Liberation-(noun)-the
act or fact of
gaining equal rights
or full social or
economic
opportunities for a
particular group.
I’m sad.
Perhaps that’s the
wrong word; maybe it
should be
bewildered, or
confused. I’m not
certain I know which
word fits the way I
feel at this moment.
Having grown up in
the South during
segregated times;
I’m old enough to
remember how we used
to live. In looking
back on those years
I think to
myself…that was
stupid. There was
absolutely no call
for the division we
lived under for all
of those years.
Segregation was
stupid. Slavery was
stupid. But you
know, I didn’t make
the rules so don’t
blame me. I could
change the rules,
which is what I
choose to do by the
way I looked at
other members of our
society and I could
raise my children to
respect the rights
of others and to
treat others as they
themselves would
want to be
respected.
But you know I must
have been asleep
these past forty or
so years since we
became an integrated
society. I’ve been
going to church all
of those years and
not once have I
heard any of my
pastors denounce any
other race in our
country or lay blame
at the doorstep of
anyone else but
ourselves. I have
been under the
impression that we
were making progress
in this country when
it came to racial
matters. I did not
realize that I was
mistaken.
And mistaken I have
been. As I listen to
the sermons preached
in Reverend Wright’s
church in Chicago
last week and his
apparent hatred for
white Americans, I
cannot help but
wonder how much of
this is happening in
other churches
throughout the
country. Here, my
family and I have
been sitting in the
pews Sunday after
Sunday listening to
love and respect for
all while other
Christian churches
are preaching a
doctrine of
‘liberation’
theology that puts
the blame for their
social ills on my
back. I’m sorry but,
the truth of the
matter is that I
never owned any
slaves, my parents
never owned any
slaves and their
parents never owned
any slaves. What
happened before that
I do not know.
But let me ask you
this, how do we as
Americans, not
Irish-Americans,
Italian-Americans,
German-Americans or
African-Americans
but Americans who
were born in this
country get past
these societal
issues that continue
to drag us down at
every juncture? I’ve
said this and I’ll
say it again,
slavery was wrong,
but so was
indentured
servitude. The slave
trade could not have
flourished without
the aid and
assistance of some
of the citizenry of
a number of African
nations. Did that
make it right, of
course not and no
one in their right
mind thinks so in
this day and age.
But, there are
injustices in every
person’s life, yours
as well as mine. We
don’t have enough
time to discuss them
in this column.
Injustice isn’t a
new thing; I suppose
Adam and Eve felt
they were dealt with
rather sharply for
eating an apple. Old
Jacob certainly
wasn’t happy when he
found out he had to
wait 14 years to
marry Rachel instead
of 7.
But you know, unlike
what one of
presidential
candidates said last
week, I don’t think
of myself as a
‘typical white
person’. I don’t
weigh myself down
with bias and
prejudices for other
people just because
they don’t look like
me or even think
like me. They are my
fellow country men
and women, they are
Americans to me.
They are what this
country was founded
about in the first
place.
Do we have problems
in this country,
sure, what country
doesn’t? Are we
making progress
towards the
resolution of these
problems? I’d like
to think so.
But you know one of
my pastors used to
tell me that “unless
we can learn to get
along with each
other here in the
nasty now and now,
it sure going to be
difficult living
with other in the
sweet bye and bye.”
I hope I’m wrong and
that what we saw
last week is an
aberration and not
the norm. I would
like to believe that
and that we as
Americans, are
making strides
towards better
relationships
between our varied
ethnic groups rather
than greater
division. It’s time
we did.
I’m not blaming
you…..don’t blame
me.
I think someone said
a little over 200
years ago… “United
we stand, but
divided we fall.”
I think those words
are probably more
appropriate today
than ever before.
