A Response to Troubled Times
At first I was stunned, then I was horrified, then I grew angry in my spirit when I saw the video of a now former Minneapolis police officer with his knee pressed upon the neck of George Floyd on a Minneapolis street. Mr. Floyd had been arrested and handcuffed over a possible forgery charge. While lying there on that pavement, we heard the cries of "I can't breathe" being uttered over and over. Anger mounted as the officer, Derek Chauvin, did nothing. The knee was not removed. Mr. Floyd was not placed into a nearby squad car. Finally, as we all know, and we all witnessed, Mr. Floyd ultimately died. I remember watching that video and saying to my wife, "Honey, we have just witnessed a murder." Was this a rush to judgment? Perhaps, but the video evidence was incontrovertible. Mr. Floyd was unarmed - he never possessed a weapon even when he was arrested. He was in handcuffs. What happened certainly seemed to be counter to proper police procedure.
The cries for justice began to ring out, first in Minneapolis, and then throughout many of the major cities across our nation. But, as so often happens in these situations, the voices calling for justice become drowned out by the cries for revenge and the clamor for rebellion. Storefront windows are smashed. Looting becomes common place. Fires are set. Businesses are destroyed. Lives of the innocent are severely damaged. Police officers are brutally assaulted - a few have even been killed. The directives from governmental leaders are ignored, even laughed at. The tipping point that leads to anarchy is approached. The question is asked: what can be done to thwart the violence? What can be done to resolve the problems?
Let me see if I can answer that question. First, we have to stop blaming the police departments for what happened. Yes, the police officer involved in the George Floyd case was wrong. And, it is now known that that officer had some serious problems of anger management, especially when it came to dealing with minorities. He should not have been on the streets. Yet to say, as have some of our politicians, that we should simply abolish all police departments, is the height of lunacy. Without a police presence, where would be the law and order? As we have seen in recent days, many people simply cannot police themselves. Just think for a moment about a world in which there were no law enforcement officers. You can drive the highways at whatever speed you desired. You could be high on drugs or alcohol. You would not even have to have a driver's license. You could walk into a store and simply take whatever you wanted because no one could arrest you for shoplifting. In fact, come to think of it, if there is no law enforcement, would there even be any laws to enforce?
Friends, I have had the opportunity of having police officers in nearly every church I have had the privilege of serving. I have known these men and women to be entirely dedicated to the people they were called upon to serve. I have prayed with them and for them. I have prayed for their families as they live with the uncertainties that come from being spouses and children of law enforcement officers. They are good people. Just because there is an occasional "bad cop" does not mean that we label all policemen as being bad and attempt to demolish our police departments. Let me share a rather unique example: Shortly before our first child was born, I knew we would be needing a larger car. So, I went and bought a new Toyota Corolla. This was back in 1971. As I tell people, the only thing right with the car was its color - yellow. This car was a total "lemon." It had all kinds of problems, from wrongly installed electrical system to a cracked block. But, do you know what I didn't do? I did not protest and say that we needed to abandon all cars. Yes, one car was bad - that happens at times. But I went and obtained another car. And, interestingly, today I own another Toyota, and I love it. Friends, what I am saying is that it is highly dangerous to make an universal judgment based upon the actions of one person.
Second, we need to learn how to have a dialogue with one another, and somehow, we need to remove politics from that dialogue. I know that almost seems impossible as politics has become so entwined in almost every facet of our lives. But politics is more of a detriment than a help when it comes to the dialogue about matters of justice. Your politics immediate label how you are perceived in this dialogue. And that immediately causes a divide that is nearly impossible to cross. And what exactly are we to dialogue about? Well, for starters, we can talk about history. Now I know that is not a very exciting subject for many, but it is an important one.
Let's begin with the subject of slavery. That is a fact within America's history that we cannot ignore; it simply cannot be eradicated, even though many have tried. It was a subject that greatly troubled those who wrote our Constitution back in 1787. It was the great "elephant in the room" that no one knew exactly how to confront. And so it was left without being addressed. A small minority of people living in America's South favored slavery. That is because they were the slave owners. It is interesting to note that the great majority of people living in the South never possessed slaves; in fact, many of them were too poor themselves. Yet a great war was fought over the future of slavery, a war in which over 600,000 American lives were lost and millions of dollars of property was destroyed.
Friends, since the Civil War ended, laws have been enacted to help minority people to succeed. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was one such law. Let's have a dialogue and ask ourselves: Have those many laws really helped the minority communities, especially those within our major urban areas? If they have not, then why have they failed? What can we learn from each other? Let's not sit down with a list of demands. Let's sit down with open hearts and minds to really listen to one another. I know that will not be easy. It will mean that I will need to leave my prejudices at the door before entering. It will mean that I will need to be honest in my sharing without casting judgments.
