Is It Possible?

Is  it Possible?

Is it possible that Officer Darren Wilson was a great police officer who made a mistake AND Michael Brown was an innocent guy in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Is it possible that Officer Wilson was a flaming racist and made his choices based on that AND that Michael Brown was a violent thug who made his choices based on that?

Is it possible that Michael Brown was a pretty good kid who made some really dumb choices in the last day of his life?

Is it possible that Officer Wilson was in fear for his life and made a choice that he will regret for the rest of his life?

Is it possible that Michael Brown was a bully and was still innocent in this particular incident?

Is it possible that Officer Wilson could have been a bad cop but still made the right decision in this incident?

Is it possible that Michael Brown was shaped by the racism he experienced in many ways every day and that contributed to his actions?

Is it possible that Officer Wilson was shaped by white privilege and police officer training that contributed to his actions?

Is it possible that Michael Brown could have made the choice to move past his past experiences and approached this situation differently?

Is  it possible that Officer Wilson made some assumptions about Michael Brown that caused him to approach this situation in the wrong way?

Is it possible that the fact that Ferguson has a large black population but the police department is predominantly white just might have a little to do with all of this?

Is it possible that people of different colors experience the same situations differently because of their past experiences?

Is it possible that a black person could support Officer Wilson’s actions?

Is it possible that a white person could support Darren Wilson’s actions?

Is it possible for police officers to be caring people who want to help the community AND be a little too militant because of training choices?

Is it possible that black community leaders could stand up for equal treatment AND be honest about the problems generated by choices within their own community?

Is it possible that the strong police response ratcheted up the situation and that they could protect businesses without confronting the protestors?

Is it possible that black community leaders could have redirected the protests to limit the chance of large scale confrontations and criminal looting?

Is it possible that the black person standing in a crowd of predominately black protestors staring across at a crowd of predominately white police officers learns an unspoken lesson?

Is it possible that a white police officer standing in a crowd of predominately white police officers staring across at a crowd of predominately black protestors learns an unspoken lesson?

Is it possible that Al Sharpton is just as racist and unhelpful as the KKK group that was raising funds for the fallen officer?

Is it possible for both sides to be a little bit right AND both sides to also be a little bit wrong?

Is it possible that both sides are both terribly wrong?

Is it possible that MSNBC AND FOX News intentionally reported the incidents in emotional ways because they have agendas to push without regard to the truth?

Is it possible that every politician that has commented on this on both sides has made the situation worse?

Is it possible that news media like The Blaze AND Huffington Post have made the situation worse by their skewed reporting?

Is it possible that YOU are responsible for making the situation worse because you read and parrot your favorite news media without regard to the slant?

Is it possible that our culture is becoming so polarized that we cannot see broader possibilities?

Is it possible that we could all be wrong?

Is it possible that we can find a peace that doesn’t care what color or what political affiliation you are?

Is it possible to seek truth and peace at the same time?

Is it possible that YOU are reading this and agreeing, but thinking, “There’s not much I can do”?

Is it possible that everything you have read about this incident confirms what you already believe because YOU limit the input of ideas to only those that already agree with your political stance?

Is it possible for YOU to reconsider your assumptions on this situation and others by not turning to your usual news source first?

Is it possible to forgive even when YOU are the one wronged?

Is it possible for YOU to admit you might be wrong?

Is it possible for YOU to reach out and invest in truly knowing and understanding people, who look, think, believe, and experience things differently than you?

Is it possible to hope?

Is it possible?

Black and White

You know when he comes in the room.  The lighting completely changes, the shadows deepen, and somehow, the very air of the seems oppressive.  Ominous music plays from nowhere and then you see him.  Black hat, black clothing, and boots.  There are always boots.  All of these things point to him, but you could get rid of all of that and still know him by the eyes.  The eyes say it all.  Squinty.  Shifty.  Dark.   There's no doubt, once you see the eyes.

He is the bad guy.

Years ago, my daughter and I were watching some random kids movie.  If you have kids, you know these movies.  Terrible script.  Bad writing.  Awful acting.  Kid’s love them.  You watch them because your kid loves them.

