Signs of the Times

Everything is not always as it appears to be.
Don't feed into the hyperbole.
We can still keep our sign to say
the simple message of "Okay!"

   I tweeted this Sept 5, 2018 after reading various remarks/responses to a “sign” that was reportedly to have been made at Kavanaugh SCOTUS hearings. Without going into all the political correctness of who did/said/saw what, in short:

A woman behind Kavanaugh was sitting with a sideways “OK” sign made with her right hand while crossing her arms. It was an unusual way to display one’s hand in that position. But apparently someone out in twitterland reported it was a white supremacist sign, and accused her of sending a message advocating for them.

   Is this really a sign that group uses? Maybe, I’ve seen other pictures of what are supposed to be their followers posing that way. Who knows if this woman at Kavanaugh’s hearing intended it for nefarious signaling. If it’s true, too bad. This sign for a long time has been simply for stating “okay!” I would not want to see use of this symbol changed to something that is not okay. Let’s not give so much attention to people who want to point us in the wrong direction.

   Just as I would not want the two fingers pointing up, with thumb crossing last two fingers as a peace sign be changed to something crude or evil. Or how about a thumbs up sign being decimated? No, no, no. We need to keep positive signs/symbols to continue - keep things decent and respectable. And while we’re at it, keep that middle finger where it belongs! Theresa M.

TeroVesalainen - pixabay

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America Has a Lot to Learn

   We are a very proud nation. We are strong. We’ve fought for independence and freedom. We’ve fought for other nations to have a better way of life too.

   But that pride can sometimes be a sore spot. Well, more than that, it can cause us to not only fall (as in Proverb 16:18), it can cause us to fail.

   Americans often take a look at the positive ways we have grown, which is a good thing. We’ve come a long way financially, industrially; we’ve built cities, infra-structures; we’ve negotiated trade with many nations. We’ve made a lot of progress in science and technology. All well and good.
AlcazarMX pixabay.com


   But in looking at our nation’s faults/shortcomings, we seem to only creep along slowly at making improvements to accepting our strength as a nation of diversity.

   Starting out with taking over land that belonged to Indigenous People, killing them or reneging on treaties; with slavery becoming a for-profit business, we have mistreatment of human beings (in many, many ways - too much to go into here). We’ve had strong people, some leaders, some “common” men who have brought to the forefront the need for change - for America to have laws that protect human beings, to improve their way of life, to give other equal opportunities.

   Who could be against something so good as to making America a land that is caring, loving, respectful? Many, many people could and have been against it. And continue to be. They believe they are better or more deserving for whatever reasons, likely due to irrational fears of losing what they have or hope to have.

   Pride is not alone in our failure. Greed is rampant also. Right along with envy, jealousy. We see it every day with corporations’ increasing profits, charging us more and more; in tax breaks for the wealthy, tax back-breaking for the middle-class. We see it in politics, where priorities are placed on the money donations one can receive over the needs of the people they represent.
john hain  pixabay.com
   We have seen it throughout our history. The pride, the greed, the envy stomping over the dignity of human beings, sometimes squelching by way of murder. These arrogant aggravators have gone way beyond the simple goal of looking for a better way of life. They have gone past that to trying to own it all: own people, land, property, money. For what? Really, for what? How does that improve anyone’s life?
Geralt  pixabay.com


   America has a lot to learn. Somehow we got sucked into this illusion that materialism and individualism is the goal of all goals. As if walking all over others to keep increasing one’s wealth is the purpose of life.

   Just stop already. Look around. What are we doing to one another? Why aren’t we walking on the same path? How have we come to this point in our lives where our priorities have gone so far off track?

   The spirit does not want. It only loves.           

   We have so much to learn. There is still time.           Theresa M

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Power of the Past

   Growing up as a child in mid-Texas I didn’t know about racism, at least not until my teens. We had always lived with blacks, Hispanics, and whites in our neighborhoods and schools. We kids were friends regardless of color.

