So much has gone on in our country in the last two plus years. Each time, my heart has responded. I have not remained quiet, but neither have I known what to say. How does one respond to a young man being gunned down in the streets simply because of his skin color? What is one supposed to say when sexual assault is normalized? Even laughed at? And the names of the assailants are people I grew up watching on TV or hold positions I was raised to respect. How does one wrap their minds around this devastation?
How does one react? With horror? With speechlessness?
What's the appropriate thing to do?
Go to social media and argue? No.
Speak up when others are laughing? Most definitely.
But, how do we evoke change?
The point is....SOMEthing must be said. SOMEthing must be done. SOMEthing must change.
I have always believed in respecting the office of the president...and I continue to hold that belief. I am not here to debate whether he did or did not say something. I am not here to debate whether you do or do not like him or his policies. I'm not here to debate at all.
Instead, I want to introduce you to some friends.
These smiling little girls are Ruth and Naomi. I met them when I went to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
This is my friend, Zo. He allowed the children in our group to be silly and cover him up with sand. He drove us all over Jeremie, Haiti and did the hard work of hauling construction materials up a mountain so we could all work together to build a church.
And this is the beautiful view from the Jeremie, Haiti beach. Isn't it gorgeous? The water is clear blue and the beach is untouched. For hours, we sat staring at the horizon and frolicked in the waves.
Haiti is a gorgeous country with a history for welcoming visitors, even before the United States of America was born.
Many of us take time in January to set goals. We may choose a word to represent the coming year. January is a time for renewal. It is a time for reflection and a time to move forward. That is something our country needs to do as well.
Martin Luther King Jr wrote these words in "Letter from a Birmingham Jail".
"I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."
I don't want to be a part of the "white moderate". I don't want to be someone who stands by and watches ANY person treated a certain way because of their skin color or their economic status. I will NOT be silent. I may not always say the right thing. I will mess up and probably offend someone in the process. I will learn from those mistakes and continue to speak out.
Because every child, woman and man deserve to be treated with dignity. Why? Because every single person, regardless of their skin color, was created by God and therefore worthy of His love. If He loves them, then so do I.
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