two and two makes five

Racism

"Someone once said racism is like cancer. It's never totally wiped out, it's in remission," William Ferris, senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina.

Growing up in a small Southern town, I became acquainted with racism in both its noxious overt form and its more deadly, more subtle forms. A journalism and history-heavy university education at a large, diverse institution helped me begin to understand racism's roots. Living for the first time as a racial minority in New Orleans East gave me a tiny bit of insight into the minority experience. Studying theology exposed racism's lies (as well as the lies told by that particular religious tradition in upholding institutionalized racism in the past). Struggling to build cross-cultural bridges in a proudly African-American Southern city taught me about the challenges we all still face when dealing with the past. Finally, living again as a racial minority in Africa (complete with a whole new set of historical racial baggage) and working almost exclusively across racial lines has shown me just how destructive racism is to everyone involved and how deeply ingrained those destructive patterns have become across entire societies. 

But it has never been truly personal. Even when living as a minority, it has not been as the oppressed other, but as a member of the historical oppressor and the current base of (primary) economic power. That isn't to say that race, racism, and power structures are the basis of all of my relationships - thankfully our work based on the truth of Jesus and His radically inclusive life has brought us to the table as equals and sometimes less - but those issues remain.

Now it is personal. My son does not look like me. His skin is darker. And so some people will hate him. Some people will deny him opportunity. Some people will believe he is their subordinate, their inferior, their slave. Some people will call him names. Some people will try to hurt him. Some people will tell lies about him in order to categorize and marginalize him. To some people, my son is less than they are. Now it's personal.

I cried today when I read the article containing the quote that opens this post. The article is about the response of some people across America to Barack Obama's election as President. From New England to California and from Florida to Washington, there are hateful, hurtful, ignorant, destructive people whose views and actions I now take very personally. I'm angry and I'm sad and I'm confused... I read this:

Grant Griffin, a 46-year-old white Georgia native, expressed similar sentiments: "I believe our nation is ruined and has been for several decades and the election of Obama is merely the culmination of the change.

"If you had real change it would involve all the members of (Obama's) church being deported," he said.

and this:

Four North Carolina State University students admitted writing anti-Obama comments in a tunnel designated for free speech expression, including one that said: "Let's shoot that (N-word) in the head."

and this:

At Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read: "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." Customers could sign up to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be killed. "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count," the sign said. At the bottom of the marker board was written "Let's hope someone wins."

and this:

(In) the Los Angeles area... swastikas, racial slurs and "Go Back To Africa" were spray painted on sidewalks, houses and cars.

For all of the (rightful) celebration that a new era has come in America, we are reminded that yesterday is still with us. And now I understand something much more profound than sociological explanations or theological underpinnings... I understand how it feels to read the article and hear those words directed at me and my family. And it hurts like hell.

Dear America: Election Day

Looks like I can't keep my promise not to write anything about politics after all. But this isn't about politics - it's about Jesus.

I'm about to go to sleep in South Africa - blissfully removed from non-stop media and exit polls coming in and states being called (and blissfully spared from two years of non-stop campaigning!). In the morning, I'll wake up to find the results of today's election online and will get on with my day. About half of you will be disappointed and about half of you will be excited.

I reluctantly voted a few weeks ago by mail - mostly because I felt that one candidate stood out on a few issues I believe to be important. Half of you voted for that candidate as well, but for your own reasons. Half of you voted for the other candidate because he stood out on a few issues you believe to be important. I respect that and understand how reasonable people can come to different voting decisions.

But even if the candidate I voted for wins this election, I don't expect much in the way of what I believe to be the most important goal of the day - the expansion of God's Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

I do not place any confidence in transformation by political means or a particular candidate or party. And I encourage you, my dear five readers, to reach the same conclusion. Putting "Country First" is a gross offense to those who owe allegiance to a Kingdom, and the "Change We Can Believe In" will never ever come from leaders of a terrestrial empire.

What matters most is not how you voted today, but how you voted yesterday and how you will vote tomorrow. Our actions each day reveal our true love and our motivations. May our daily actions - our daily vote - be for the Kingdom of the Heavens First and for the Transforming Power of Jesus We Can Believe In. We do not belong to Republicans or Democrats, but to Christ and Christ Alone.

For those who disagree...

...with my political statements or my choice to write about politics (about once a year or so) on this blog, the conversation is happening on this post. Feel free to agree, disagree, or completely ignore anything I say, as long as you keep it civil and polite. Love and respect to you all...

Dear America, My Final Word

Enough with politics, but this is such an indication of what is wrong with the Wall Street bailout... from the New York Times on 21 September:

Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it.
Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages.
At the same time, investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees.
Nobody wants to be left out of Treasury’s proposal to buy up bad assets of financial institutions...
...Other firms hope to be hired to manage the assets that Treasury acquires, a job that could earn them $1 billion a year, even if they charged fees that were modest by industry standards. Among them are the asset management companies Pimco and BlackRock.Morgan Stanley, the investment bank, is also vying for the work.

Today, I contacted my Congressman and both Senators via phone and email. I've never done that before. What is wrong with me? :)

Dear America, Can I Have $700 Billion?

