I have a Dream

I am not a political activist, nor do I normally get directly involved in "causes".  However, as I sit and watch all the media coverage of the disaster on the Gulf coast, I have to ask myself, "have we really made any progress in civil rights?"  As a young child in the early 1960's I remember those horrible images on television, of our black brothers and sisters being attacked by guard dogs and having water hoses turned on them.  We look at those images on old news footage and think, we have come a long way since then.  But have we??  When I look at the the poor citizens of New Orleans, who didn't have a way to evacuate the city, what do I see?  Perhaps not images of guard dogs, but something even more sinister. Apathy.  Why was the response of the federal government agencies so slow?  Why did it take 5 days to begin getting help to these citizens?  When a disaster hits another country, the USA is there within hours, not days, dropping supplies, and giving assistance.  I saw on one news report that help arrived from Cananda sooner than it did from our own country.  I have to ask myself.  If this disaster had happened in an affluent white neighborhood, say West Palm Beach, would people have been sitting on the roof of their million dollar homes, for nearly a week waiting for help.  I seriously doubt it.  Granted the storm was more than they expected, but give me a break, why the slow response?

I am reminded of the words of Jesus, when He said, "whatever you do to the least of these, you have done unto me."  Understanding that Christ was not referring to "the least of these" meaning that they were less important, but he was referring to their condition. The poor and down trodden.  Those who needed help. In essence, we have once again, spit in Jesus' face.

It really saddens me to think that our country is still as divided as it was years ago.  We are just more subtle, and we hide it better.  "God forgive me if I have been guilty of apathy."  "Help us to truly live by the creed that Abraham Lincoln stated in the Gettysburg address, that we are DEDICATED to the proposition that "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL." "Please help your people to become united."

That is the name of our country after all. "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"

Comments

[chris]

Des... what a great post! Provoking questions that definately need pondered... better yet, acted upon.

[Steve]

I believe Jesus was speaking to The CHURCH , his followers when he said, "whatever you do to the least of these, you have done unto me."
It's our job (Christians) to reach out to "the least of these". That's the problem, The Church has willfully taken a back seat to the government. Let the government take care of everybody, that makes it easier on me. That's why I appreciate so much President Bush trying to get "faith based" organizations involved. The government (federal, state, local) cannot and should not carry the load.

There is so much that could be debated about your post, Des.
We can blame the federal government for a "slow" response but fact is the local and state governments failed miserably. The Mayor indeed did have time to get those folks out before the hurricane hit but he refused to use school buses to do so. Those buses now sit destroyed. He wanted greyhound to send buses down. Remember, this was a cat 5 embarking on a city with levees designed to withhold a cat 3 - Use the school buses and get the people out of there.
All we see in the news is the doom and gloom, the blame game, etc. etc. while thousands upon thousands of people were being rescued by people risking their own lives, and it wasn't 5 days later. It's the job of the Governor to deploy the National Guard (Louisiana), not the federal government. The federal government CANNOT respond until requested by the State.
The Director of the Red Cross has stated they had supplies loaded (before the storm hit), ready to be delivered as soon as she passed but was refused for a number of days. That would have been by the local government not federal.

I for one am tired of the race card being played at every turn. Yes, the majority of the folks in the flooded out portions of New Orleans were poor and black but I'm sure you can't honestly think the entire gulf coast affected by this storm was black.

This was a catastrophic event, the likes never seen before in USA history. I for one applaud the efforts of ANYONE risking their own lives to save any of these victims, black or white, rich or poor.

This Country is divided on more issues than skin color. The Government is not the solution, WE ARE / HE IS!
UNITED WE STAND (He and us)

Thousand upon Thousands of Christians will be reaching out to the "least of these" and that is not a spit in my Lord's face.

[chris]

I appreciate your thoughts Steve, and you make some very good points that are difficult to refute. But I think "perception" plays a big role in what Des has written here. Let me explain...

I remember during the election of 2004 the extreme Christian Right were celebrating the "victory in Jesus" of electing a Christian President, a "return to our roots as Americans." This voice was loud and clear during a time when others (myself included) were trying to encourage people to NOT rely on government to do the church's work. But, the strong Christian Right gave the "perception" that they were "taking back the government."

NOW... however, we are hearing a different tune. Now there is agreement that church and government are, and should be, separate and fulfill separate functions in the world. Now that there is heat on the so-called "Christian government" to do something about the needs of these devistated citizens.

I agree with what you posted, Steve. But the fact is, the Religious Right are the ones who made this bed. Just 10 months ago many were championing the cause of "Christianizing" the government. Now, when the governmental response doesn't look very Christian, we are quick to point out that it's not the Christians' fault.

