911... What Have We Learned?
Like so many here in the United States and abroad I will never forget that Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001. I awoke somewhat sadden that my mother would’ve turned eighty-three that day and she was no longer with us. Hardly two hours later the sadness was replaced and forever marked by another event.I turned on my television in time to watch the second plane hit the World Trade Center. I thought it was a movie. When I discovered it wasn’t I was completely floored. It took me several hours to discover that my youngest daughter was in another building and she, too, witnessed the destruction but was safe.
During that day and for many days after there was a common love and unity around the United States unlike I’d ever seen in lifetime. Black, white, brown, yellow, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, gay, straight, young and old, along with too many to mention, came together in common disbelief, strength, compassion and just plain-old common decency. I, like many others, went about handing out copies of the American flag and gathered items together to bring to firehouses. I attended prayer services and kept busy. Keeping still was just too painful.
What happened to us?
An historic election! What should be a celebration of just how far we’ve come has only exhibited just how far we have not. The World is looking at us!Many could argue, “Who cares what the rest of the World thinks about Americans? Well, I argue… even if the rest of the World’s opinions never mattered we, as Americans, should be ashamed.
How many more disasters must occur before we learn? I’m not going to preach. But it's so sad to read every description from “Sambo to Porch Nigger” as referred to Senator Obama. And the other side is no better. Whitey, Honky and Cracker are still being bandied about in response and sometimes as a lead. These are some of the most insensitive, libelous, salacious and just downright stupid and racist remarks, from various Blogs, brought to the forefront by this election. There’s no more hiding racism… some are wearing it proudly, right next to their flag pin.
You can be certain that when those planes struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and flight 93, death and chaos had no race preference. The rain will always fall on the just and the unjust.
I pray God’s continued grace and mercy upon us. And may God be to those who suffered a loss on 911 whatever they need Him to be.
If we can love God whom we have never seen, yet cannot love the ones we can, then we have missed God’s entire message.
1 comment:
Unfortunately, the racism we see is not only embedded in other cultures, but our own as well. Until we are able to deal with the biases we face in our own culture, it may be difficult to ask that other cultures deal with theirs.
Light versus dark, haves versus have nots, crabs in the barrel, all of these are societal ills that we as African Americans face everyday. Even with the impending election of Barack Obama as president of the United States, the first question we ask ourselves as a people is "is he black enough?"
My question is "How black does he have to be?"
When it will end depends on us and our commitment to seeing it end
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