I have sworn off writing about "politics" on this blog for a while - mostly because 1) people get really antsy about politics and feel personally attacked when others disagree with their views, 2) I live and work off 100% donations from people who aren't always inclined to give to people they disagree with politically, and (most importantly) 3) I have long ago quit believing that politicians care about anything beyond their own power and status are capable of working primarily "for the good of the world," which I believe is the welcoming of the Kingdom of God.

But today I am saying "thank you" to the US House of Representatives for voting down the $700 Billion Wall Street bailout. Why? Because I am not primarily concerned with the economy of the United States, although that economy seems to provide my livelihood. I am not primarily concerned with what is "best" for "America first," because I know that what is best for the world is what is best for America. And I am disappointed in the leaders and candidates from both political parties for putting their own interests above the world's, and the vote of the House restores a bit of my confidence that politicians can sometimes do the right thing, across party lines and in defiance of political leadership.

I've done a little digging and research around the web, and while I wouldn't stake my life on the complete accuracy of these figures, I've found a few ideas for how to spend $700 Billion - across the world or in your own backyard:

• Fully fund life-saving Anti-Retroviral Treatment to every single man, woman, and child infected with HIV in Africa, including training the health professionals required to administer treatment and the building of necessary infrastructure
• Eliminate illiteracy across the entire world (58 times over)
• Give 160x our annual aid to Africa  
• Wipe out malaria and TB in Africa (several times over) 
• Give a "One Laptop to Child" to every person in India, Africa, and South America
• Give 4.4 million Americans a free college education at a prestigious private institution 
• Triple American scientific R&D spending 
• Send a check for $2300 to every living American 
• Provide six years of universal health care to Americans  
• Fix the Social Security problem 
• Build seven new international space stations 
• Or - in terms of FDR's New Deal, for $250 billion in today's money, he bought 8,000 parks, 40,000 public buildings, and 72,000 new schools. So, double or triple that for what we could get for $700 billion today  
• Socialize the catastrophic greed of capitalist bankers and force taxpayers to pay the banks' ill-advised debt for several generations 

It would be obscenely political of me to point out that the total cost of the Iraq war will likely approach $3 Trillion according to the Washington Post. Or that Time Magazine is reporting on the dangers of America's new #1 export - debt. Or that any number of economists and analysts believe that the nearly $10 Trillion national debt will cripple our nation for generations. So I won't mention any of that. But I'll just point out that by including the cost of the Iraq war along with the proposed bailout, you could choose five or six of the items above and accomplish them all.

This post might sound angry (it isn't) or cynical (I'm beyond cynical) or both, but what it really represents is a stark assessment of the values of a nation. If you can judge a person's character by her actions, then you can judge a nation's collective character in the same way. Ours is not a nation that seeks first the Kingdom of God, but one that seeks first power, wealth, and security - on the backs of the Other. The values of the nation are clearly seen in its budgetary habits, and the values of voters are reflected in the actions of the politicians they support. Is your candidate supporting what seems best for America in the short term or what is best for the world in the long term - the growth of the reign of God who is restoring all things and making them new? I'm still not sure if I can vote: no candidate and no party will ever choose Good over Empire, so do I walk away or choose the least destructive?

Hooray for the House today - thank you for the message that unbridled greed has consequences for the perpetrators that will not be borne disproportionately by the poor. Stand your ground and refuse this immoral plan. And maybe, just maybe, someone will recognize that by choosing what is best for the world, you will be choosing what is best for America as well.

Dear America, Happy Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is technically a celebration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from the British Empire. Yet we, as Americans, often associate this event with the establishment of American democracy. So, when in the course of a long conversation about African politics and my assertion that "it has taken America a long time" to reach its current position (a position of political stability as evidenced by the ability to contest disputed elections in relative peace in contrast to some recent African examples), the following question was put to me: "How long has America been a democracy?" I answered in the manner I had been taught; I subtracted 1776 from 2008 and arrived at my answer, "Two hundred thirty two years."

"Shyo! Two hundred thirty two years of democracy? I had no idea! You mean that in America every person has been able to vote since 1776?"

"Ummmm, no. Actually, we were at war with England in 1776, and the first President under our Constitution wasn't elected until 1789, and only white men who owned a certain amount of property could vote."

"Oh. So you couldn't vote unless you were white and owned land?"

"Uh, yeah."

"So that isn't really democracy."

"I guess not."

"When could people without property vote?"

"I don't really know, but women could vote in 1920."

"It took a hundred and fifty years for women to vote? What about blacks?"

"Well, some blacks voted after the Civil War in the 1860s, but a lot of places kept blacks and poor people from voting until 1965."

"So everyone in America could only vote since 1965?"

"Basically."

"So America has only been a democracy for about forty years?"

"Basically."

"Hmph."

This conversation caused me to stop and think about our national mythology and the perspective of history that we've learned. From the point of view that America is celebrating 232 years of freedom, liberty, and democracy, we can also say that South Africa has been a free democracy for over 200 years, since the days when European land owners began choosing some of their own local leadership. South Africans speak of "democracy" and "freedom" in terms of the right of every person to vote, thus making this year the 14th anniversary of South African democracy. This isn't an anti-American post, but rather an opportunity for us to consider our language and our history from different perspectives, and perhaps a chance to reconsider our posture towards the rest the world on this day when we celebrate our nation.