Compassion and Community - Race in America
A Noose!?!
After years of being locked away as a relic of American heartlessness, the reality of a rope knotted into a noose is back! First, during the Jena Six case and now at another American high school where its barbarous symbolism is being used for intimidation. It is nothing short of heart-breaking for me.
I grew up in East Texas where racially-motivated cross burnings were still a part of the oral history. When my high school was integrated (as late as the early 1970s!), there were policemen in the hallways, because the fathers of some of my white friends had bombed the school bus lot to stop busing. Days later, I resigned from an elite school social group in protest of racial slurs. These days, I still live in the piney woods in a town whose photographic archives boast town square lynchings. My husband and I built our home on a beautiful piece of land first cleared by a former slave owner known to have hosted KKK rallies. Even today, my community– like towns around the world– still accepts racial inequality as inevitable.
Yes, our collective history of slavery, racism and injustice are a part of the everyday landscape of my life, as I expect they are for too many Americans. And, because of that, the idea of reviving the noose as a symbol is sickening.
While I recognize the complexity of race, my personal answer has been to work locally for economic and political justice, to foster community projects that are inclusive and to share compelling Southern Black folk narratives as part of my storytelling repertoire.
As you may have seen on my website, InSpiritry.com, the idea of living for the Greater Good in an effort to inspire others to do the same, is based on seven principles: Community, Compassion, Creativity, Collaboration, Consilience, Courage, Celebration.
In a previous podcast and blog entry, I offered some thoughts on Community — the idea that we are nurtured by and dependent on relationships and that we are charged with caring for one another. Further, for us to be in-spirited–to practice InSpiritry– it is essential for us to be intentional in building community.
The second InSpiritry principle is Compassion. In light of these recent developments concerning race in America, some thoughts on that. Compassion, or caring for others, is perhaps the most important aspect of inspirational living since it the what prompts us to open our hearts to even consider the Greater Good. Every faith tradition holds compassion dear. Compassion’s precursor, empathy, allow us to imagine another person’s point of view and to share their experience. In the form of kindness, compassion compels us into action. When we are empathic, compassionate and kind, we are full of the spirit of goodness. That is because we are looking beyond ourselves to serve the needs of others.
Even when we count ourselves as well-meaning, nothing calls on our need for community and compassion like issues of diversity. When our first reaction is often to develop a wall of “us vs. them,” compassion leads us to find a way to resist differences and draw on our sense of humanity. In community and compassion, we are able to first see others as connected to us and then, even more importantly, we can care about them as much as we care about ourselves. It is not always a comfortable thing to do.
Sometimes, like in Jena, it is a matter of justice. Now justice is a holy concept in my life; I hope it is in yours. But simply acting because something is “just” is not enough. My prayer for America and for the world is that we will work for justice, but then extend ourselves even further to embrace community and compassion.
As you hear stories on the news that jostle your sensibilities, even when someone speaks of a noose. Don’t turn the channel. Don’t turn away. Search your own heart and mind for the places where bigotry still lives today. Look again at those you would hold as foreign. Reconsider the stranger. See the whole world as our community. And find the compassion to care and the courage to act on behalf of others.
In the face of Bigotry, You Can Be a Blessing!
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October 31st, 2007 at 10:02 am
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