Do You Really Care About Others?

The same principle can be applied to all of our current issues: Do you care about other human beings?  If you answered yes then you must be able to distinguish the importance of people over inanimate objects like monuments, Chief Wahoo, the Redskins name, or Confederate flags.

Those things hurt other people but it does not hurt you in any way if they vanish.

If tradition is more important than the way those things negatively impact other Americans then you actually don’t care about those people.  You only care about your sentimentality and "the way things have always been," which doesn't make them right.

If you call yourself a Christian then you are to follow Jesus’s example of unconditional love for others. If he could die for others then you can give up mere symbols for others.  

The Protestant church does not believe in the worship of or need for symbols.. They are seen as being akin to idols. As a Protestant, my church has no statues or symbols of Jesus and yet I do not forget Him.

I do not need a monument of Hitler to remember the horrors of WWII. I can read about it in a book or remember my father's service to his country. Nothing can erase the past. 

Native Americans and Black Americans have been the most mistreated people living in this country since Europeans arrived—and are the poorest as well. How about we give them a break?   Really, it won’t change your life in any way.

This can apply to other traditions like saluting, the National Anthem, the American flag, putting you hand over your heart—-they are just symbols---nothing more. 

Wearing masks is in a different category but the principle is the same: Do you care about other people more than your convenience? Either you do or you don’t.

Now you can call me a snowflake, but if this offends you than you are a snowflake, too, since the term refers to someone's oversensitivity to another persons needs or viewpoint. It’s not an insult to me.  It means I care. 

When Was America Great?

By  Diane Vogel Ferri

The slogan “Make America Great Again” puzzles me. No one will tell me when America was great and the assumption is that it is not great now.  The state of politics makes one feel that things are definitely not great, I will agree. The notion of when America was great depends on your own personal experience and perhaps your refusal to accept that it wasn’t great for everyone even if it was for you.

Was it back in the thirties during the Great Depression when millions of Americans lost everything they had and were starving to death? No?  Was it in the forties when  405,000 of our young men died in World War II? Oh, but remember all those romantic war movies? It seemed great in the movies. 

America must have been great in the fifties when we all lived in little middle-class towns like Mayberry and all our neighbors and teachers were white and went to the same church?  We like watching the Cleavers and the Ricardos because that’s the way it was in the Good Old Days, right?  Oh, wait! That was before the Civil Rights Movement, so there were many Americans being discriminated against, segregated and excluded from voting, from going to restaurants, public schools, and of course, being hanged and beaten for being black. Was that when it was great—when you only had to believe in what you saw on TV?

How about the sixties—all peace and love, right?  But that was when those black Americans started fighting back and Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated for it. Riots in the major cities of the country.  John and Bobby murdered too.  Then there were the 58,000 men and women that died in Viet Nam—for reasons that are still debatable today—and those same young people came home to be spat upon and treated like dirt.  No one said, “thank you for your service” back then.

The seventies seemed pretty cool. Although in the early 70s disabled children did not have the right to attend a public school. They either did not go to school or were relegated to special schools. Hillary Clinton was instrumental, working for the Children’s Defense Fund, in preparing a landmark report called “Children Out of School” which led to the enactment of  Education for All Handicapped Children Act (which is now the Individuals with Disabilities Act) ensuring all children the right to a free public education.  But even then, disabled Americans had no access to public buildings and parking—not so great, huh?

The 80s brought continuing issues with the Cold War and a massive rally of over a million people in Central Park for a “nuclear freeze,”  AIDS began to kill millions of Americans, we were in a big recession. The 90’s brought more involvement in the Middle East with the Gulf War. It was only in 1990 that Bill Clinton passed the Americans with Disabilities Act. So less than three decades ago people in wheelchairs couldn’t get into public buildings like concert venues or restaurants, or use public bathrooms.  Before 1990 life wasn’t so great for disabled Americans, including our wounded vets.  By the end of the Clinton Administration 1.7 million new jobs were added, there was a federal budget surplus, unemployment was at 4% and the Dow Jones closed above 10,000 for the first time.  Ok, the 90’s were pretty good, but the people who want to make America great again reject the policies of the Clinton era so I’m not sure how we’re going to get back to that.

