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The Daily Dash: January 15, 2018 {#MLKday & #SupportHaiti}
IN THE NEWS:
* The queen gives rare televized interview in honor of the 65th anniversary of her coronation
* Fake emergency alert about missile strike in Hawaii went out over the weekend
* NFL Championship pairings have been decided
* Australian Open began; Venus Williams already out
IN THE WORD:
We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us – Oswald Chambers
IN MY LIFE:
We didn’t exactly get the promised “Snowpocalypse”, but we did get enough snow to play outside and have some fun Saturday morning (and even sled down the driveway a bit). Unfortunately, our Titans couldn’t pull off a win over the Patriots on Saturday night though.
I did want to discuss something that’s been heavy on my heart. As we celebrate MLK Day, and all the promise that comes with the change Martin Luther King, Jr. helped create in our country (and around the world), I’m also deeply troubled about the comments our President allegedly made last week.
First of all, regardless of whether or not he actually said the exact words he’s been accused of saying, someone believed they heard him say it, and that sentiment is dangerous, especially coming from the leader of the free world.
Second of all, to categorize an entire group of people or country is heinous. Can you image if someone made a statement that started with “All Americans…”?! When I think of the diversity in our home and city, much less our country, the thought seems preposterous and ignorant to imply that everyone of a singular nationality acts the same way.
Third of all, while I haven’t been to Africa, my mother lived there for a time and I have traveled to Haiti; I left a piece of my heart there. I’m not sure if it’s because I speak French and could communicate more with the people there, or because of the kindness I was shown from every generation I met, but Haiti will forever hold a special place in my heart and prayers. To imply that we need less of an entire people coming across our borders is absurd. Even if I wasn’t the daughter of an immigrant, this notion would offend me on a multitude of levels.
If nothing else, I pray each one of us, as well as our current President, would start applying the Golden Rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated. I would adapt that even more to say: Talk about others as you would like them to speak about you.
May our words be infused with grace instead of hate, compassion instead of culpability, and humility instead of arrogance. Better yet, let’s put into effect another lesson from the Bible and learn to listen twice as much as we speak.
My friend Damon started a conversation within a new class at church this week entitled “Race, Reconciliation & Redemption”. One of the class objectives that really stood out to me was this:
“(Let us) create an awareness of our own _______ to rise up and raise our voices individually and collectively against racism, both implicit and explicit”. Whether we like it or not, we all have to face our own fear/bias/experience (which is why the blank is left empty) before we can ever hope or expect to address the collective issue.
So regardless of where you stand politically, please join the fight for common decency…and start within your own home today.
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Hope you make it a great day!
