I Can't

I can’t save children from being killed 2500 miles away, but I can comfort those in my community who are scared to go to school.

I can’t feed all the starving and hungry in Asia, but I can donate canned food to feed the hungry students from poor families at the local high school.

I can’t give homes to all the homeless in Appalachia, but I can shelter a few homeless here in Phoenix.

I can’t stop corrupt cops in Chicago, but I can cook Christmas dinner for the police officers here in Mountain View Precinct and build bridges between them and the community.

I can’t counsel every soldier returning from war with PTSD, but I can help get groceries for the soldier’s wife down the street while he is away at war, so he doesn’t have one more stress.

I can’t save the elderly woman who froze to death in her New York apartment last week because she had no heat, but I can visit the shut-in down the street and help her pay her electric bill.

I can’t stop the hurt and anger caused by that Kansas church picketing funerals, but I can build relationships with people who have a different lifestyle than I do.

I can’t stop every abortion, but I can adopt an unwanted child in this city.

I can’t stop racism in Mississippi, but I can ensure that my group of friends have lots of different skin colors and cultural backgrounds.

I can’t fix the political question of illegal immigration, but I can get to know the pastor of the Hispanic church that meets locally.

I can’t save the girl who just committed suicide, but I can befriend the teens in our area who are bullied and teach my kids to do the same.

I can’t fix the partisan politics of our system, but I can educate myself as a voter and actively vote for what is right in each situation and not necessarily what a specific party tells me to vote for.

I can’t medicate everyone dying of HIV/AIDS in Africa, but I can hold the hand of an HIV patient whose friends have abandoned him here at the hospice.

I can’t save the world, but I can live out my faith locally, demonstrating God’s word through meeting the practical needs of those around me.

I can’t waste time waiting for someone else to change the world, but I can get started making a difference by becoming the change in my corner of the world.

I can’t do all these things by myself, but I can invite you to help too.

All solutions are grass roots and must start locally.  The seed is planted in you, now what will you do with it?

Time to Grow Up and Act Like Kids Again

“It’s MINE!!!,” screamed the Stephen as he took the big red ball away from the Anne. Anne promptly burst into tears and went running to the teacher where she sobbed and stuttered trying to tell her version of the story. Stephen came running up a few steps behind yelling, “I had it first and she took it from me." Both children are full of righteous anger and primed to fight for their rights with no regard or thought for the other.

The teacher was now left to sort out the issue and deal with the children, not just with their refusal to share, but also with their behaviors after the fact.

You might think this is a story of two preschoolers, but perhaps not…

Recently, in Phoenix, a black city councilman was in a confrontation with a white police officer. The actual outcome of the situation is murky with blame to be assigned to both sides, but the interesting thing is the gigantic outpouring of anger from the black community in that area. Even if this single episode was not actually racially motivated, someone had better pay attention to the issue of community policing in that area because the response tells me there are much deeper issues there.

In the past months, we have seen a Health Care Bill signed into law by Democrats who completely bypassed any semblance to open and honest legislation, provoking some of the largest angry reactions that I have seen in politics during my lifetime. This gave a boost to the Tea Party movement that has been agitating for change in government.

Sometime later, Arizona Republicans signed a law into effect that some said could lead to racial profiling, leading to an enormous backlash by Hispanics and others.

Each of these events have something in common: the response was much more powerful than expected and in some cases, has yet to die down.

The response in each of these cases is due to the feeling of disenfranchisement by one group in response to the actions of another.

As a White man, it is easy to dismiss the situation that occurred with the City Councilman because he is black and ultimately had a large degree of fault in the events that transpired. But the event was merely a catalyst that opened the lid of simmering issues between the Black community and the Law Enforcement community.

Democrats are quick to dismiss the Tea Party movement as a bunch of crazies and racists, but the truth is, they are by and large ordinary people that are sick of the abuses of government and want to be heard.