September 11th, 2001 changed America forever and brought real fear into our lives for the first time. We suddenly became vulnerable and more new wars began. We lost over 4400 Americans in Iraq and over 2000 in Afghanistan. American life wasn’t even close to great if you were an LGBT person until 2015 when you finally got the rights to marry and have a family like everyone else in this country. There are over 30 million children that go to bed hungry in America every night and many of our public schools are failing for lack of priorities and funding by  our present Congress. There is a lot that can and should improve. I think we can all agree on that. But to suggest that going backwards will make us great is to ignore how far we’ve come.

So that brings us up to date.  Which decade or era do you choose as great? When was it great for you personally?  Is the fact that it wasn’t always great for millions of other American citizens make a difference to you?  Is it okay that so many Americans have been discriminated against, disrespected and hated through America’s history?  America thrives because we do move forward—not quickly enough for many of our citizens—but we eventually pass laws and change attitudes that make life better for many Americans.  All of the legislation I’ve mentioned have happened just in my lifetime.   So we are great now, and can become even greater, but that will only happen when we choose to be united and not divided by our own ignorance and we accept the beautiful diversity of this country, acknowledge that we are more alike than different, and respect the right of all Americans—not just the ones like ourselves. 

There is No Reality (The coming election year)

Many years ago I read a book by Dr. Phil.  (Life Strategies) This common sense book had a big impact on me.  In the book he gave some basic life strategies and two of them changed my thinking.  I think these are particularly pertinent in light of the political animosity that this country is currently experiencing and certainly will be in the coming year.

There is no reality - only perception.
 My first reaction to this was, of course there is reality!  But think about a time when you and another person have been at the same place at the same time but have interpreted what happened there differently.  It's almost like someone telling a joke and one person finds it hilarious and another person doesn't. No one is right and no one is wrong. It's just their perception.

Everyone's perception is colored by a lifetime of personal experiences and observations and it is quite common for two people to view the same thing in two different ways.  Just look at the way the bible can be continually argued. One of us reads a passage to mean one thing and someone else sees it another way.

Here's an example:
One of my friends has managed his rental properties for many years. In that time he has witnessed people sitting around watching television while collecting government assistance. So naturally what he has seen influences his viewpoints.

I spent 22 years teaching children living in poverty. I saw firsthand the devastating effects on their lives. I listened to the single mothers whose husbands had left them with no financial support for their children.  The mothers who wanted to help with homework or be at conferences but had to take a third shift job and weren't home for their kids - just trying to put food on the table. So my viewpoint has been highly impacted by years of seeing those situations firsthand.

Those stories are simplified versions of the problem - but even though I did not agree with him I could understand my friend's viewpoint based on his life experience - not mine.

We teach people how to treat us
This is a tough one to accept but I've found it to be true.  The premise is that you must take responsibility for how people treat you and react to you.  It's YOU, not THEM.  So if you feel like a doormat at home or work, maybe you have allowed yourself to be treated that way. Maybe you have even subtly rewarded the other person for doing it by giving them what they want.

The same goes for being ignored, disrespected or being treated in a rude way. What have you done to bring this behavior out in the other person?

So as we enter a volatile time let's remember that we will receive what we send out. How often do we criticize someone for being judgmental when we are actually doing the same thing to them? Everything goes BOTH ways for all of us.

Even though many of these problems seem to be human nature I know I am going to try to keep these truths in mind much more in the coming years.

It's all part of COEXISTING. :)  It's not my expertise - it's my ideal and hope.

MLK

Tamir Rice

It's been two weeks and I cannot get used to seeing a boy I knew in the newspaper and on the national news day after day. This news story is personal to me.

I taught kids with special needs for over 30 years, so that's a lot of students. Tamir Rice was one of those students you don't forget.  We had our good days and our bad days together in math class first thing in the morning.  If Tamir's day had started out well he was bright, charming and hardworking. He was good at math and he knew it, but he required a lot of attention. He wanted to answer every question. He was behind in academics from constantly being moved from school to school. In fact, he was only with us for one year, and that causes great instability in a child's life.

