1-19-12

Bob and the Art of Social Justice...

Recently I have been bothered by things I see around me. Enough so that I've had to take a stand and say something. Other things have touched my heart and I feel compelled to reach out.

Martin Luther King who?

I work on a college campus. Monday the college was closed for Dr. King's birthday. Tuesday classes resumed and around noon there was a presentation to celebrate his birthday in the campus meeting area. There were guest speakers and local activist leaders.

Do you know how many people attended?

Seven. Well five actually. Two of those in attendance were media.

While this was happening the Starbucks was packed and the Apple store in the college bookstore was busy.

Good to know the future of America has their priorities straight.

I Don't Care What You Call It, Hate is Hate!

I am friends with Bobby who is the head of the LCCC Pride organization on campus. He's one of the friendliest and most helpful people on campus. LCCC for whatever reason makes it very difficult to get an organization started on campus. Bobby is good with getting things done.

The Pride group is an openly gay organization that promotes tolerance and understanding among students. Pride also provides a place for gay students to socialize and experience community. Someone this past week went into the LCCC Pride office cubicle and wrote "Kill all Gays" on one of their flyers.

That upsets and troubles me greatly.

I don't care what your feelings are about homosexuality. There is no excuse for this! I have stated this before and I'll say it again. When we start to look at people or groups as "they" or "them" we begin to view them as not human. Once a person or group is dehumanized then we can justify doing anything to them.

What happened to the Pride group is hate.

There is no place for this.

Bobby and the members of the Pride group don't deserve to be treated like this either.

The Returning Soldier

Recently I read an article about a photo of some marines urinating on the bodies of some dead Taliban. I didn't finish the article. It upset me too much.

President Obama has recently brought our troops home from Iraq. Sadly the urination picture story has gotten more press than our troops coming home.

In the name of freedom we place our men and women in uniform into positions to exercise the lowest common denominator of human interaction. We send them to kill. We send them for long durations to foreign countries where the temptation to fill the void of loneliness is overwhelming. There are acts of heroism in war, but there are also acts of cowardice and debauchery. For every Purple Heart there is a Gitmo or Mai Lai.

I think about what led those marines to do what they did. I think about what they must go through over there. I'm not making excuses for what they did. I just think about the baggage they bring home.

I started thinking about what we could do as a church. What could we do to help relieve our soldiers of the mental, emotional and spiritual bagged they bring home with them?

I have ideas. I'll keep you posted.

The N-Word

I was at the college gym locker room this morning. While I was in there a young african-american guy decided to play a song he had on his phone while he got dressed. I was washing up and all I could hear was the f-word, references to women's genitalia and the n-word. This song was nothing more than verbal pornography.

The more I heard the angrier I got. After about 1 minute of this I turned around and in a loud and forceful voice told this guy to turn that song off. I think I scared him. I told him that I do NOT want to hear the n-word.

I didn't stop there.

I asked him why he would listen to something like that. To me the n-word is the most disgusting and deplorable word in the English language. Anyone who thinks that it's a cultural term of endearment to the black community is an idiot and a fool. They have bought into the lie that a word that demeans an entire race of people is acceptable.

I have a friend from Africa who is a missionary in Ghana. His family is going through hell right now in the name of Christ. To say that the n-word is a term of endearment to him and his family or the people he ministers to is a slap in the face.

I hate this word. I HATE IT!!!!!!

This young african-american guy didn't answer me. He just lowered his head, grabbed his bag and left the locker room.

Helen Keller

A friend on Facebook thought it cute to post a pic of some black squares with the caption "The Adventures of Helen Keller."

I didn't find that funny.

For anyone who knows Helen Keller's story she is an example of someone overcoming their handicap and living a wonderful life. She overcame blindness and deafness to experience the day to day things that we take for granted.

The irony is that Helen Keller made more of an impact with her handicaps than most people do with full sight and hearing.

Reconciliation

There is an american-indian man in my neighborhood. He let me borrow an Indian history book. I have read it. Most of the history I already knew. The thing is he is very bitter. He hurts.

My thought for him is how can he have peace? How can there be reconciliation?

I have been listening to an Native-American Pastor named Richard Twiss. He went through a lot of the bitterness. He also has gone through the shunning of his own culture in the name of fitting in as an evangelical christian. He has a lot of truth that I feel can help my friend. I plan on sharing with him.

I'll keep you posted.

For the Kingdom

The more I try to live for the kingdom the more sensitive I become to the actions and words that divide us as people. I think about the healing in my own life. I think about the grace I have received. I want that for so many people.

I want wars to end.

I want a people burdened with loss of culture and home to find another in Christ.

I want an entire race of people to have self-respect.

I want people to quit dehumanizing each other to the point of hate.

I want that which divides us to be healed.

I want to share with everyone the only place where this can be a reality.


...that is in The Kingdom of God