If you are looking for an answer to the "Race Question," I'm sorry to disappoint you. I don't have it. I've been rendered "speechless" since the Michael Brown Grand Jury reached its decision. This, however, in my opinion, is a symptom of a much larger issue.
First and foremost, an injustice was done. An unarmed black teenage boy was killed by a white police officer. Justice will not be served. The Grand Jury has reached its decision. This, however does not say that white police officers are always in the wrong. It also does not give blanket immunity to law enforcement officers who are supposed to uphold our nation's and states' and localities' justice systems.
I cannot judge who should be punished, but in 2014, I would hope that the gun could be the absolute last resort for law enforcement who ARE NOT attacked with lethal force. There is mace, there are tasers, and there is the reality of calling for backup while pursuing the person in question while staying in one's car or at a safe distance.
I am not the police officer Darren Wilson. I did not make the choices he did. I am not Michael Brown. I did not make the choices he did. But what has ensued is just an agitation of a greater reality of today's United States (and most likely the world - in different forms).
This article will not judge who is right and who is wrong. The evidence speaks for itself. I hope to explore the "why" we got here and "how" we get to a place of redemption.
This case is a symptom of a long and tragic history in the United States. Racism runs rapid in both visible ways and in more sinister underlying ways. This is not the time to speak of "reverse racism." That can be discussed sometime later. The wounds are too fresh.
The great Christian Mystic, Pastor, and Academic, Howard Thurman said, "[The] impulse at the heart of Christianity is the human will to share with others what one has found meaningful to oneself elevated to the height of a moral imperative. But there is a lurking danger in this very emphasis (Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited, p. 12)." He goes on to say the sins of pride and arrogance can make this "sharing" an instrument of self-righteousness and even racial superiority. He claims, "there is no basic relationship between the simple practice of brotherhood in the commonplace relations of life and the ethical pretentious of our faith (Disinherited, p. 13)."
Basically, Thurman is saying that our very Christian religion - one that is meant to unite - can be used as a tool to divide. This division is not just upon racial barriers. In researching a sermon this week, I was astonished to find out that there are and estimated 41,000 Christian denominations in the world. Denominations are NEVER formed out of unity - they are formed because "I" will not worship our God with "you." Obviously, many of these divisions have come because of race.
What is race? Race is a human distinction created to divide people. There is very little, if any, genetic difference between any races on the earth. Skin tone is determined by one's mother and father and ancestors. Race IS NOT a sign of intelligence, worth, or capacity.
Being sinful people, humans have confined people of other races to places of despair. For many years before entering the ministry I was a school teacher. My wife and I taught in an inner-city impoverished area. Because of American politics (politics in this sense meaning the way that people work together or against each other), the inner-city was highly segregated (though not officially or legally). Our children - and yes, our students were our children - came from the "projects." I visited some of these projects, and many of them were places I would not raise an animal. Basic services were unheard of.
As much as we want to blame people of poverty, we must look at what put them there. Yes, some have made sinful choices, but the vast majority have no way to "move up." There are too many barriers. I knew single mothers. They wanted to raise their children to have better lives than they had. These mothers had to work 2 and even 3 jobs to just keep food on the table because they lacked experience and education for a well paying job. Because of their plight, the children spent most of their time outside of school with a grandparent or other relative. This cuts into family relationships and ultimately a child loses (or at least suffers) the parent-child relationship. The mother in most cases did her absolute best to do what she could. The child would act out in school not out of malice but because he or she needed his or her mother. This in turn created hardship because she had to leave her job. It was a vicious cycle.
Inner Cities are notoriously lacking in the governmental funds that suburbs receive. Companies choose not to locate there and that drives money and opportunity away from those people. Fast Food chains invade. Healthy food becomes rare to find. Fast food is cheap and easy. Grocery stores with fresh produce are often long commutes away and difficult if not impossible for some people to reach on a regular basis.
Such conditions create an "us" vs. "them" mentality. People say, "We don't want them in our neighborhoods," so the cycle continues. These people as Thurman would say, "have their backs against the wall." There is no where to go.
Yes, there are exceptions, but exceptions do not prove a rule. Personally, I am an exception to many rules, but it is through the grace of God and not through any personal virtue. I could have easily been one with my back against the wall - of course under different circumstances.
I have no solutions. Not at this time. But I do know the ONE who does have the solution - our God! Our God works wonders, but our God expects that we followers do our parts too. We cannot tacitly sit on the sidelines and "cheer God's work." We too must engage in the work - not out of superiority but out of unity. What happens to one of us happens to all of us.
We cannot celebrate the killings of anyone. Every life matters. Even if a police or soldier shooting is "justified," I am pained because it went that far. I hurt because of a multitude of things that affect peoples' choices. But I thank the God who can give us the answers to even this.
What do we say about the riots? I don't know. When a person is confined and sees injustice after injustice, rage takes over. That is not a justification but it is an explanation. I don't know if the riots can be justified or not. I do know that God did not intend for us to be this divided. I hope that I can be a voice of love and peace. I pray that you will join me.
In the quote above, Thurman says that we should ask what makes us come alive. What makes you come alive? Life breeds life. Death is conquered. Shine your light - bring life!
I welcome your comments - both positive and negative. Let's keep the discussion respectable. I believe in the long run, we all want the same thing - "peace on earth and goodwill to those whom God favors (Luke 2:24)."
