Category: Humanity

What Price, Peace?

“Hesitate and you’re lost”. Those were the words my father used when he taught me to drive. He was addressing the doubt that traps us if we’re not present in the moment.

And what a moment we’re in. We were warned to move out of fossil fuels since the 70’s, but we hesitated. Now we’re engaged in a contest of wills that has placed oil and gas as the battering rams of war.  As the number one producer in the world, the United States can stop accepting Russian oil, but European allies are stepping back and admitting they are in fact dependent on Russia for their energy. And while the Republicans grew the financial aid package to Ukraine from $10 billion as suggested by the White House to nearly $14 billion, they’re quick to condemn the president for raising gasoline prices – which in fact, he cannot do.

I’d like to see the breakdown of military versus humanitarian aid – and see who will be the victors in this capitalist venture. 

So much for the unity required to stop Putin’s death march. The truth is we’re compromised. We’re paralyzed by the fear of our precious lives being economically altered and crushed by the realization that just saying “peace” is not enough to make it so. 

Once again whether by our government or that of another conquering empire, innocent lives are crushed. The tear in human consciousness is again ripped open. And whether we admit it or not, we are altered by the suffering being inflicted on Ukrainian people. We haven’t learned we’re all one. We haven’t learned this is still within our grasp to change.

Peace is possible, but because we have hesitated for so long to nurture and support it, it will come with a price. A price we must all shoulder: pacifists, war mongers, lovers and haters…the price is wanting peace more than anything else. It is a price we can all pay.

We must.

A sign reading “glory for Ukraine” at a rally to support Ukraine at Washington Square Park, in New York City. February 27, 2022

When Madmen Lead

Putin, end this nightmare. For the past week, the so-called “military exercise” has shown it is nothing of the sort. It is a march of destruction and death. There is no propaganda that can excuse the inhumanity that has become the fate of the people of Ukraine.

With diplomacy stalled or forgotten, and international sanctions weighing down upon the people of Russia, one could hope that the insanity would end. But we have seen this before. History has shown us far too many leaders willing to self-destruct – and take countless innocents with them.

We have seen the madmen lead and we have seen human beings follow. We have normalized this behavior while we pray for peace. We pray for peace, but we do not insist on peace. We want war to end, but we continue to allow militarism to dominate us. 

Make no mistake, I believe Putin is wrong and I am not sure sanctions will stop him. I weep for the people who are becoming refugees and for those who are being killed. I fear for the Russian people as the economic squeeze tightens as well as the persecution they will face as they dissent. And I am convinced that the financial shock waves will surely hit Europe and the rest of the world, intensifying conflicts everywhere.

It seems humanity has reached its midnight hour. We can no longer hide behind despotic leadership and claim innocence. We must become thinking people who are not willing to sacrifice our humanity for the empire. 

When I heard Trump call Putin’s aggression “genius” and heard no cries of fowl from his party, I was not surprised. Trump is not a friend of peace. Trump is a friend of greed and power. And his followers are devotees of the same.

Freedom

“It is hard for the old slaveholding spirit to die, but die it must.” — Sojourner Truth

As we witness the violence of racism creep steadily into our school boards, our libraries and into the discourse of our legislators, it’s important to galvanize behind ideals that are more powerful and more compelling. 

I’ve never been interested in fighting ignorance; I think it’s far better to light a way out of it.  And over the past few weeks I have found solace and kinship in the movement known as Abolition.

Building upon the efforts of Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and many more, the Abolitionist movement of today speaks to the heart of humankind. Like its forbearers it is unapologetic in its declaration for freedom and courageous in its truth-telling.

And despite the hardships and the cruelty that has been the legacy of colonialism and capitalism to all marginalized people, Abolition is a Phoenix and it’s on the rise.

Abolitionism today calls for creativity as we emerge from the darkness of separation. And perhaps in the most dignified of ways it calls for the celebration of humanity and insists on the importance of joy.

You will find Abolitionists in our schools, creating safe environments for all children. You will find them in the fight to replace penal punishment with compassion. 