Arizona Republicans and supporters of SB1070 and similar laws like to shut down the immigration argument with sound bites about ‘rule of law’ but fail to recognize the very real fears of many legal Hispanic immigrants and citizens as well as the complex issues of our historic immigration policies.

Whatever race we are, whatever political or religious affiliation, we must remember that there are people who hold different ideas than we do. Our actions as a majority may seem right to us, but may trample the rights of others or appear to do so.

If large numbers of people stand up in response, there just might be a problem that the majority doesn’t recognize or refuses to see. Dismissing our opponents and denigrating their values is not healthy or productive.

Democrat or Republican, White or Black, Legal or Illegal, Christian or Atheist, Tastes-great or Less-Filling, we all share this nation and we must work together and listen to each other.

In Kindergarten we learn to share, to respect each other, and to play nice.

It is the time to dial down the rhetoric and work to open avenues of communication.

It is the time for openness and truth.

It is the time for cooperation and compromise.

Let’s remember those lessons from Kindergarten…

It’s time to grow up and act like kids again.

Don't make me go tell the teacher.

¿Puede llevar zapatos de una otra persona?

Para mis Hermanos Hispanos,

(ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS)

Soy un Estadounidense y vivo en Arizona. He estudiado español más que doce años y yo soy un pastor de una Iglesia Cristiano. Soy también Caucásico con raíces alemanas si que importa. Comprendo toda la ira y frustracion en SB1070 y las leyes que han sido entrados los últimos años. Yo no apoyo muchas de estas leyes y yo no concuerdo con Russell Pierce en la mayoría de las cosas. En mi opinion, yo creo que el es una racista y yo pienso que el esconde su racismo detrás de la ley.*

Pero, esto debe ser dicho.

Si estas honesto, entonces sabes que el problema de inmigración ilegal es un problema de derechos humanos. La esclavitud, el robo, la violación de mujeres, las drogas, la violencia, el asesinato, y el riesgo de la muerte en el desierto es implicado todo aquí. Si tu no quieres las leyes que han sido pasadas contra inmigración ilegal, entonces debes provear respuestas a estos problemas.

No no es suficiente para acusar todos los Arizonans del racismo si no puedes resolver o no resolverá estos asuntos.

¿Dónde se paras en los derechos humanos de la familia que se muere de sed en el desierto?

¿Qué respuestas das a la chica adolescente violada por un coyote cruzando la frontera?

¿Qué dices al hombre que es forzado a trabajar como un esclavo aquí en Estados Unidos porque su esposa es una rehén?

Los derechos humanos están en los dos lados de este asunto.

Este asunto es más grande que construyendo una pared en la frontera o un programa de trabajadorer braceros.

Este asunto es más grande que republicanos o demócratas.

Este asunto es más grande que respuestas sencillas y cantar esloganes.

Este asunto es más grande que piel café o blanca.

Tenemos que caminar en cada otros zapatos y trabajar conjuntos para entender.

Derechos humanos pertenecen a todos.

Somos todos ninos de Dios.

¿Qué harás para hacer paz?

*Nota: No creo que todas que apoyan SB1070 y leyes similares son racistas y creo es incorrecto para acusarlos todos.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

Can you wear someone else's shoes?

To my Hispanic Brothers,

I am a United States citizen and I live in Arizona. I have studied Spanish for more than 12 years and I am a pastor of a Christian Church. I am also white with German roots if that matters. I understand all of the anger and frustration about SB1070 and the laws that have been passed these last years. I don’t support many of thes laws and I don’t agree with Russell Pierce about most things. In my opinion, I believe that he is a racist and that he hides his racism behind the law.*

But, this must be said,

If you are honest, then you know that the problem of illegal immigration is a problem of human rights. Slavery, robbery, rape, drugs, violence, murder, and the risk of death in the desert is involved in all of this. If you don’t want the laws that have been passed against illegal immigration, then you must provide an answer to these problems.

It is not enough to accuse all Arizonans of racism if you cannot solve or will not solve these issues.

