Thanks for this, Michelle; so many of us are struggling to figure out what we can do -- but we must be persistent in assuring that the rights of all are not taken away.
Knowing what to do next is uncertain, but saying something first to lift unified voices about the problems moves us toward discussions around action or awareness of how to take action. I’m a lone voice in most of my circles. But silence feels wrong right now.
Amen! What a lovely line you end with--"I want to leave behind a world where dignity, justice, and human rights are not fragile or conditional."
There are so many layers to what is happening right now--the legal, the social, and the spiritual, to just begin. I'm twenty years older than you, Michelle. My parents came of age during WWII and saw what happens when countries must come together to survive or surrender to evil. I share your sense of having been born in a time when Presidents led our nation in declaring that freedom is meaningless if it's only for a few (like straight white males). Many laws have been passed in my lifetime that opened doors for real change, and almost always there was a cost. Think of Ruby Bridges and the other children who first integrated classrooms. Think of the first women to become firefighters, NASA engineers, doctors, or Presidential candidates.
I know firsthand the difference a law can make. In the 1980s, I went through a painful divorce as a young woman who grew up in a conservative church that taught against divorce--and I was a minister, married to a minister. He was abusive and then moved out. When he came back weeks later and tried to force his way into the house, I was genuinely frightened and called the police. However, this was before there were laws protecting women and they made me let him in despite finding him having broken through several doors, cursing and screaming. I pleaded with them to take him away, but they didn't. My children were asleep; it was the middle of the night. I locked my bedroom door and tried to sleep with a golf club handy. I went to a lawyer and filed for divorce.
The social layer now includes social media, which has changed so much over the years. I remember the early years of Twitter, and the heady excitement of joining an international audience watch President Barack Obama being sworn into office. Getting tweets updating the political situation during tense moments and days in oppressed countries. We celebrated together, we wept together, and we watched history unfold on Twitter. All too soon came the deluge of propaganda, lies, smears, and efforts to sway people's opinions using Twitter and Facebook. But as various barriers were broken, people talked about it on social media.
The spiritual layer has to be the hardest for me as a liberal Christian who has watched the rise of White Christian Nationalism sweep the internet, influence politics, and incite violence as on January 6th. The wave of oppressive legislation at the state and federal level removing the rights of people under the guise of religion is frightening and maddening. It turns off non-believers to all things Christian. It makes believers question the cost of speaking up. We see the progress made in my lifetime being destroyed, as laws are passed we never knew we needed while we have chemicals and hog manure fouling our rivers, unsafe bridges, inequity in school funding, and needless attacks on DEI programs that have helped countless students, athletes, and workers.
The last forty years have seen scandal after scandal in the Catholic church and Protestant churches alike with priests and ministers accused of child abuse, sexual assaults, and other crimes. Much has been made of pedophiles preying on children and it must be said that these are always straight men. I have gay friends and they are appalled at the suggestion.
I'm saddened, angry, and determined to always speak up, stand up, and support the rights of anyone who is being singled out and scapegoated, whether it is an undocumented immigrant, a transgender person, a person of color, or a person of another religion. We are all human and part of the human family. We share so much but let our fears and prejudices separate us. I also want to be remembered for protecting justice, dignity, and the rights of others. I'm with you, Michelle!
Thank you for sharing, Amy!
Thanks for this, Michelle; so many of us are struggling to figure out what we can do -- but we must be persistent in assuring that the rights of all are not taken away.
Knowing what to do next is uncertain, but saying something first to lift unified voices about the problems moves us toward discussions around action or awareness of how to take action. I’m a lone voice in most of my circles. But silence feels wrong right now.
Yes, it does. I so appreciate your speaking out on this.
And I really meant to say, basic human rights of all.
I'm with you on this!
Feels like whistleblowing in a sense. It takes more voices to be believed.
Amen! What a lovely line you end with--"I want to leave behind a world where dignity, justice, and human rights are not fragile or conditional."
There are so many layers to what is happening right now--the legal, the social, and the spiritual, to just begin. I'm twenty years older than you, Michelle. My parents came of age during WWII and saw what happens when countries must come together to survive or surrender to evil. I share your sense of having been born in a time when Presidents led our nation in declaring that freedom is meaningless if it's only for a few (like straight white males). Many laws have been passed in my lifetime that opened doors for real change, and almost always there was a cost. Think of Ruby Bridges and the other children who first integrated classrooms. Think of the first women to become firefighters, NASA engineers, doctors, or Presidential candidates.
I know firsthand the difference a law can make. In the 1980s, I went through a painful divorce as a young woman who grew up in a conservative church that taught against divorce--and I was a minister, married to a minister. He was abusive and then moved out. When he came back weeks later and tried to force his way into the house, I was genuinely frightened and called the police. However, this was before there were laws protecting women and they made me let him in despite finding him having broken through several doors, cursing and screaming. I pleaded with them to take him away, but they didn't. My children were asleep; it was the middle of the night. I locked my bedroom door and tried to sleep with a golf club handy. I went to a lawyer and filed for divorce.
The social layer now includes social media, which has changed so much over the years. I remember the early years of Twitter, and the heady excitement of joining an international audience watch President Barack Obama being sworn into office. Getting tweets updating the political situation during tense moments and days in oppressed countries. We celebrated together, we wept together, and we watched history unfold on Twitter. All too soon came the deluge of propaganda, lies, smears, and efforts to sway people's opinions using Twitter and Facebook. But as various barriers were broken, people talked about it on social media.
The spiritual layer has to be the hardest for me as a liberal Christian who has watched the rise of White Christian Nationalism sweep the internet, influence politics, and incite violence as on January 6th. The wave of oppressive legislation at the state and federal level removing the rights of people under the guise of religion is frightening and maddening. It turns off non-believers to all things Christian. It makes believers question the cost of speaking up. We see the progress made in my lifetime being destroyed, as laws are passed we never knew we needed while we have chemicals and hog manure fouling our rivers, unsafe bridges, inequity in school funding, and needless attacks on DEI programs that have helped countless students, athletes, and workers.
The last forty years have seen scandal after scandal in the Catholic church and Protestant churches alike with priests and ministers accused of child abuse, sexual assaults, and other crimes. Much has been made of pedophiles preying on children and it must be said that these are always straight men. I have gay friends and they are appalled at the suggestion.
I'm saddened, angry, and determined to always speak up, stand up, and support the rights of anyone who is being singled out and scapegoated, whether it is an undocumented immigrant, a transgender person, a person of color, or a person of another religion. We are all human and part of the human family. We share so much but let our fears and prejudices separate us. I also want to be remembered for protecting justice, dignity, and the rights of others. I'm with you, Michelle!
Cherie, thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience. Keep speaking up!
So good, Michelle. On point. Thank you.
Thank you, Linda!