America at its best

America knows how to do occasions of state. Watching the ceremony form the Capital Rotunda today, I was filled with a sense of patriotic pride, something that it is often hard for me to feel these days. Soldiers marched in lockstep, people were quiet, orderly, respectful, music was glorious and moving. In this day of such partisan separation, Republican and Democrat came together to honor a man of greatness, of great courage, and a tireless belief that American could change and grow better..

It shouldn’t be lost on any of us that Congressman John Lewis is the second black person whose body lies in state in the hallowed rotunda (fittingly, Elijah Cummings was first). That in itself is a great step forward for this nation, where people are protesting in the streets because black lives do matter and are being met with force. Some in our nation still speak out against racial equality, against taking another look at our national history. It is an embarrassment to most of us.

When we take that second look, we see that from the Founding Fathers to the present, our history shows a continuous record of racial prejudice. We are today making great strides in overcoming that, overcoming violence against minorities, inequality in opportunities. But there is still a long road ahead of us, and, as we are unfortunately seeing, change does not come easily. It too often brings anger and hostility, division and violence. But this is one of those times when the words of Martin Luther King Jr. ring out: “We shall overcome.”

I can’t speak for John Lewis, but I wonder how he felt about destroying Confederate statues. It seems to me that those statues are nothing more than symbols of a history we’re trying to put behind us. They are static, inactive. Men like Congressman Lewis fought not against statues but for real rights, prime among them the right to live in safety. The Black Lives Matter movement seeks real, tangible change for citizens of color; the destruction of statues is, by contrast, symbolic and does nothing to preserve life, liberty, and equality for those who are still oppressed. Black Lives Matter is what John Lewis called “good trouble.”

I am so in awe of the moms and pops and veterans who have come out to speak for freedom in Portland, to stand against the bullying and brutal tactics of imported goons. John Lewis, at peace at last, would weep for Portland. Some reassurance: I read today that the United Nations has condemned trump’s tactics.

It was hard, watching the pomp and circumstance of this ceremony, to equate it with the protests and riots tearing our country apart. We must reconcile the two Americas—the patriotic and the divided, destructive—if we are to rise again greatness.

Rest in glory, John Lewis. And thank you.

More thoughts on Baltimore

Everyone and their brother has had an opinion today--and expressed it--about the Baltimore riots last night. I've read a lot and pondered a lot, and I have a few random thoughts. One is that there were some incredibly brave black men who stood up to the rioters--I saw a man, arms spread, in front of a row of riot-gear policeman, as if protecting the police and daring the rioters to come closer; another man took up a stand, apparently with a baseball bat, to keep looters out of a 7-11. And there's an incredible video of a mother, literally beating her teenage son and herding him home, away from the trouble. These folks remind us that they are good and brave people, even in the midst of the worst circumstances.
Another reminder many of us need: those rioters weren't angry over the death of one man, brutal and cruel as it was. They were expressing years of pent-up anger, of living in poverty, in a decaying neighborhood, where it was rare for a young man to finish high school alive and without a police record. Particularly the young black men in that section of Baltimore (and others like it across the country) are the subject of police brutality. The police expect them to be bad, so they live up to that expectation, and then they are brutalized. It is a world without hope--and that's the key word. They have no reason to hope. Things will not get better for them.
Some say the riot gear police that turned out for the funeral of Freddie Gray sparked the riots--there again, it's a statement of an antagonistic relationship. Could the police, suitably armed but not in riot gear, have turned out to show respect for Freddie Gray. We'll never know the answer to that question.
It's easy for me and many of you to sit here in our safe, middle-class homes and say, "Why do they burn their own neighborhoods?" I am led to believe, from what I read today, that it's that very lack of hope, that sense of helplessness, of being caught in a system they cannot understand let alone fight.
I don't know how this country can manage a massive swing in its attitude, from antagonism to helpfulness, comradeship, joining together to make things better. Pending national legislation is not leading in that direction, and sometimes all of us are left with despair.
But I think we must cling to the hope that we can make the world better, that each of us can do our part. And maybe it will begin in Baltimore. I pray for the people of that city...and for all of us.

