With Liberty and Justice for All
"...With liberty and justice for all," that is how the Pledge of Allegiance ends. We have all said it so many times that it is by rote. Unfortunately, events of the last several months have shown that we as a society are far from that ideal. In late February Ahmaud Arbery was gunned down in the street in Georgia by two white men. His only crime was that he went for a run, something that I have done thousands of times. His killers were close associates of the local district attorney, so the D.A. called it justifiable on the grounds that they were supposedly attempting a citizens arrest. This would have stood had not a video of the event gone public. Justice for Arbery demands that his killers be brought to trial. Fortunately, the video did go public creating such a public outcry that charges were filed against the killers. On the other hand it should not have taken a video going public for charges to be filed.
Just over a week ago, in New York City a black man (Christian Cooper) was bird-watching in Central Park. When he asked a white woman also there at the time to leash her dog to keep it from scaring the birds, she called the police to report that he was threatening to kill her. In the aftermath, she has been lost her job and received numerous death threats.
On the same day that Cooper was accused falsely of threatening another's life George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police. He had attempted to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a local market. In arresting him, Officer Derek Chauvin knelt with his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes with three other officers there. Chauvin's knee was on Floyd's neck until he was dead. We say we believe in "justice for all," yet there was no justice for George Floyd that day. Yes, he did attempt to pass off a counterfeit bill. It's understandable that the police would be called. However, in no civilized country do the police have the right to kill a suspect in custody.
I'm an older than I want to admit white guy, and as I reflect on these incidents I can't help but hurt and be angry. I hurt for Arbery's family, for Mr. Cooper, for George Floyd's family. In my youth I played some sports (albeit rather poorly), but I was on teams. I remember now some of those teammates- African American- whom I haven't seen in years. Edward Pickett, Brian Henry (whom we called Biggie), Larry Murrell, Chuckie Becton, Chris Johnson, Ervin Newkirk, James and Steven Avery, Tracy Williams and many others rode long bus rides with me to away games at Southwest Onslow, Pamlico High School, Dixon High, etc., took a field with me, or sat beside me in class. I hurt for these my old friends, classmates, team mates, for what they have probably experienced that I never did.
All of these incidents should have been long in the rear-view mirror of history. They shouldn't have happened a century ago, much less in 2020. Sometimes people say that we are a "Christian nation." I have my doubts about that. We manifestly are not a Christian society. Only a minority worship in Christian churches. Beyond that, Christians are not given the right to hate other people like this. We may get angry for sure, and should be angry at the injustices that have been suffered, but Jesus doesn't give us the right to hate other people.
As I write this, the media is full of footage of burning cars and buildings in cities around the country. In my opinion the rioting and looting is a distraction from the fact that every one of us needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. Jesus said that he (or she) who is without sin should cast the first stone. He said that before we would start looking for the speck in a brother's eye that we should examine the plank in our own eye. This is not a southern problem, nor is it a political problem. It is an "us" problem and we must resist the comforting and comfortable temptation to make it a "them" problem by blaming "those people" whoever "those people" are. In a deep south "Red State," in two northern "Blue" states, injustice is found too commonly. Christian friends, we need to change this broken society. First, we need to pray for it and its leaders. Second, we need to work to change it by examining the person in the mirror and repent where needed. Third, when you encounter someone of another race go out of your way to show some kindness- even if it's just a smile, holding a door open, or better yet take a few minutes to talk. Fourth, every last one of us who have positions of authority must insure that "liberty and justice for all" is more than just a rote slogan, and we who aren't in positions of authority must vote for people who will value "liberty and justice for all."
Just over a week ago, in New York City a black man (Christian Cooper) was bird-watching in Central Park. When he asked a white woman also there at the time to leash her dog to keep it from scaring the birds, she called the police to report that he was threatening to kill her. In the aftermath, she has been lost her job and received numerous death threats.
On the same day that Cooper was accused falsely of threatening another's life George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police. He had attempted to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a local market. In arresting him, Officer Derek Chauvin knelt with his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes with three other officers there. Chauvin's knee was on Floyd's neck until he was dead. We say we believe in "justice for all," yet there was no justice for George Floyd that day. Yes, he did attempt to pass off a counterfeit bill. It's understandable that the police would be called. However, in no civilized country do the police have the right to kill a suspect in custody.
I'm an older than I want to admit white guy, and as I reflect on these incidents I can't help but hurt and be angry. I hurt for Arbery's family, for Mr. Cooper, for George Floyd's family. In my youth I played some sports (albeit rather poorly), but I was on teams. I remember now some of those teammates- African American- whom I haven't seen in years. Edward Pickett, Brian Henry (whom we called Biggie), Larry Murrell, Chuckie Becton, Chris Johnson, Ervin Newkirk, James and Steven Avery, Tracy Williams and many others rode long bus rides with me to away games at Southwest Onslow, Pamlico High School, Dixon High, etc., took a field with me, or sat beside me in class. I hurt for these my old friends, classmates, team mates, for what they have probably experienced that I never did.
All of these incidents should have been long in the rear-view mirror of history. They shouldn't have happened a century ago, much less in 2020. Sometimes people say that we are a "Christian nation." I have my doubts about that. We manifestly are not a Christian society. Only a minority worship in Christian churches. Beyond that, Christians are not given the right to hate other people like this. We may get angry for sure, and should be angry at the injustices that have been suffered, but Jesus doesn't give us the right to hate other people.
As I write this, the media is full of footage of burning cars and buildings in cities around the country. In my opinion the rioting and looting is a distraction from the fact that every one of us needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. Jesus said that he (or she) who is without sin should cast the first stone. He said that before we would start looking for the speck in a brother's eye that we should examine the plank in our own eye. This is not a southern problem, nor is it a political problem. It is an "us" problem and we must resist the comforting and comfortable temptation to make it a "them" problem by blaming "those people" whoever "those people" are. In a deep south "Red State," in two northern "Blue" states, injustice is found too commonly. Christian friends, we need to change this broken society. First, we need to pray for it and its leaders. Second, we need to work to change it by examining the person in the mirror and repent where needed. Third, when you encounter someone of another race go out of your way to show some kindness- even if it's just a smile, holding a door open, or better yet take a few minutes to talk. Fourth, every last one of us who have positions of authority must insure that "liberty and justice for all" is more than just a rote slogan, and we who aren't in positions of authority must vote for people who will value "liberty and justice for all."
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