   In our junior high (we had that for grades 7 to 9) things changed. A local school was closed. The students were to be bused to our school. Most of these new students were black. Not a problem.
Dystopos flickr.com
   We all had to adjust, them to this new school and all of us to a new set of kids. As I said we were already an interracial school, so that was an advantage. But I remember some of the new students were unhappy with the new arrangement. Some had negative attitudes, some were trouble-makers, inciting arguments. Now I see they were just testing us, in their attempts to adjust.

   I had always been a shy withdrawn child. Only until well past my teens did I get out of that shell somewhat. But back then I kept to myself and was passive. I didn’t understand the behavior and attitudes of the new students. What was the problem? Apparently the teachers took notice and some even addressed it straight up in classes. Even in classes having nothing to do with racial tensions, like English class.

   My English teacher helped start a conversation. I do not remember the specifics unfortunately. But I remember learning valuable lessons. The new students started talking about their expectations of resentment from us. They knew what it was like to have others be prejudice against them. There was some discussion of history about slavery.

   For the life of me, I don’t remember schools ever teaching us the truth about slavery. Or about how Indigenous People/Native Americans, had their lands and their lives violently taken away from them. It was always one-sided, that they killed whites.

   Oh sure, we were taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. Only that was a lie. He never set foot in North America. He was in South and Central America and the islands in the Caribbean. There he slaughtered natives, and enslaved them. All in his quest for riches and to find more land to conquer. (1)

   Now let me say I am glad to be an American. I believe in the constitution and our values. But the truth is necessary in order to keep us from repeating mistakes. We were not always, maybe never, entirely a good, respectful nation.

   We didn’t start out this country with human rights in mind. Those who manipulated Native Americans out of treaties, and worse, killed them, justified it by pretending these people weren’t equal to themselves.(2) 

   And thus the behaviors continued, adding more black people as slaves.

   Over and over the white conquerors were feeding into the early consciousness of this nation that some humans were sub-beings. Generation after generation taught the mindset of putting oneself above others. At any cost. Even the cost of a civil war.

   And even after that war, though slaves were set “free,” many whites did not let go of their own prejudices and beliefs. They kept a grip on them. Fighting simply continued in other areas: socio-economic, education, ownership of land, voting. And in lack of law and order, such as lynchings.
Ted Eytan  flickr.com

   Some people today question the validity of a black person bringing up the issues of past treatment. They say there is no slavery, no discrimination now, why act like a victim? But clearly there is an issue. Discrimination is still in the mindset of people today.

   We are raised to believe certain things. We have not been taught to experience equality, because we have not been taught the truth about our nation’s history. Without knowing the truth and confronting the truth, we are not a nation of equality, nor one allowing others to seek “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all.

   What about the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness for the Native Americans/Indigenous People? What about the blacks forced into slavery just a few generations ago? Or even the American Japanese who were forced into internment camps between 1942-1946?

   This sounds so familiar. Because this continues to be the behaviors even today. Politically, industrially, financially. The top 2 percent owning and running America, with their pursuit of power, money, and land, with many others pushing their way to be just like that, acting as if they are better than others. Treating people as if they don’t matter. As if others are sub-human.

   It is a long, difficult struggle for everyday Americans to fight for America’s values. Too many take it for granted I think. Too many are trapped in their own mindset, not searching, not reaching for the truth.

   Read. Learn. Grow. Don’t stay stuck. Teach.

   Those teachers in my junior high school (so many years ago) noticed a disruption in their classrooms, so they opened up a conversation, and allowed us kids to express and question life as it was happening. Then we learned the truth about our history. Taking the past and the present, we could move forward to change for the better. We must keep teaching.

   I’ve never forgotten the power of a teacher.

 Theresa M




sources:

(1) theguardian.com “In 1492 Columbus sailed…” by Sara Galo 10/13/14
(2) allabouthistory.org/native-american-history and
      britanica.com/topic/Native-American/Native-American-history
(3) britannica.com/event/Japanese-American-internment
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