Where do you stand on the human rights of the family that dies of thirst in the desert?

What answer do you give to the young girl raped by a coyote when crossing the border?

What do you say to the man who is forced to work as a slave here in the U.S. because his wife is held hostage?

Human Rights are on both sides of this issue.

This issue is bigger than building a wall on the border or a guest worker program.

This issue is bigger than republicans or democrats.

This issue is bigger than simple answers or chanted slogans.

This issue is bigger than brown or white skin.

We have to walk in each other’s shoes and work to understand each other.

Human rights belong to everyone.

We are all God’s children.

What will you do to make peace?

* Note: I don’t believe that everyone who supports SB1070 and similar laws are racist and I believe it is wrong to accuse everyone of this.

The 'h' word.

This blog originally posted Monday, April 16, 2007

Current mood: cranky Category: News and Politics

Up to this point, I have avoided the issue of Don Imus and his ignorant comments about the Rutgers team being 'nappy-headed ho's'. It should be self-evident that what he said was wrong (along with many other racist and sexist comments that he has made over the past years).

The biggest problem that I have with this whole issue is the deceitful, hypocritical stance taken by so many in the black community. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are quick to jump on his comments and call for censorship solely because he is a white guy proclaiming his ignorance. Yet, at the same time, they say nothing over the entire hip-hop industry's treatment of women. Further, when Bill Cosby spoke out against these things, he was vilified for speaking out against his black brothers!!!

Russel Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis even issued a statement:

"Hip-Hop is a worldwide cultural phenomena that transcends race and doesn't engage in racial slurs. Don Imus' racially-motivated diatribe toward the Rutgers' women's basketball team was in no way connected to hip-hop culture. As Chairman and President of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), respectively, we are concerned by the false comparisons some in the media are making between Don Imus and hip-hop. We want to clarify what we feel very strongly is an obvious difference between the two.

"HSAN believes in freedom of artistic expression. We also believe, with that freedom, comes responsibility. Don Imus is not a hip-hop artist or a poet. Hip-hip artists rap about what they see, hear and feel around them, their experience of the world. Like the artists throughout history, their messages are a mirror of what is right and wrong with society. Sometimes their observations or the way in which they choose to express their art may be uncomfortable for some to hear, but our job is not to silence or censor that expression. Our job is to be an inclusive voice for the hip-hop community and to help create an environment that encourages the positive growth of hip-hop. Language can be a powerful tool. That is why one's intention, when using the power of language, should be made clear. Comparing Don Imus' language with hip-hop artists' poetic expression is misguided and inaccurate and feeds into a mindset that can be a catalyst for unwarranted, rampant censorship."
What kind of ignorance is that!!!! I almost don't even know where to begin. First, he is saying that censorship is OK as long as it is racially motivated. A black man can say the 'n' word and degrade women all he wants because that is what he sees around him!!! Who is the racist here? Who is putting down black culture? Secondly, he is saying that art shouldn't be censored, but public speech should be. Thirdly, I would say that most rap and hip-hop lyrics (as with most other song lyrics) are shallow and have little 'artistic message' to them. Yes, some are well done commentary such as 'Gangsta's Paradise' by Coolio in the mid 90's, that really captured the hopelessness felt by someone in the ghetto.

But, for the most part, there is little or no redeeming value to any of this style of music because it glorifies a lifestyle of ignorance while simultaneously denigrating women. (I would say the same of most country music, but that's another blog). Simmons/Chavis are right, Language has Power, and when abused, it can be dangerous.

The duplicitousness of Russel Simmons and Dr. Chavis puts them in the same category with Don Imus, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson.

I don't respect any of them. They are all racists in their own way. They all help to perpetuate negative views of black women.

I do respect Bill Cosby. I do respect C. Dolores Tucker. There are very few who stand up against the thugs who use shock, hate, and evil as a tool for money or political gain, who stand up for what is right, who stand up for honesty.