You will find them resurrecting communities through mutual aid and harm reduction.

You will not find them in discussions on reform. You see, Abolitionists understand the phrase “None of us are free until we are all free”*, and reform is an illusive coward that allows racism, sexism, and other unnatural qualities to continue.

So, if you are looking for a bit of fresh air, I suggest you get to know the Abolitionists of our time. Dr. Bettina Love’s book, “We Want To Do More Than Survive” is a good starting point. 

  • This quote is attributed to Emma Lazarus, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Maya Angelou and perhaps others. It is a common understanding of compassionate human hearts.

The Bridge

I am of the era when the public school system was held in esteem and communities worked hard to ensure that all children were given a fair chance. I had the good fortune to grow up in a diverse community and while I will not pretend that racism did not exist, I can assure you it was held in check.

It was held in check by human beings who took on the responsibility to teach and to administer guidance, and strengthened by a community that refused to allow bigotry to rule. We enjoyed the company of people whose faith dictated the possibility of goodwill towards all.

I grew up as the war in Vietnam was coming to its bitter end.  A time before flower power, peace and love became mocked ideals. To me the dissenters of war were no less patriotic than the ones who fought. I still hold this as true.

When I was young to be a Christian meant to love your neighbor as yourself, and service to humankind was a worthy aspiration. I wasn’t taught the prosperity gospel. Worshiping the almighty dollar had nothing to do with “In God We Trust”. Somewhere over the past decades our greed has taken a devilish turn.

I have had the good fortune to travel the world and this is what I know: we are more similar than not. We have the same needs and the same hopes. Our needs are basic: food, shelter, clean air, clean water, mutual respect and a little bit of elbow room to celebrate our uniqueness. Our hopes can be distilled to one: the desire for peace.

It’s time to rediscover our humanity and to fight to preserve it. That will be the bridge over the chasm of indifference and hatred that we have allowed. 

**The photo is the bridge near the home of my childhood in western Pennsylvania.

Ubuntu

If the past few years have shown us anything it’s this: it’s time for us to rediscover the meaning of the Zulu word Ubuntu, “I am because we are.” I say rediscover because I have a firm belief that Ubuntu is rooted in every human being. It’s just that some of us have forgotten.

A society that has lost its ability to care for one another – that holds individual freedom, wealth and ownership as top priority  – has lost its way. And while we may be top heavy in wealth we are lopsided in humanity.

A society that does not support the welfare and goodwill of all will fall short of its dreams of equality. A people who refuse to acknowledge the sins of our forbearers and do not act to correct them will remain divided. A house divided will surely fall.

People boast of patriotism. Flags are waved. The Pledge is affirmed. The checklist is checked and then we go on our individual way. But the celebration of individuality is a curse unless it’s rooted in the understanding of oneness.

People demand freedom. We have fought wars with “freedom” being the carrot that drove our youth to their graves – not to mention the blood of countless innocents.

The word freedom should not be used lightly. It demands a reawakening to Ubuntu, and the resurgence of our collective humanity and our strength as individuals.

That reawakening is internal. It cannot be taught; it must be felt. It cannot be found in useless debates of right and wrong. It won’t be felt in the endless game of judgment. 

But there it is. Waiting. Tied to our compassion and our empathy. We are worthy of this reawakening and we are capable.

For a look at Ubuntu as inclusion.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

I don’t have a TV, haven’t for many years. So watching the hotel’s six news outlets gave me a glimpse at the BS streaming in most homes on a daily basis. 

The Rittenhouse trail has gone to deliberation.  Pundits from all sides regurgitate what their team wants to hear. Heated arguments among the few gathered outside the courthouse are spotlighted. And if you blinked you missed the interfaith clergy praying near-by for sanity and sanctity to prevail. Just not sexy enough for airtime. 

More importantly, witnessing people standing for peace could unite more people for peace and unity doesn’t serve our war minded economy. Divisiveness is ignorance and very abundant these days.