If the day had not started well Tamir was likely to cry and leave the room.  But the thing to remember about children's behavior is that it is never their fault.  The child who disrupts or is angry or depressed is   lacking a basic need in life that only the home can provide.  Teachers nurture and care and attend to students' needs as much as they can during the hours they are with them each day.  But home is where basic needs of security, stability, love and attention are met.  Tamir liked attention, so he, like many other children, got it any way he could. He probably thought he was being funny the day those policemen drove up within a few feet of him.

The thing about Tamir was that even if he gave you a hard time you still liked him. Right now I don't remember the tough days as much as I remember that smile you see every day from some news source. Can't you see the mischievous charm in those eyes?  You could plainly see the capacity to achieve and even be a leader if life went his way - which it didn't.  What a waste.

Working in a racially diverse school district for 22 years taught me a lot.  If you think there is no white privilege then you haven't been around those who struggle every day to keep their children safe, fed, and sheltered.  You haven't met a mom who is afraid every day because she has to send her black  teenage son out into the world praying he comes home every night. You are not afraid to just walk through your own neighborhood. You're not Trayvon Martin's or Tamir Rice's parents or Eric Garner's children.

I don't have all the answers and I understand that policemen have to defend their own lives. But what about tasers and pepper spray? Could we invest in those?  Body cameras are fine but there are videos of Tamir's death and of Eric Garner's death in New York City and no one sees how those black men could have been apprehended without dying?

Eric Garner was unarmed and committing a very minor offense, but now policemen have left more children without a father. They could have even just let him get away - he was selling cigarettes, for God's sake.

Did the Cleveland police have to shoot Tamir from a few feet within two seconds of arriving or could there have been another way?  Could they have spent a little more time trying to reason with the unarmed Mr. Garner or did they have to strangle him to death?

                                                               Rest in peace Tamir.

What If There Was a Day...

I am itching to write about my angst and outrage over our inept Congress and the "shutting down" of our government, but you can read excellent commentaries by writers more eloquent than I and we're all sick to death of it, aren't we? So I share a poem of an opposing nature...What if there was a day....


when nothing happened,
in between wars and elections,
storms, giant waves, quakes and funnel clouds?

Teams had the day off, strikes were averted,
traffic moved like a dream,
thieves and attackers took a break.

Juries were sent home and judges napped,
school children forgot to bully and fight,
theater lights darkened, celebrities tired of their capers.

Reality shows were in rerun, mortgage rates
and the stock exchange remained as the day before.
No one was born, no one died.

Newspapers had nothing to print,
talking heads stopped talking,
all media were muted and stilled.

What if the cadence and rhythms of the planet
spun in harmony and coexistence
for just one day...

Coexist on Inauguration Day/Martin Luther King Day 2013

"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined non-conformists who are dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood."  Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there's the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America, a Latino America and an Asian America - there's the United States of America." Barack Obama

Coexist

Quotes on Equality

Gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world. They are all ages, all races, all faiths. They are doctors and teachers, farmers and bankers, soldiers and athletes. And whether we know it, or whether we acknowledge it, they are our family, out friends, and our neighbors. Being gay is not a western invention. It is a human reality.

Hilary Clinton

The truth is that male religious figures have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have for their own selfish ends overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuous choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world.

Jimmy Carter

Civility

In the wake of the awful Limbaugh debacle and listening to so much uncivil discourse in the political realm I was glad to read a couple articles in this week's Sunday paper about civility and integrity.
James Calvin David, a professor and author says,
Wouldn't it be nice if we could talk about these issues with some civility? Civility means the exercise of patience, integrity, humility and mutual respect in conversation, even (and especially) with those with whom we disagree.

Civility does not require us to retreat from our convictions, but it does ask us to engage people who disagree with us and truly listen to what they have to say. It asks us to consider modestly the ways our own perspectives might be shortsighted, misinformed or hurtful. Above all, it demands that we express our convictions without demonizing those who hold other views.

American politics is now almost devoid of civility, and many of us think the vitriol is hurting our national community.

David also points out that those who are (rudely) calling for Christian values might remember that the virtues of civility are the same as the New Testament's Fruits of the Spirit - patience, integrity, humility, respect for example.