As for the race card. I am fairly confident that Des' intentions were not to play a race card, but rather, to simply state an obvious fact. Those who have suffered the most are the poorest, and most of them are black. Twenty-seven percent of New Orleans residents lived below the poverty line, and many of those simply had no cars, or no money, and no way to leave. Yes, this was a "natural" disaster, but many things about this event cannot be considered "natural"... which means they are preventable, or changeable. The poverty and race factor is not "natural." The poverty rate, and the gap between rich and poor, continues to increase in this nation, and that is a national disgrace. Even greater, that's a sin, condemned by literally hundreds of verses of scripture. Those most vulnerable to Katrina have been kept on society's margins by persistent economic injustice and racism. That's a fact we cannot simply ignore because we are tired of the "race card". I am tired of the race card when it comes to stupid things like Barry Bonds or Terrell Owens. But in this circumstance it just might be legit.

Thanks for providing us with a spirited debate Des. :)

[Des]

Wow, this is great. I am so glad to see some lively debate for a change. Steve, I understand what you are saying, and I agree with a lot of what you have said. I understand that Christ was addressing believers when he said that "whatever you have done to the least of these"... Whenever you take a poll in our country, the majority of those polled claim to be Christian. (Of course that too is debatable). Saying and being is certainly two different things. I too agree that the Church should take the lead in caring for people, and not the government. However, we the people, including Christians, elect the government officials to represent us, and we pay taxes as well. So I do believe they should be accountable for their actions, including helping ALL our citizens equally. I don't think that you would disagree that there are still inequities in the way people are treated in this country, and race is only one facet of that inequity. It IS time for the church to take the lead, and I applaud every organization and every individual who is risking their life to help in this horrible situation. I know many individuals personally, Christian and Non-Christian, who have gone to help. They have my undying gratitude and financial support. I still think there are issues that need to be addressed and answers are needed so that we are better prepared for future events such as this. Granted there are no absolute solutions for every situation. And the Church certainly needs to be a stronger factor in how our nation responds. I think we can all do better. Thanks again for your comments Steve and yours as well Chris. Anyone else???

[Steve]

Indeed, indeed, this should draw some very good debate.

I don't know about the perception of the Religious right taking back the government but it reaches far beyond the President. This Country has been sliding further and further away from God and it's going to take allot more than a God fearing President to change that.
I think most of the "religious right" was fed up with all the insane decisions being made in the "courts" thus the push for morality through electing a "Christian" President.

The government is doing something about the needs of these devistated citizens, to the extent never seen before.

I am confident Des was not playing the race card either.

I'm not sure what you do about the "gap", especially when many don't want to help themselves. It was the same in Jesus' day. It's been true throughout time.
I think Jesus would probably fall into the lower class in today's society.

Chris said, "Those most vulnerable to Katrina have been kept on society's margins by persistent economic injustice and racism."
I'm not sure I agree they were forced into the position they were in by society or the government, if that's what you're saying.

[chad]

Racism is such a difficult issue because everybody has a perception on what racism actually looks, feels, and tastes like. There are so many common clichés in the argument now that it’s sometimes hard to know where a fair perception begins and ends. I know that my own personal perception on the matter has been greatly influenced by my background. I grew up in a society where I never felt like I was a victim of racism. No matter how many times I’ve read the autobiography of Malcom X or watched History Channel specials about the civil rights movement I still cannot deny that I have never really come in to brutal contact with the ugly animal of racism. I’ve really only ever understood it from the fringes. I’ve heard the very common argument many times in my life regarding those who simply aren’t interested in helping themselves and on numerous occasions I’ve found myself saying, “Well if those people would just get off their butts and get motivated their lives wouldn’t be so bad.” When I look back on that self-proclamation of my mind I can’t help but be a little ashamed of myself. The reason being simply this: I’ve been taken care of my whole and I’ve never known what it is to really struggle because I’ve always been emotionally and monetarily supported by a strong family infrastructure. I agree that there are many people out there who are white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and whatever other ethnicity you can draw out of the hat who are just plain lazy. As a result their lives seem to be rather sad in a way but when you consider that most of it is self induced it becomes difficult to really feel sorry for them. They are, in essence, victims of their own choices. However, I also feel like there is an equal cross section of people in this country who are victims of a system that doesn’t really consider them like it claims. I think that racism still is very present in society today but it is far subtler than it once was. Do government organizations oppress people on purpose? I think this is the real question that comes to mind when people start talking about the “man” keeping them down. Whether or not this actually happens purposefully is something we could debate until the end of our days but I think that it is at least fair to consider that perhaps we are living under an umbrella of thought that doesn’t consistently consider the minority. Some people call this phenomenon “white privilege”. There are those who think the concept of white privilege is nothing more than fancy terminology for doctoral thesis discussions. However, when it comes to issue of racism I think it is very important to take a hard look at our perceptions and ask ourselves a very honest question. “How much of what I believe is directly linked only to my experience or contact with hearsay? Do I really know what the view is like from the other side of the tracks? I mean really….do I?” If we are very candid with ourselves I think this is a very difficult question to answer and if nothing else I think it better helps us to form conclusions that really try to take into account the “other” sides argument. What a great debate this has been. Thank you Des, Chris, and Steve for really challenging all of us to take a hard look at our perceptions. As we ponder all this, my prayer is that we would find new wisdom and strength from one another. All my love is with you.