Life is life and love is love

The violence engulfing parts of America right now is a perfect storm that's been brewing for centuries. Reacting to the murder of an innocent man strangled under the knee of policeman Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis while onlookers shouted at him and the man, George Floyd, pleaded for his life, Americans of all backgrounds and persuasions have rightly decided that enough is enough and taken to the streets. All of us as human beings, never mind the melanin content of our skin, feel the desperate need for justice and relief from oppression and fear at the hands of unaccountable state power. In some cities, the police have joined with protesters in marches and calls for prosecutions against Floyd's killers. In other cities, the situation is made worse by looting and arson, in many cases instigated by extremist groups who see the breach in the social contract as their moment to strike for violent revolution and overthrow of the government. Even esteemed intellectuals like Professor Cornel West, point to this moment as the sign that our country is a "failed social experiment." Other pundits have said that the United States is a "tinder box", ready to burn. All the signs are that we are being attacked from within and are in the grips of a cytokine storm as the body politic seeks to rid itself of the noxious attack of the virus of hate. Where does the hate come from? It comes from me and you. We are all a part of the same organism, a patchwork quilt of nationalities, religions, peoples and ideas. In order to survive we must weather this inflammation and not let it kill our heart, the beating center, that unites us beyond the illusion of momentary strife. 

In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., protest is the language of the unheard. We must hear the words of the powerless, some of them quite eloquent, calling out white America for our hypocrisy and our long-held neglect and racism against our black and brown compatriots. Raised in a culture of rampant individualism, many have been taught that our duties extend no further than looking out for our own good. Anything else, any other social agenda, is utopian and misguided. Underneath this shallowness, if one looks closely, is the twisted logic of racial superiority. Looking to take care of our fellows is what Christianity calls for above all else, yet many of the most devout American Christians will question the ethics of, for example, universal health care, or social safety provisions for the most needy, or even a fair tax regime. Now, many leaders of a conservative bent see this moment as a typical point of divide in the American story and are using the coded language of city vs. country, rural vs. urban, to warn of a political backlash against the protests and the violent looting that takes place at night. This reversion to type, of divide and conquer to maintain an oppressive status quo, is a mistake and does all Americans a huge injustice. We have moved and are calling out for more movement. Do something, say something. Liberty and justice for all is our pledge. Right is right and truth is truth.