Right under this article was one on Ronald Reagan, still considered a hero and icon of the Republican party. The author, Mike Collins, states:

Problem is, those who most fervently claim to adhere to Ronald Reagan's principles don't seem to understand Reagan's greatest principle: decency.

As a man, Ronald Reagan had a sunny optimism and faith in the goodness of his fellow Americans. While his political opponents disagreed with him over policy, he did not consider them his enemies. He viewed them as his fellow citizens, and right or wrong, he valued them. He was a true gentleman.

If some Americans now are so intent on trying to force us all back into the way things used to be - maybe they should be intent on emulating the decency, civility, good will and patriotism that was Ronald Reagan.

What Do Our Words Really Mean?

"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government." Thomas Jefferson.

"Only in America can you be pro-death penalty, pro-war, pro-unmanned drone bombs, pro-nuclear weapons, pro-guns, pro-torture, pro-land mines AND still call yourself "pro-life".
John Fugelsang

What do our words really mean when they can be interpreted in any direction? The Jefferson quote, I imagine, could be used as pro-life (anti-abortion) in a debate today - no destruction of life. But it could also be taken as pro-gay marriage since it promotes the happiness of all citizens and does not suggest that we deny them basic rights. It could also suggest pacifism since lives are always destroyed in a war.

Is the purpose of government to take away choices from its people? Many politicians promote less government interference in our lives, but maybe for them that only applies to taxes. Does it also apply to who can be married? Who can choose to have children or prevent having them? Who gets to serve in the military?

As this election year goes on all I can hear are contradictions.

With all the "Christian" rhetoric flying around - when Jesus said "Love They Neighbor"( over and over again) did he mean only those in your chosen political party?

When He said, "Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matthew 7:1) Did He mean only those who live a life according to your standards?

When Jesus said He had compassion for the thousands who were with Him and had nothing to eat - did he tell them to take a bath and get a job - or did he, out of His compassion, feed them?

We keep hearing this is a Christian nation, but what does that mean if we continue to judge, deny rights and basic human needs to our citizens?

Coexist with Kindness

So many gods,
so many creeds,
so many paths
that wind and wind.
While just the art
of being kind
is all the sad worlds needs.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox
poet, 1850-1899

(Artist listed only as Sawyer.)

Coexist This Christmas

Love and Coexist With Thy Neighbor

Happy Holidays v. Merry Christmas - COEXIST

Coexist with all holidays.
As a Christian I do not understand why some people of my faith insist that everyone wish them a Merry Christmas. I really don't get it. As a Christian, or just as a sensitive human being, surely we realize that everyone in the world doesn't celebrate Christmas - whether we want them to or not. The Bible is full of directives to love everyone, and in loving others we respect them. It matters not whether we agree with them.

Romans 14 says "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."

It also says " The man who eats everything must not look down on the man who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn. Who are you to judge someone else's servant?"

To me that says it all. We are to respect other people's choices and not judge. "Christians" who insist that everyone acknowledge only their chosen holiday are being disrespectful, insensitive and offensive themselves. It is not, in fact, everyone's holiday! Live in the real world.

If someone says Happy Holidays to you - is your faith so small that it somehow would change your beliefs or your celebration of them? Of course not. So why force your beliefs on others. God gave all of his creations free will - and that goes for everyone, not just Christians.

I follow a group called "Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented" on Facebook and that is how I feel almost everyday.

Why Not?

Coexisting With . . . Crows.

I just read an amazing book called "Crow Planet" by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. Your first reaction is probably - crows? Yuk! Those disgusting birds picking at bloody roadkill?

Well, of course they are just finding their daily bread like the rest of us. Personally I am always enchanted with birds. They are my favorite of God's creatures (along with dogs) and I think they are all beautiful (even the Canadian geese that traverse and befoul our yards and neighborhoods). Haupt convinces us of the intelligence and ingenuity of the ever-present crows. She tells of how they have learned to drop a nut from a tree onto a road and wait for a car to run it over and crack it before swooping down to retrieve it. She tells of how playful the crows are, taking a stick into the air, dropping it and then catching it on the way down.

