nation we refuse to face the gun issue in a rational way.  As a society we refuse to look in the mirror at ourselves and see the self-damage we inflict . . . like the drug addict and alcoholic we maintain there is no problem—refusing to acknowledge the evidence.

If we are striving to be leaders of the free world, we have an obligation to set a precedence of choosing attitudes and behaviors that enhance rather than diminish, to do that we must face our addiction to violence.

Ash Wednesday Reflection

Today is Ash Wednesday in traditional Christian religions.  People attend church services to receive a smudge of ashes on their forehead as a reminder of our human mortality—we will die one day and return to ashes.  This day marks the beginning of Lent, a time of fasting and sacrifice.  It is to remind us of the forty days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and preparing for his ministry.

I attended the 6:30 AM Mass, scheduled especially for those who have jobs to go to.  The church was moderately full, much as it is at the early Sunday Mass.  It put me in the thoughtful mood of considering how brief is our mortal existence and thinking too of what people have accomplished in all the years of those uncountable brief existences.

History looks back at time measured in decades, centuries and millenniums while physics and astronomy looks further back to the billions of years it took to form the universe.  In such terms, the less than 100 years allotted the average human pales to insignificance, less than a blip on the time scale—seemingly inconsequential.  Yet, here I am writing, and there you are reading this reflection.

We are given life, consciousness, and free will; the rest is up to us.  In our brief experience of existence we have the opportunity to shape a bit of life, be it just for ourselves, or our family or our workplace . . . or for some, to shape a bit of the future.  Humans are the only creatures with the ability to do that, all others must live with what is given, knowing only what is in front of them—they have no history, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy or art.  But humans have changed the face of the earth with boats, bridges and roads; with machines to carry us places—even into the sky!  We’ve discovered how to combine elements and formulate medicines to fight disease.  We transport food from far away places to have for our use what is ‘not is season’.  We’ve built houses and stadiums and theaters and cathedrals to enhance existence.  Our communication systems and devices now reach round the world in an instant.  We have books and TVs and DVDs to bring, at will, everything to our own little piece of the world.  Life is one ever unspooling thread that continually builds today upon what was discovered, developed, devised and invented yesterday and the evolution will continue from today into tomorrow and the future.

We don’t like to think too much about our mortality, but doing so can awaken us to appreciate what we so often take for granted.  Individually we have short lives but look what the human species has collectively brought forth from our creative ingenuity—the Bible says we are “created in the image of God”.  Everything beyond the earth we stand upon with the fruits it yields is the product of cooperative human effort directed toward a goal.  May we find the wisdom to choose worthy goals. 

Martin Luther King Day

2016,  MLK Day—I’m reading the classic book, Jesus and the Disinherited by the brilliant black theologian Howard Thurman whose work influenced King.  It reminded me of my blog of 11/27/14, ‘Ferguson’s Accomplishment’.  In it I stated the Ferguson event “desecrated the memory of MLK, a true black hero honored by all people regardless of race.  He emerged from a society much more deeply steeped in prejudice, yet he brought non-violent pressure to right the injustice of segregation.”

I stand by my statement that the Ferguson’s riots dishonor his memory.  It was clear that MLK stood on the side of a just cause; blacks were innocent victims of institutional prejudice, yet he led peaceful protests and the million-man-march never resorting to violence and brought about the desired change.  With Ferguson 'the right’ is less clear; there is blame on both sides . . . are the police ‘trigger happy’ when it comes to black youth?  I think it is clear that is true—yet that is not the only consideration . . . the function of a police force is to maintain order in society; their effectiveness requires that society respect and support their authority.  Over the past few decades a ferment of anger, disrespect and hatred grew among black youths against police.  That hatred was echoed in the rap-music of insults and calls to oppose police . . . ‘kill the pigs’.  The police, when their authority is not respected or supported, tighten their reactions against perceived violations.

I thought I understood the duel nature and shared blame for the violence in Ferguson but Thurman helped give me deeper understand of the disinherited people’s anger, he explained the why and how of it—I quote his book:

            Pg. 69:  “Hatred in the mind and spirit of the disinherited, is born out of great bitterness—a bitterness that is made possible by sustained resentment.”

            Pg. 70:  “your hatred gives you a sense of significance which you fling defiantly in the teeth of their estimate of you.”

            Pg. 72: “thus hatred becomes a device of which an individual seeks to protect himself against moral disintegration.” (the devaluation he sees in the eyes of the strong).

            Pg. 74:  “Every expression of intolerance, every attitude of meanness, every statute that limits and degrades, give further justification for life-negation on the part of the weak toward the strong.”

Thurman gives insight to the genesis of the anger and hatred that is found among the disinherited—but sees its true nature beyond the violence it births—

            Pg. 76:  “hatred destroys finally the core of the life of the hater.”

Martin Luther King heard Thurman’s message and understood its truth.  He refused to accept disinheritance and used the strength of truth and justice to wage his fight, winning the ear and respect of all who value justice.

We are still seeking the way to co-exist.  There are two roads to the future;    

--will we choose the way of Ferguson through hatred and violence?

--Or Thurman’s and King’s way through peaceful insistence upon what is right and just?