Rugged Individualism.  Grit.  Determination.

Our country is seeped in these attitudes, and they served us well growing a young nation.  Clearing lands, pushing the frontier boundaries from one coast to the other, becoming a world power.  (Never mind that the First People were here already, and these principles didn’t work so well for them, but I digress.)

I see these traits of strength also have a great deal of selfishness woven into them.  In this moment in history, our selfishness clothed in bravado of ‘You can’t make me’, ‘Just Do It’ or ‘I want . . .’ might be our undoing.  We can’t apply known mantras to an unseen and unknown enemy such as the COVID virus. 

I totally understand needing both public health and financial livelihood, and appreciate that tremendous balancing act and its extremely difficult decisions. 

I don’t understand the throngs of people going to crowded bars, restaurants, beaches and public events.  Or maybe I understand all too well that our national identity of rugged individualism is betraying us.  

I beg us to put aside ‘me first’ and look out for the needs of others and the common good.  Ultimately, I believe it will be best for our own welfare as well as that of everyone. 

I’ve been silent on this blog space for the past few weeks.  Mostly, because I felt helpless to find the right words during this time of such pain for our country and Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC).  I also wanted to honor boundaries regarding the proper use of my white woman’s voice in addressing the sin of racism in our country. 

I had been invited to a Juneteenth celebration, but I did not feel knowledgeable enough to be an ally.  It felt like I would be a spectator instead of a participant.  My daughter urged me to honor Juneteenth by reading and learning more about the day and the Black Lives Matter movement. 

I read and watched Fr. Bryan Massingale, a professor at Fordham University and a leader in the field of theological ethics.  A Milwaukee area native, he brings lived experience as a priest of color to his speaking and writing.  In a recent article, The assumptions of white privilege and what we can do about it, Fr. Massingale states, “First, understand the truth between being uncomfortable and being threatened.  There is no way to tell the truth about race in this country without white people being uncomfortable.”  He goes on to say, “but avoiding and sugar coating this truth (of race) is killing people of color.”

I watched a movie about a young black man falsely accused of rape and imprisoned.  How the criminal justice system was broken in his case and in the case of so many people of color.  I watched “13th”, a documentary that presents the issue of race in our criminal justice system.  I learned that even though black men make up about 6 % of the US population, they make up a bit more than 40% of our country’s prison population. 

I learned that “Black Lives Matter” is a phrase highlighting the inequality of security and dignity for people of color.  It is not about Black Lives Matter MORE than other lives.  It is a declaration and a plea for understanding that Black lives matter AS MUCH as all lives.  Because a small number of people have used protests as a means for violence does not take away from this fundamental truth.  If an Army base were bombed, would anyone respond to “Army Lives Matter” by saying “But ALL military lives matter?  Of course not!  Or if an orphanage were set on fire would people reject the phrase “Kids Lives Matter”?  Of course not!  Most of us would intuit the inherent truth that all life matters while understanding that the community in focus needs extra comfort and support during their time of loss. 

Why now?  Like so many, I had been complacent.  I spoke out against injustices, even chair the human concerns committee at my church.  I thought I was doing my part for human rights.  The recent deaths of so many young black men have made me realize I can and must do better.  I acknowledge and pray for forgiveness for my part in this systemic sin.  I will keep reading and learning about racism is our country.  I am hoping we can all vow to do better.   

Fr. Massingale is also the author of a book, Racial Justice and the Catholic Church. His final words in the book are, “Social life is made by human beings.  The society we live in is the outcome of human choices and decisions.  This means that human beings can change things.  What humans break, divide, and separate, we can- with God’s help- also heal, unite and restore. 

What is now does not have to be.  Therein lies the hope.  And the challenge.”

  

I was sitting on my patio pondering what to write next for the blog.  Cute or light-hearted wasn’t appropriate.  Dirge-like somberness didn’t feel right either.  When I flipped open my notebook to start writing, or more likely to stare at the blank page, it opened to a piece I had written as an exercise with my writing group in January.  The writing prompt was ‘My dreams for 2020’.                

These words are exactly what my heart wants to say today. 

My dreams for 2020 is the world to become a kinder, more accepting world.  I pray to God that the year ends preparing for a change in presidency.  Dreams . . . with hope for reality.

I don’t know what it will take for our communities, our country and the world to be able to see the ‘other’ as an opportunity to learn and grow.  To hear a call for generosity of provision and goodwill. 

I just know I dream for the fear and animosity toward anyone different from ourselves to end.  I pray and dream for a recognition of the value of each life and an end to the loss of life and limb from violence.  Whether shootings or reckless driving or domestic abuse.  I dream about my role in helping to bring about tolerance, security and safety for those in my neighborhoods and those on the other side of the world.  Do our words make an impact?  Yes! And Yes! Let it be so. 

January 2020 is very far back in the rearview mirror.  I know that words alone will not bring about an end to systemic racism. However, one key initial step is to define the problem.

“Systemic racism is a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutionalizations.  It is reflected in disparities regarding wealth, income, criminal justice, employment, housing, human concerns, political power and education, among other factors.”  Wikipedia.

Ok, I don’t love the source, but this was actually the clearest, most concise definition I found.  I believe we can easily read and understand this statement to help us answer the question, “Does systemic racism happen in our country?  In our state, in our communities?”  No side arguments.  You know, the ones to get the topic off track.  We need to answer the question with a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. 

We all need to sit with our answer for a while and ponder where our answer will lead us.  It might lead us to:

• Donate to a cause such as Southern Poverty Law Center. 
• Start a book group. I am going to read “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neal Hurston and discuss with my daughters and friends. 
• Read Langston Hughes and other prolific authors of the Harlem Renaissance. 
• Teach our children about great people of color such as Frederick Douglass, W.E.B duBois, Sojourner Truth, Toussaint Loverture.  Names not as familiar as Martin Luther King, but each a profound contributor to the fight for civil rights and equality. 
• Start the uncomfortable conversations with our family and friends. 
• Vow to end our silence. Raise our voice in a peaceful protest or in a letter to elected officials demanding real and lasting changes to ensure safety and equal rights for all.  

I’m rolling up my sleeves and going to work.  I hope you are, too.