Social Justice – Page 11

What Makes A Hero?

As children, we were taught to never tell a lie. We have heard that if you start out telling a lie, it makes telling the truth a whole lot harder. If you lie for almost four years, it makes it even harder. In today’s world, we find ourselves searching for those who speak the truth and for true heroes. Yes, heroes who are admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, and self-sacrificing qualities. Let us look back at a true hero of civil rights and equality. Rosa Parks was born in Alabama in 1913. Both of her grandparents were former slaves. In her childhood, she recalled frequent sightings of Ku Klux Klan members in full garb marching down their streets. She…

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June 19, 2020

Social Justice

Are We Really Terrorists?

Last week, Mitch McConnell and his Senate Republicans, when asked by the press about the current happenings, swiftly walked away answering, “We are late for lunch.” All we could think of when viewing that clip was those who were not stopping for lunch as they protested the injustices in this country and those who are so impoverished that they could not afford lunch. Jane Elliott, an American anti-racism activist, asks in her training exercises, “Would you like to be a black person in this country?” and then follows with, “If you don’t want to be treated that way, why are you allowing it to happen to others?” She further teaches that racism is a learned response. We are not born…

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June 11, 2020

Social Justice

Facing Our Crossroads

There is so much to say following this week and, at the same time, we are speechless. As the American people struggle to make sense of the past week, the whole world watched, as a country that used to be valued as the leader of the free world, seemed to go up in flames. “It may be a MAGA night,” Trump announced via tweet on Saturday which was an appeal to his base. Threatening tweets talking about guns and vicious dogs the previous day served only as an extension of Trump’s own impotence. Incapable of facing the American people as they called out racism, he remained in his safe bunker under the White House. On Monday, peaceful protesters, including clergy,…

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June 5, 2020

Social Justice

Our Brothers and Sisters

We took a break from the Covid crisis today to mourn a brother of color whose life was senselessly taken by police in Minneapolis. The wasting of this man’s life was followed by rioting, looting, and violence. This situation brings back memories of Washington, DC in April, 1968. For 4 days, smoke and flames filled the air over 14th Street and beyond as everything was set on fire by those rioting and looting the area following the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Fueled by what the black community experienced as humiliation, poverty, segregation, and discrimination, riots began when angry people filled the street. A rock was thrown through a store window, a small fire was set, the crowd grew,…

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May 29, 2020

Social Justice

Apart Yet Together

A news commentator recently mentioned that, during these days, we do not have the luxury of making plans but only of having hope. During these uncertain times, we listened to these comments with concern and believe them to be true. Our plans for a summer trip to New England to see relatives and friends has been cancelled and we can only hope that we are able to go next year. Currently, it is difficult or seemingly impossible to plan a day around social gatherings. We find ourselves grappling with how to shape our “reentry” while staying safe. We have listened to medical experts and scientists and have grown comfortable cloistering ourselves away from people although it can be daunting at…

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May 8, 2020

Social Justice

Steady as She Blows…

During these interesting and vexing times, it can be a struggle to put things in perspective. Sometimes it makes it easier to look to history for some insight. For some reason, we happened to think back to Greek mythology for some political enlightenment. As you may recall from Greek Mythology, there was an island that was occupied by Sirens. Sirens were sort of hybrid beings – women that were half human and half bird. The legend describes the Sirens as dangerous creatures whose sole purpose was to entice and lure nearby sailors with their enchanting music and sweet singing voices. As the fable goes, passing ships would clearly hear the Sirens’ song and were drawn in by its constant hypnotic…

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May 1, 2020

Social Justice

The Fear Comes in Waves

As a family, we are adapting or trying to adapt to this new “abnormal”, as we call it. Our fear comes in waves. Our normal structure of volunteer work, socialization, and down time have all disappeared. Suddenly, we have no structure. We are told to stay home. Grocery shopping and picking up medication only at a distance and at a risk. The indicators that define the days of the week or the time of day are missing. No reason to set the alarm clock or complain about having to get up early. That is gone. Our bodies started to tell us to go to sleep when it got dark and to wake when the light came up. We were sensing…

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March 31, 2020

Social Justice

Red Alert!

A Public Health Red Alert comes across your phone instructing all those over 65 to stay in their residences. Reminiscent of the old black and white Japanese Godzilla movies, we take to our tv to see what is happening. This is the world that we live in today. Inside is now safe and outside is risky. How quickly that has changed from the old “Mom rule” of going outside, get some fresh air, or you will get sick. Now, it is keep your distance and stay safe inside. If you are retired, you stay inside or, if you are working, hopefully you can work from home. If you work in the medical field, you are not so lucky. We have…

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March 30, 2020

Social Justice

Social Evolution

Every big crisis brings with it changes to society. Covid-19 will be no exception. When kidding around three weeks ago that Starbucks may have to close, we had no idea of the reality of this watershed event. As many of us sit isolated in our homes, we face immense changes in our daily lives most of which have cut us off from friends, family, and our sense of day to day normalcy. The new normal is not normal at all. It has been described as odd and strange and scary. With our lives apparently on the line, we live as if we are in war times and are fighting a bug smaller than the eye can see that could potentially…

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March 19, 2020

Peace / Social Justice

Crisis or Opportunity

Our neighbor dropped off a melon for us today on her way back home from the grocery store. I washed the outside with a homemade Clorox solution, dried it, and put it in the kitchen. I did this while wondering what to do with our theater tickets for next week. You can’t deny that something is happening. We are cautious about grocery shopping and have already stocked up on essentials. At a store this morning, I safely kept 3 or more feet from the person in front of and behind me in line. I washed my hands and my wrists with my favorite hand sanitizing pad when leaving the store, not forgetting the steering wheel once I was in my…

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March 11, 2020

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