Get
Up and Go
“When a
man asks himself what is meant by action he proves that he isn't a
man of action. Action is a lack of balance. In order to act, you must
be somewhat insane. A reasonably sensible man is satisfied with
thinking.”
James A.
Baldwin
I've lately been involved
in the national movement/organization called Faith in Action. It is a
large group of people from faith communities across the broad
religious spectrum, who want to move the needle forward in terms of
social justice. Most recently we hosted a forum for two candidates for
District Attorney to discuss disparity in sentencing, mass
incarceration and the inequities around who goes to jail, and for how
long. More than five hundred people—from Christian to Bahai—met
at a large Missionary Baptist Church right here in the heart of
Dixie, where it isn't cool to be open-minded about much of anything.
Now, in the interest of
full disclosure, almost nothing in me wants to get up off my seat and
go out on dark streets at night to do this stuff. I'd so much rather
be at home with something sewing-related in my hands, just thinking
about all the terrible injustice there is in the Land of Free and the
Home of the Brave, and tut-tutting. In fact, that's what I've done
for about forty of my seventy years. But there's another “something”
in me that just won't allow it. It tells me that I'm sick and tired
of this; that injustice is simply wrong on the level of the human
heart and soul. People of conscience, and most certainly people who
stake a claim to God, must stand up and be counted in the justice
column. But, I confess that I wish it weren't me.
I have a million reasons.
Well, maybe not a million, but certainly a few. I don't like to drive
at night, especially in unfamiliar parts of town. It scares me more
than a little to see street scenes of protesters. It has a dangerous
feel to it, and it looks exhausting. I want to pick and choose my
justice issues—and I choose the safe ones that are happening far,
far away. These are all reasons of a sensible person, right? But
then, I see on television a group of white men, who led an armed take
over and occupation of a national park for months, acquitted of all
charges, while an unarmed Sioux Indian is mauled and arrested by riot
police, for trying to protect the only thing he has—his own sacred
territory. Or a black man, shot dead for running away after a traffic
stop. It's just not right, y'all. Somebody has to stand up and say
so. If not me, then who?
People of faith cannot
afford to be silent in the face of injustice. We cannot be content
with thinking about it, and feeling bad. It's time to get up and do
something. It's definitely insane, and out of balance, and I don't
like it one little bit. But the call is clear. Who will answer if
not we who call ourselves the children of God?
In the Spirit
Jane
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