slavery

Charlottesville: The Blind Eye of Racism

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charlThe year was 1963, and it was the first time I saw the ugly face of racial prejudice.  It happened while we were vacationing in the South and had spent the night at a relative’s house.

When we were about to leave the next morning, I heard my Dad’s cousin say:  Now Eddie, about 10 miles South of here you’ll go through a little town.  Everybody that lives there is a N–. If one of those worthless black N– walks out in front of your car, just run over them.  No need to stop–it’s just a N!

Even though I was just 10, I knew the hate-filled words of Dad’s cousin were reprehensible. Anyone who can run over another human being and leave him to die in the road has been seduced by his unrighteous rage. It was Gandhi who said: An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. 

If you know anything about history, you know that far too many people have been blinded by hatred and prejudice.  A record of these misguided emotions can be seen in the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, England.  A graphic portrayal of the devastation of generations of enslaved men, women, and children is displayed. Etched into one wall of the museum are the words of Frederick Douglass, former slave and crusader for human rights:  “No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.”

When one segment of society brutalizes another, it is an attack on humanity as a whole.

Each of use have a circle of influence, and we need to do what we can do to right wrongs.  A clear teaching of the New Testament is the power of love when it is shared, and we are told that love covers a multitude of sin (I Peter 4:8).

The prose of Sam Levenson offers sublime suggestions on what each of us can do to change the world in which we live, and they are a fitting conclusion to this discussion.

For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

To the people of Charlottesville: Walk with the knowledge that you are not alone. I am one among the thousands who are praying for you and for peace to prevail.

 

Citizen’s Arrest

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images-humantrafficking_tm_524883229No citizen should be at rest when far too many children cannot be at ease. When it comes to the subject of human trafficking, we ought to be self-appointed traffic cops. I made this statement in a blog I wrote about a year ago, and I thought of it again after hearing of the abduction of some Nigerian girls.

The Boko Haram are terrorists operating in and around Nigeria, and they’ve had schools, churches, and villages in their cross hairs. The “haram” portion of their name means “forbidden,” and they believe a western style education is a violation of Islamic law. The school girls from Nigeria are their latest victims, and they will most likely be sold as sex slaves.

Human trafficking is big business as it generates about $32 billion annually. How can anyone think of this as a profitable business when the loss column is framed with the images of innocent children—children victimized for the pleasure and sexual gratification of lowly scum?

Statistics tell us that two children are sold into the commercial sex trade every minute of every day. That is 525,600 a year X 2 children, which is over 1 million a year. Not just one year, but year after year. Think of how many precious lives have been ruined in your lifetime!

Even though President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and the 13th Amendment declared slavery to be illegal, it has reared its ugly head in the form of sex trafficking; and it is a wicked scar on the face of humanity.

We need to pray for those who are preyed upon, and we need to support the efforts of those who are fighting the fight to free those who are still in bondage.

Charlottesville: Racism’s Blind Eye

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

charlThe year was 1963, and it was the first time I saw the ugly face of racial prejudice.  It happened while we were vacationing in the South and had spent the night at a relative’s house.

When we were about to leave the next morning, I heard my Dad’s cousin say:  Now Eddie, about 10 miles South of here you’ll go through a little town.  Everybody that lives there is a N–. If one of those worthless black N– walks out in front of your car, just run over them.  No need to stop–it’s just a N!

Even though I was just 10, I knew the hate-filled words of Dad’s cousin were reprehensible. Anyone who can run over another human being and leave him to die in the road has been seduced by his unrighteous rage. It was Gandhi who said: An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. 

If you know anything about history, you know that far too many people have been blinded by hatred and prejudice.  A record of these misguided emotions can be seen in the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, England.  A graphic portrayal of the devastation of generations of enslaved men, women, and children is displayed. Etched into one wall of the museum are the words of Frederick Douglass, former slave and crusader for human rights:  “No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.”

When one segment of society brutalizes another, it is an attack on humanity as a whole.

Each of use have a circle of influence, and we need to do what we can do to right wrongs.  A clear teaching of the New Testament is the power of love when it is shared, and we are told that love covers a multitude of sin (I Peter 4:8).

The prose of Sam Levenson offers sublime suggestions on what each of us can do to change the world in which we live, and they are a fitting conclusion to this discussion.

For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

To the people of Charlottesville: Walk with the knowledge that you are not alone. I am one among the thousands who are praying for you and for peace to prevail.