So I woke up in Liberal, Kansas and found myself remembering a song of relevance, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. Gil Scott-Heron wrote the prophetic lyrics in 1971 chastising the trance that has immobilized our people.

The revolution will not be televised. It will be lived and told by the living.

I also listened to a zoom conversation by The Center, an LGBTQ advocacy in La Crosse. They hosted three Black youth who have grown weary of hearing the “N” word as they walk the halls of their high school. And made wearier by the inertia of an administration unwilling or unable to help them. 

The youth were clear. Perhaps the most important take away was the straightforward, “We’re not here to fix people who don’t get it. We’re here to help one another.” With their conviction, I am sure they will, because the revolution will not be televised. It will be lived and told by the living for the living.

CUSH

WISDOM

Lyrics

You will not be able to stay home, brother
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag
And skip out for beer during commercials, because
The revolution will not be televised

The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will not be brought to you
By Xerox in four parts without commercial interruptions
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon blowing a bugle
And leading a charge by John Mitchell, General Abrams, and Spiro Agnew
To eat hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary
The revolution will not be televised

The revolution will not be brought to you by the Schaefer Award Theatre
And will not star Natalie Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs
The revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner, because
The revolution will not be televised, brother

There will be no pictures of you and Willie Mae
Pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run
Or trying to slide that color TV into a stolen ambulance
NBC will not be able predict the winner
At 8:32 on report from twenty-nine districts
The revolution will not be televised

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young
Being run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process
There will be no slow motion or still lifes of Roy Wilkins
Strolling through Watts in a red, black, and green liberation jumpsuit
That he has been saving for just the proper occasion

“Green Acres”, “Beverly Hillbillies”, and “Hooterville Junction”
Will no longer be so damn relevant
And women will not care if Dick finally got down with Jane
On “Search for Tomorrow”
Because black people will be in the street looking for a brighter day
The revolution will not be televised

There will be no highlights on the eleven o’clock news
And no pictures of hairy armed women liberationists
And Jackie Onassis blowing her nose
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb or Francis Scott Keys
Nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash
Engelbert Humperdinck, or The Rare Earth
The revolution will not be televised

The revolution will not be right back
After a message about a white tornado
White lightning, or white people
You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom
The tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl
The revolution will not go better with Coke
The revolution will not fight germs that may cause bad breath
The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat

The revolution will not be televised
Will not be televised
Will not be televised
Will not be televised
The revolution will be no re-run, brothers
The revolution will be live

Diversity, Inclusion and Equity

Our local paper reported on a recent school board meeting. During public comments a representative from “Education, not Propaganda” explained that words like “diversity, inclusion and equity” should not be taught to our children.

Hmmm. I always thought those words were used to champion our collective humanity. You know the “one people, one race” ideal. It appears that brotherly love is taking another hit these days, as is the notion of learning from our past so as not to repeat it.

The new bandwagon is demanding that school boards whitewash our history replacing facts with fiction. They have taken a page from Steve Bannon’s playbook and are punishing school board members who violate what they consider to be conservative principles. They are threatening members, shutting down school board meetings, and forcing their propaganda wherever they can. 

My father was a conservative. He fought the Nazi’s in WWII. He honored freedom of speech and applauded my willingness to explore critical thinking on all subjects. I don’t think he would look kindly on this ill wind blowing across our land. I think he would fear it. I know he would fight it. 

But since he’s not here, I’ll honor his legacy by taking up the fight. There are numerous statewide organizations leading the way towards reconciliation and equity. Among them is a Christian interfaith organization called Wisconsin Counsel of Churches. Their latest effort is called “Taking a Faithful Stance for Equity”. 

And although I do not profess a faith, I signed up to take a stand. 

The time is long gone to sit idle thinking everything will be ok. It is not OK. But it is within our power to make it right.  “Diversity, inclusion and equity” should be our mantra until they are understood and until they are lived.