I have seen this work within the settings of a religious community. Like I said, it is not easy. But, if we truly care to listen, then God provides the avenues for healing and equipping so that our culture can be transformed. To respond with lawless acts is the cowards' way; to sit and dialogue is the heroes' way. As Christians we need to be champions in listening. I am reminded of these words of James: "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires" (James 1:19-20). I love the admonition that comes from the pen of the prophet Micah: "He (God) has shown you, O man, what is good. And what the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). Those are words as appropriate for the our day as they were for the day of Micah. It is time to heed God's directives.
The cries for justice began to ring out, first in Minneapolis, and then throughout many of the major cities across our nation. But, as so often happens in these situations, the voices calling for justice become drowned out by the cries for revenge and the clamor for rebellion. Storefront windows are smashed. Looting becomes common place. Fires are set. Businesses are destroyed. Lives of the innocent are severely damaged. Police officers are brutally assaulted - a few have even been killed. The directives from governmental leaders are ignored, even laughed at. The tipping point that leads to anarchy is approached. The question is asked: what can be done to thwart the violence? What can be done to resolve the problems?
Let me see if I can answer that question. First, we have to stop blaming the police departments for what happened. Yes, the police officer involved in the George Floyd case was wrong. And, it is now known that that officer had some serious problems of anger management, especially when it came to dealing with minorities. He should not have been on the streets. Yet to say, as have some of our politicians, that we should simply abolish all police departments, is the height of lunacy. Without a police presence, where would be the law and order? As we have seen in recent days, many people simply cannot police themselves. Just think for a moment about a world in which there were no law enforcement officers. You can drive the highways at whatever speed you desired. You could be high on drugs or alcohol. You would not even have to have a driver's license. You could walk into a store and simply take whatever you wanted because no one could arrest you for shoplifting. In fact, come to think of it, if there is no law enforcement, would there even be any laws to enforce?
Friends, I have had the opportunity of having police officers in nearly every church I have had the privilege of serving. I have known these men and women to be entirely dedicated to the people they were called upon to serve. I have prayed with them and for them. I have prayed for their families as they live with the uncertainties that come from being spouses and children of law enforcement officers. They are good people. Just because there is an occasional "bad cop" does not mean that we label all policemen as being bad and attempt to demolish our police departments. Let me share a rather unique example: Shortly before our first child was born, I knew we would be needing a larger car. So, I went and bought a new Toyota Corolla. This was back in 1971. As I tell people, the only thing right with the car was its color - yellow. This car was a total "lemon." It had all kinds of problems, from wrongly installed electrical system to a cracked block. But, do you know what I didn't do? I did not protest and say that we needed to abandon all cars. Yes, one car was bad - that happens at times. But I went and obtained another car. And, interestingly, today I own another Toyota, and I love it. Friends, what I am saying is that it is highly dangerous to make an universal judgment based upon the actions of one person.
Second, we need to learn how to have a dialogue with one another, and somehow, we need to remove politics from that dialogue. I know that almost seems impossible as politics has become so entwined in almost every facet of our lives. But politics is more of a detriment than a help when it comes to the dialogue about matters of justice. Your politics immediate label how you are perceived in this dialogue. And that immediately causes a divide that is nearly impossible to cross. And what exactly are we to dialogue about? Well, for starters, we can talk about history. Now I know that is not a very exciting subject for many, but it is an important one.
Let's begin with the subject of slavery. That is a fact within America's history that we cannot ignore; it simply cannot be eradicated, even though many have tried. It was a subject that greatly troubled those who wrote our Constitution back in 1787. It was the great "elephant in the room" that no one knew exactly how to confront. And so it was left without being addressed. A small minority of people living in America's South favored slavery. That is because they were the slave owners. It is interesting to note that the great majority of people living in the South never possessed slaves; in fact, many of them were too poor themselves. Yet a great war was fought over the future of slavery, a war in which over 600,000 American lives were lost and millions of dollars of property was destroyed.
Friends, since the Civil War ended, laws have been enacted to help minority people to succeed. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was one such law. Let's have a dialogue and ask ourselves: Have those many laws really helped the minority communities, especially those within our major urban areas? If they have not, then why have they failed? What can we learn from each other? Let's not sit down with a list of demands. Let's sit down with open hearts and minds to really listen to one another. I know that will not be easy. It will mean that I will need to leave my prejudices at the door before entering. It will mean that I will need to be honest in my sharing without casting judgments.
I have seen this work within the settings of a religious community. Like I said, it is not easy. But, if we truly care to listen, then God provides the avenues for healing and equipping so that our culture can be transformed. To respond with lawless acts is the cowards' way; to sit and dialogue is the heroes' way. As Christians we need to be champions in listening. I am reminded of these words of James: "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires" (James 1:19-20). I love the admonition that comes from the pen of the prophet Micah: "He (God) has shown you, O man, what is good. And what the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). Those are words as appropriate for the our day as they were for the day of Micah. It is time to heed God's directives.
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