A Call to Action

This could be one of those watershed moments in the life of our culture and our nation.

Several undeniable forces are pulsating through our nation and culture today. Of course there is the racism issues that have boiled to the surface again, and there is the COVID pandemic which is spiking in some areas(Texas for example) putting stress on everyone.

There are nations which have an identity of community and even solidarity however, that is not really the routine American experience. We have taken pride over the years of being a nation of individuals and of personal, individual rights. If the right is there, we have the right to exercise it to the fullest.

The problem is these are days which need a more cohesive and kind camaraderie because so much is at risk. It calls from us both kindness and consideration in order for all to move through these days which have beset us.

Let me address the two issues on my heart and mind. First, there is the issue of ongoing systemic racism which has plagued the American experience from its inception and even today pour a toxic poison into our national life. I will freely and sadly admit I have chosen to move forward in my life in ignorance about the forces of racism in my world. I chose not to listen, not to see, not to intervene, and as a result simply piled injustice upon injustice. I am guilty. I can and will not speak for no other person. It is a weight and a failing I carry every day. However, the failure of the past does not have to be the failure of the present and the failure of the future. I believe there are many White people who have been awakened to the urgency, the need, and the injustice that has plagued our communities of color for far too long. There is a momentum building and an opportunity which need to be seized to move equality forward for all. It was a notion in our founding documents, it was a failure of our founding fathers not to address the racism and slavery of the time, but the time is now, the opportunity is now. So we must act. We must join people of color who choose the peaceful demonstration over the rioting and vandalism and walk with them amplifying their voices moving the cause of equality forward until all are encompassed in the promises of our Declaration of Independence, Constitution,and Bill of Rights.

The COVID-19 pandemic requires a selflessness from each of us which is daily on display in our hospitals, our Ers, our ICUs which are exploding with new cases of COVID. When that happens, some may survive but many will not. Our doctors, nurses, medical technicians are both overwhelmed and exhausted. Long hours, tough choices, and endless demands are wearing them down. Our first responders are putting themselves at daily risk as they respond to emergency calls thus exposing them to this deadly disease.

This is not a time for complacency. It is not a time for selfishness which asserts one's right above the best interest of others. It is not a time to parade one's resistance to the wise counsel of scientists and medical personnel because “no one can tell me what I can or cannot do.” Let me be clear, if the exercise of your “right” to not wear a mask results in the spread of COVID(because you may be a asymptomatic carrier), causes the infection of one person, contributes to the over-stressing of already stretched thin medical resources, or results in one death unnecessarily, then you are wrong, and especially if you are a believer you are guilty of the careless death of another.

There will be a time to push back on intrusion into our personal liberties, but this is not that time. There will be a time when we can ignore wise counsel with few consequences, but this is not that time. There will be a time when you can do as you please as often as you please, but this is not that time. However, this is the time, really past time for us to put our hearts and shoulders together to move this state and nation further down the road of containing and extinguishing COVID from our midst. This is the time to think about others when we consider our actions. It is time to pray for others because we know some are fearfully cowering in their homes. It is time to refuse to add to the already overwhelming burden on our medical people and first responders no matter what the request or the inconvenience.

It is time for us to live boldly, out loud with the love of Christ for all around us whether or not they are believers or part of our faith group. It is time. It is past time.

Wash your hands, wear your mask for others, mind the gap and be kind.