Check out these Wisconsin faith organizations countering ignorance and hate:

Wisdom

Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice

The photo is from “Taking a Faithful Stance for Equity”

Choose the Green Path

The United Nations Climate Summit begins November first and is already being pronounced a failure. World leaders are declining attendance, covid is ramping up and the costs to produce and attend the two-week conference are steadily climbing out of reach – as is the warming of the earth.

This moment of uncaring has been brought to you by decades of lies and by greed that has known no bounds. This precarious moment has been fueled by cynicism and steered by a dominant culture that cares not for the earth or for people, but prides itself on how much it can take and how quickly.

I once learned that the original people of this land referred to the colonizers as “fat takers”. I don’t know if it was so, but it seems applicable today. Fat takers: the ones who skimmed the cream off the top, who took the best at any cost. No vision of the future for themselves or for their progeny. No care for the earth or for replacing what they stole. This mindset has led generations and the bill of sales is now being laid on our table to be paid. And it is a bill we cannot pay if we continue on the path of the scorched earth.

Frightening people with statistics is not working. And we’ve grown numb hearing about increased fires, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and other abnormalities – unless it’s happening to us.

Waiting for world leaders to act is a kicking of the can. It gives us someone to blame, but that’s all. No, this moment requires all of us. Humankind must stop allowing greed to govern. We must find our compassion and our empathy, and fall in love with the earth once more. The green path is waiting.

Our Human Family

The covid pandemic has not brought the clarion call one hoped would bring the people of the word together. Instead, driven by fear and division we’ve been dazzled by lies rather than unity.

Later this month world leaders will meet in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss the larger concern of climate change. For those with the ability to glean the rapid changes the earth is undergoing and the harm that it’s causing people, we can hope for swift and decisive action. But hope may not be enough to sway money driven politics to change the policies that have brought us to this point.

The media has finally loosened its tongue on the dire consequences we face if the earth continues to grow hotter. But many of us are still cushioned by the fossil fuel lull of cheap heat, water at the ready, and air-conditioned lifestyles. Too many are not prepared to reduce the consumption of what they believe is living the “good life”. 

We have not yet understood that we’re part of a larger human family. And by some estimates a quarter of our family are already suffering the result of climate change in lack of water and food. Eighty -five percent of the world’s population have been affected by human-induced climate change. Human beings are on the move to find new and better ways to survive. But our borders, our fears and our inability to change habits and to share are leading to extreme conditions for many. Too many of the human family are needlessly suffering. And hope and prayers alone will not change the course we have chosen.

It’s time for a revival of the human spirit; time to remember the human family and to respect our home, the earth that is capable of feeding all of us. That is the indigenous understanding we all need to remember and accept.

photo – a logo by Eigenes Werk, August 7, 2006 – under Creative Commons shared license

For Love’s Sake

Once again, the United States has demonstrated its disregard of refugees of color and especially Haitian refugees. Once again we watched as this president followed the directions of past presidents before him. Party affiliation doesn’t have much clout when racism rears its head. 

Thinking people are noticing the implications of climate change. The horrific ordeals the people of Haiti have endured over the past few years coupled with our unending racism damns them to imprisonment and worse. 

The photos of white men on horseback rounding up black men, women and children desperate for aid were absolutely abhorrent. Too painful to look at, but to look away is to ignore. To ignore is an act of compliance and agreement. Compliance with inhumanity is a deadly disease.

Clearly we are engaged in a war to save our souls. We have politicized every aspect of our society and we buy every lie that is dangled before us. The biggest lie of all is the one declaring our righteousness as God’s chosen. We have made outcasts of our humanity and our ideals.  And we elect status quo politicians to keep it that way.

Kindness and compassion must reawaken in our dialogue, in our actions and in our policies. There will be no Superman to save us from ourselves. We hold all that we need within us and it’s bursting to come forth. 

The only thing we have not tried…is Love.

It will only take a few more of us to stand in unity and in peace.

It will take a revolution of understanding to erupt in our hearts and in our minds.

And it will take trying the only thing we have not tried…  

Let us do it, for Love’s sake.

The quote and the photo are attributed to Rev. Jacqui Lewis found on Facebook.