“Dad, is that the bad man,” my daughter asks in all her innocence. 

“Yes honey, that’s the bad guy,” I answer somewhat offhandedly.  

But wait.  I stopped there.  I realized that perhaps I’ve just taught my beloved child a terrible lesson.

If you’ve spent any time knocking around this world, you learn very quickly that the “bad man” is rarely accompanied by menacing organ music.  The stage lighting doesn’t suddenly change and there is no chorus of gasps when they enter the room.

No, I can tell you as a Pastor, some downright evil people, people so evil that it affects you.  Like an oil slick on the surface of water, you can’t help but get some on you when you touch it.  

Some of the worst people I’ve ever dealt with have had a smile on their face as they stab you in the back.  I’ve seen people lie with so much sincerity that you’re left breathless when they turn on you.  I’ve watched folks who everyone placed on a pedestal turn around and hurt others in the most brutal ways.

It’s the politician who kisses the baby even though he just signed a bill that will leave the baby’s father out of work, and he knows it.  It’s the husband who abuses his family in the most heinous ways, but smiles at church and plays the good Christian.  It’s the teacher that everyone likes who turns out to be molesting kids.  It’s the person at work who schemes and lies for their own benefit, climbing the ladder over the bodies of their coworkers.  It’s the person who brings drama and bile into the lives of everyone she touches, as she plays one person off against another.  

I wish I could continue to tell my daughter that the world is divided nicely and neatly in to categories of good and bad, with the good guys always wearing white hats and the bad guys always wearing black ones.  I wish I could tell her that it was easy to avoid the evil ones.

But no, the truth isn’t in the black and white, but in the grays.

Even an oil spill can be pretty.  Have you ever seen the rainbow of colors on the surface of an oil slick?  Beautiful colors that can hide an appalling evil.

I can’t protect my daughter from the evil people in this world, but I can be honest with her that sometimes bad guys wear masks so good you can’t even tell they are masks. And sometimes the good guy comes out of nowhere and surprises you.

And sometimes, that oil slick of evil is going to stick to you, no matter how hard you try to wash it off.

Life isn’t as easy as a kid’s movie.

I wish that she never would have to learn that lesson.

Integrity

Integrity

That’s what bothers me.  Integrity.

Politics kills people’s integrity.

People I care about.  

People who I otherwise like and trust.

Democrats.  Republicans.  Friends that I like.  I care about them.  I don’t care about their politics.

I have friends on both sides.  Their politics are not a friendship test to me.

I could drop my wallet and know they’d give it back with no money missing.

I know I could leave my child with them and they’d keep her safe.

I  trust their integrity in many things.

But, open the politics door, and integrity flies out the window.

Why can’t my Democrat friends look at the Affordable Health Care Act and say, “It was wrong to use the tactics that were used, it was wrong to pile so much stuff in there, and it was wrong to pass something that wasn’t even read; my side was wrong.”?  No, they hoot and holler, cheering “My side won, screw you Republicans!”

Why can’t my Republican friends say, “There are people in dire need who cannot get insurance and suffer because of that.  We collectively must do something to help, and that may mean some sort of government involvement.”?  No, they stomp and fuss and compare the President to a dictator.

OR,

 

Why do the Republicans who wholeheartedly supported George Bush in all he did, including the war in Iraq, fuss about Barack Obama in Libya and Syria?

And the Democrats who hated all that George Bush was and were angry about Iraq, but have no complaint about Libya and Syria?

OR,

Why do Democrats excoriate the Republicans for balking on raising the debt ceiling and shutting down the government when President Obama voted precisely that way seven years ago during the Bush administration?

Why did the very Republicans who supported raising it in the past, suddenly care about the cost to our children’s future?

Why is it always the other group’s fault for not being willing to give something in compromise when your own side draws similar lines? 

 

Why does party loyalty remove all sense of honesty that your party doesn’t get it all right?

Perhaps this is why each side hates each other so?  A person who has compromised their own principals over politics, recognizes that same character in his opponent.

Where are the people of honor who can call out their own side?

Where are the ones with character enough to call out what’s right on the other side?

Where’s your integrity?

Signed,

A Modern Diogenes

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?