In reading Laura’s posts, I’m struck by her insight and courage to delve into very challenging topics. As we tour through the South and delve into some of the more painful chapters of history, we confront our own legacy and the part that our ancestors played in creating the present and how we personally have benefited materially to the detriment of many others. As Laura asked… “what do we do with that?” I don’t know the answer to the “do” part but feel that whatever action we choose, it should come from a place of understand and appreciation. There is so much we don’t know or understand and, at a minimum, we should be humble and profoundly curious about so much of what we see that seems wrong. A few examples:
On 9/11/2001, as the nation reacted with disbelief and anger I was struck by the fact that nobody asked “why would a group of people hate America so much as to do something like this”? In his book, Blowback, Chalmers Johnson highlighted the term used in the CIA to refer to the unintended consequences of US actions overseas, often covert and unknown to the public. While our government and press spread the narrative of the U.S. using its influence to bring peace, democracy and prosperity around the world, people in countries like Iran, Guatemala, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Congo, or Chile … and on and on … would tell you something different. We should not have been so surprised by the Iranian hostage crisis or 9/11.
Similarly, when a black community explodes in anger and frustration at … you name it … the assassination of Medgar Evers or MLK to beating of Rodney King to the killing of Michael Brown and George Floyd, those of us who have not lived the legacy of 400 years of disrespect and marginalization would be tempted to focus on the “what” of the violence and not the “why.” Listen to Kimberly Jones powerful articulation of this in wake of George Floyd’s murder and subsequent protests.
Laura and I think a lot about the question of what we “do” and whether what we are doing is enough or appropriate. This trip has been about learning and understanding to better inform decisions about action. While I have been accused of being indecisive in my life, I prefer to ponder important decisions that involve radical action before moving on them. Responding to anger and violence with actions motivated by similar emotions usually doesn’t improve things. Just doing something in order to be relevant, important, or involved may stroke the ego more than actually furthering the cause. Great leaders who led without any official power (Gandhi, King, Mandela, Havel) acted very deliberately and peacefully to achieve unimaginable outcomes without retribution and violence. I’m not advocating inaction, only wise action motivated by love.
A final thought about the past vs. the present. As we look to the past, it’s easy to judge our ancestors by the values and mores of the present. Yet, they were products of their time and reflected vey different ways of thinking about human society and nature. “How could they do such things”, we ask. It’s good to understand the past, yet perhaps we should be concerned more about how future generations will judge us our current actions by their future values. How will they remember us when it comes to environmental stewardship and social justice? Ponder that one.
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