Ferguson still on my mind

I've been a Facebook hack today. My tendency toward OCD leads me to get everything done way ahead of time that I can, so now I'm preparing for Thanksgiving with all my children and grandchildren--all 16 of us--but I've got everything done ahead of time I can. I can't focus on writing that novel I've put away temporarily, and I've got the chili book all ready except for three images--and they're promised either for tomorrow or Saturday. I even have shopping lists done for next week in preparation for the arrival of my kids for a second family gathering.
So what's a girl to do with that extra time, besides read--which I've done--and troll Facebook, where of course I've read more about Ferguson that I ever needed to. I recognize there's something fascinating about violence, even for those of us who abhor it, and I've watched the fires burning looting, running, shouting, on the news with a sort of fixed attitude I can't explain. It's immeasurably sad to see people burning their own people's homes, cars and businesses. It struck me today that in the 1920s at the Greenwood riot in Tulsa it was whites burning black homes; today it is blacks burning their own community. It speaks of a deep frustration that goes way beyond the killing of Michael Brown. He has become a symbol and a martyr for a cause--and not an unjustified one.
I have friends on both sides of this particular fence--those in law enforcement who praise the decision and talk of the police right to defend, of Michael Brown's offenses (being huge is one of them), of the fact that he had just robbed a store and beaten the owner. My liberal friends talk of racial injustice, an unarmed kid against a trained officer with a gun, a white against a black.
The truth is we'll never know the truth. It's kind of like JFK's assassination--all those pages and pages of documentation, and I don't think we'll ever know what really happened. But it points to a crying need in our country--a need for racial justice, for police officers who don't stereotype and don't shoot first, a need for minority communities thate responsibility for their actions--and their neighborhoods.
I've also read today several poignant pieces by black parents who write about their fear for their children, for sending them out into a biased world. With four children, I already know the fear of letting them go as teenagers--I cannot imagine adding in the racial factor.
America has lost its way on several fronts, and I pray God we are strong enough to put ourselves on the straight and narrow path again. But for now, I have no answers about Ferguson nor about how to fix America. But fixing it needs.
 

A relief, a worry, and a puzzle

A relief: I am mightily relieved that the Senate rejected the Keystone Pipeline. I've read a lot about it: the scientists warn against it--one went so far as to say it was a note of doom for the planet; others point to the spills the pipeline has already had in Canada and this country, including a huge one in North Dakota; the President is not the only one to point out that Canada was merely using the US as a path to ship crude (and dirty) oil to China and other parts--there will be no benefit to the US, except 50 permanent jobs (Bernie Sanders said today that is not job growth). I saw a map today--the Tar Sands oil is in the southwest of Canada. The pipeline would snake it's way over to the Midwest and through our "bread basket," across the Southwest to be shipped out. We will not get a drop of oil; our gas prices will not go down, might go up. Someone told me tonight that the same oil is now being shipped on railroad cars, which is more dangerous. I vote we ban that shipment--let Canada ship its own dirty oil without detouring through our country, either by pipeline or rail. I am grateful for senators who want to work to correct climate change and are not affected by greed.
A worry: the brewing trouble in Ferguson MO. Whichever way the grand jury decides there will still be trouble, I fear. I read a Facebook posting recently about how tired Americans are of giving tax breaks to corporations that pay no tax and make huge profits, of paying corrupt politicians, of the general breakdown in our political system, of racism, of the gap between the wealthy and the poor. It ended with the ominous message: a storm is coming. I'm afraid Ferguson, especially an acquittal, might be the spark that ignites that storm (okay, mixed metaphor). But I remember too well how riots spread across the country after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. It could happen again, but I pray not. There's no ignoring that there is simmering tension in this country.
A puzzle: for some time it's been assumed that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee for president in 2016. Once again, I rely on Facebook--it's a great monitor of public sentiment--and I feel instead of gaining support, she's losing traction. More than one person has touted Elizabeth Warren as a presidential candidate. From my point of view, she'd be great but I'm not sure she has the following--yet. There's been talk of an Elizabeth Warren/Bernie Sanders ticket, which sounds idealistically wonderful to me. But I'm not sure they stand a chance. I dismissed a mention of a Clinton/Warren ticket--this country just isn't ready for two women.
With all these issues--the climate, race riots, jockeying for political position--I think it's one of those times we have to trust in whatever God we believe in. I can't believe rational thinking will win out.