What this book really did for me is remind me to slow down and observe what is around me. I love seeing the wildlife around me, but do I really observe what they are doing?

I want to co-create a nation of watchers, of naturalists-in-progress, none of us perfect, all sharing in the effort of watching, knowing, understanding, protecting, and living well alongside the wild life with whom we share our cities, our neighborhoods, our households, our yards, our ecosystems, our earth. All of us in cafes, pulling out our laptops and beside them our binoculars, just in case we want to see how that crow outside the window is doing with his bit of garbage, how his feet work to hold down the paper bag while his nimble bill extracts the french fries. Just in case we want to see, above the crows, the swooping swallows that only days ago arrived all the way from Mexico, violet feathers shimmering. From the swallows we can turn to the person at the table across the way and say, "Did you ever see a more beautiful color of blue?"

Coexisting in Scripture

My favorite book of the bible has always been Romans because I think it gives reasonable and common sense guidelines on how to live in this world. You must adapt some things to the century we're living in, of course. When the following scripture was read in church a couple weeks ago it struck me as very timely. With a presidential election coming at us all too quickly I notice how many candidates use their Christianity as a part of their platform - then turn around and slander, belittle and berate their opponents. In some ways my indignant posts are judging them I suppose, but I have not chosen to put myself on the world stage proclaiming my sanctity either. I can't seem to hear anyone who only has insulting comments to make on others. I wish there would be a debate when candidates were only allowed to speak for themselves and not the other people standing there.

Accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgement on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Romans 14:1-4

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
Romans 14:13

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Romans 14:19

A Coexist Update and a Breath of Fresh Air!

A couple posts ago I wrote about the Greater Cleveland Congregations. More than 40 religious congregations showed up for the first meeting - Jews, Muslims,Evangelicals, Protestants, Unitarians (and only one Catholic representation due to the Bishop's non-support of the GCC.)

After a year of clergy meetings and brainstorming sessions with congregants the GCC announced it's five-prong agenda.

"We intend to organize, and campaign for good jobs, acccessible and affordable health care, safe and productive schools for our children, fair and equal treament in our criminal justice system, and sustainable and healthy food." said the Rev. Tracey Lind.

Connie Schultz reported in the Plain Dealer that "Greater Cleveland Congregations, like any interfaith group has a lot of work ahead, starting with its budget. The religious organizations contributed half of the $250,000 goal. The rest must come from foundations and private donations unless more religious organizations step up. That invitation remains open."

I hope I will have more news of this initiative in the future. A true example of COEXISTING!

And now for a breath of fresh air:

Yesterday former Utah governor John Huntsman announced his candidacy for President of the United States. In his speech he made it clear that he won't "run down" his rivals for the GOP nomination - or the president. He decried the "corrosive" 21st century politics and said, "I respect the President of the United States. He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help a country we both love. But the question each of us wants the voters to answer is who will be the better president, not who is the better American."

What? Did I hear ( and read) this right? Someone who intends to campaign on his own opinions, ideas and strengths without belittling, insulting and sarcasm? Not only coexisting in a campaign - but a true breath of fresh air! One I will be willing to listen to no matter what his political party. We will soon see if he can keep THIS campaign promise.

Coexist XXXII - Working Together for Social Justice

Nearly 40 synagogues, churches and mosques have joined in coalition to form Greater Cleveland Congregations in an effort to work together to build power for social justice. GCC will unite people across lines of race, class, religion and geography to promote public, private and civic-sector actions in the belief that it will strengthen and improve the quality of life of Cleveland's neighborhoods.

Some of their goals are to work for good jobs, accessibility to health care, safe and productive schools for children, just and fair treatment in the courts, prisons and re-entry programs, alleviate hunger and improve the environment.

Reverend Jawanza Colvin and Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk stated in a recent PLain Dealer article that "we pledge to fulfill what our faiths envision as the result of such unity;honest and civil discourse on issues that trouble us most and a promotion of solutions that produce improvement in quality of life for all people."

HALLELUJAH!!

If only certain sectors of our government would follow these guidelines instead of fighting and criticizing each other maybe some issues of social justice could become a reality in America.