Oh -- what's that? You ask why am I posting this little note in my Coming Out of the Closet blog? So glad you asked. Actually, I will post it here and in my Oh My God blog. I had a time deciding where it should go and since I couldn't choose I decided to do the next best thing.
I broke bread today with a wonderful young woman whom I rarely see. It was an intentional meeting, requiring advanced scheduling, but well worth it, at least for me. For the 11 years I have known her she has remained steadfastly herself in all ways that matter. She has been a blessing to my family.
As usual, when folks haven't seen each other for awhile, a lot of time is spent catching up once they sit across from each other. Aside from the usual family stuff, there was a new twist, which prompted this writing. My young friend is an Obama-like creature. She was raised by her paler-nation mom without the presence of her darker-nation father. (Note to do piece on fathers of the darker nation who play active roles in their children's upbringing, lest some think it is an anomaly. Further, note to start with my own darker-nation dad.)
My friend (hereinafter "Samantha" -- [though fictitious, it alleviates the need to keep writing my friend]) now finds herself in a dilemma. The current political climate has removed the masks from folks with whom she not only has daily contact, but with whom she and her fine family worship. She has learned that her 50/50 hands are not allowed to tie the 100/0 shoes of children at her church. Her 25/75 child has been warned by a schoolmate that her parents must vote for the white man or we will be in big trouble. Yes, from the mouth of a babe is reflected the influences of his environment. From school? Church? Home? Who knows? The source is known only to him and God.
Speaking of God: I wonder if folks -- of whatever race, creed, color, etc., pause in sufficient time to soak in the reality that He is the Creator of all, including us? Okay -- everyone doesn't believe in my God. Fine (actually not fine, for my heart yearns for all to believe; still God does not force Himself on any of us, and while I seek to introduce Him, will not force Him on anyone either). For those non-believers, the question is: By what means did you derive the color of your skin and eyes, and the texture of your hair? Before conception did your mom or dad choose one with whom to copulate in such a way as to create the person that is you? Or while you were in your mother's womb, did she check off a list of available options and -- voila! -- after an appropriate gestative period you popped out just as ordered? Perhaps you were visited by the Creator who asked you to choose: skin (chocolate, caramel, vanilla), eyes (blue, brown, green, gray, other), hair (coarse or fine, wavy or straight, slow-growing and short, fast-growing and Lady-Godiva-long), lips (wispy thin or ultra thick -- or somewhere inbetween), nose (skinny, pointed, flat, wide). And let's not forget the really important stuff to choose: feels rhythm on beats 1 and 3, or beats 2 and 4? Short, tall, chunky, skinny, legs long or short? Plays basketball or bassoon? Football or foosball? Tennis or baseball? Swimming or soccer? Alright -- enough of that.
Back to Samantha. The poor thing is being reminded in all kinds of subtle, and some not so subtle ways, that she is not 100%. As a management type she's stuck in the middle, dealing with superiors and subordinates. Hostility on both fronts. Can you imagine such a sandwich? A Samantha sandwich is not a wonderful snack. It's kind of like a peanut butter sandwich. You know how it is, when you put a glob of Peter Pan in the middle of a slice of multi-grain bread, top it with another slice and then mash it together? It spreads out to the breads' edges, and the more pressure applied during the mashing process, the more the peanut butter tends to ooze out -- beyond the edges. The resulting sandwich is just not as pleasing to look at -- or to eat. That's what happens when folks are threatened; the pressure breaches their protective barriers, threatening the loss of their energy and substance, and they ooze, they leak.
The tragedy of this unmerited negative attention is that Samantha, like many regardless of origin, is a valuable commodity who contributes to the positive vitality of the organization for which she works, and more importantly, her immediate family, including her 100/0 mom. When any of us is put upon in this fashion, we all lose. Why should Samantha be punished for an outcome of which she has no control??? Why should anyone -- regardless of race, creed or national origin be irresponsibly held in contempt for not having control over those characteristics, just as you -- or you -- or you -- or I have no such control???
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He spoke everything into being. And God saw all that He had made. And it was very Good. (Genesis 2:31, The Holy Bible, NIV.) And in case one cannot relate to the Creation, please state any and all processes performed by you to make you the human being you are, including without limitation, the time of your conception, the man and woman who came together in such a way as to cause that conception, the color of your skin, shape of your nose, and texture of your hair, etc. And finally, if still not convinced, consider this:
One day a group of scientists decided that they could do anything God could do, and confronted God with their foolishness, challenging Him. So God reached down, scooped up dust from the ground, formed it into a man, and blew into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul. The scientists were unimpressed. They knew creating a man was a cakewalk. One of the scientists bent down, and just as he was about to gather some dust, God stopped him and said: Wait a minute; get your own dust.
So what does this have to do with politics? As usual, I'm glad you asked. When we free ourselves of narrow, short-sighted mindsets and realize that the people who are sufficiently intelligent, educated, qualified and positively motivated to fill a position -- public or private, political or otherwise -- for the betterment of the organization or government -- local, state or national -- come in all colors, shapes and sizes, and are not limited to people who look like you -- or you -- or you -- or me, we will all be better for it. And a question to those who claim to be believers: How can you say you love God, whom you have never seen, but hate any of His creation -- including Samantha -- and me?
The theology of politics: God allows stuff to happen. He even allows people of mixed heritage to aspire to unite a nation of people whose origins (except for the disenfranchised natives) are rooted in other parts of the world. He allows people who don't look like you to try, just as He allows people who look like you to try. When He created you He did not breath into you a breath of privilege -- or of prohibition. Those are traditions conceived by our foreparents. It is the choice of each of us to continue those traditions of privilege and prohibition -- or let them die.
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