| Just Us, Seeking Justice |
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Alexander Campbell, one of the founders of our Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination, wrote
this about war: “War is not now, nor was it ever, a process of justice. It never was a test of truth – a
criterion of right. It is either a mere game of chance or a violent outrage of the strong upon the weak. Need
we any other proof that a Christian people can in no way whatever countenance a war as a proper means
of redressing wrongs, of deciding justice, or of settling controversies among nations?” (You can read the
full text of this address at http://articles.christiansunite.com/article3472.shtml).
War is in Iraq and Afghanistan. We may well be involved in one in Iran before the present administration
leaves office. But war is also in Kansas City, where the school board and the city council are not always
civil to one another, where dog-lovers and park-lovers verbally duke it out over dog-dookey and turning
one of our many parks into an off-leash dog park, where smokers feel their rights have gone up in smoke
and nonsmokers cheer for cleaner and healthier air to breathe, where the murder rate in the core city
continues on a rampage – fueled by drugs and lack of purpose and opportunity in life, and the list goes on.
One of the more prophetic voices (and prophets are by no means always perfect) in recent history was the
beaten, bloodied and rather dysfunctional Rodney King who asked “why can’t we all just get along?” But it’s
not easy to get along in a society or world where the playing fields aren’t level, where the rich get richer,
the poor go bust, and the middle class just disappears. (A practical example is former Sprint CEO Gary
Forsee getting fired from Sprint, but rewarded with a $55 million severance package—which guarantees
him $84,325 per week for the rest of his life — all the while being selected as M.U. president at an annual
compensation of $400,000 plus $100,000 in “incentives.” Most of us just glaze over when we see figures
like that, or sports salaries — what do they say about what our nation most values?
I was watching an insightful program on PBS a few nights ago – which was essentially about the
astronomical number of African American babies born several months prematurely in the U.S. Why does
this happen – even in people who are physically healthy and seemingly well off? And the answer ultimately
comes down to stress in African Americans in the United States. Studies have been done about Black
immigrants from other countries; within one generation of living in America, the stress level of formerly
mentally healthy people goes sky high – and they begin having premies at alarming rates. And when these
folks are asked about the source of their stress, they say it is Americans’ attitudes toward race. According
to a recent survey 50 percent of African American people in the U.S. think about race a lot; more than 20
percent are obsessed with racially-induced stress every day. And do you know what percentage of
Caucasian Americans in this study stress over race on a regular basis? Zero. We probably should. Other
ethnicities are far-outpacing us in population growth and Caucasians will be in the minority one of these
days. Soon.
I’m Caucasian, so I could say I’m lucky that I don’t have to be concerned about race. But I’m also
Christian and my brothers and sisters in Christ come in a rainbow of colors and speak legions of
languages. If I confess to worship a God who asks, no demands, that I “do justice, love kindness, and walk
humbly” with that God, then I have to ask myself some serious questions about justice – and I have to work
on finding some practical answers. Who will be with me, as we move into our future as a vital Body of
Christ? Just us, seeking justice. — Bob Turpin (Bob@hillsidecc.com)
this about war: “War is not now, nor was it ever, a process of justice. It never was a test of truth – a
criterion of right. It is either a mere game of chance or a violent outrage of the strong upon the weak. Need
we any other proof that a Christian people can in no way whatever countenance a war as a proper means
of redressing wrongs, of deciding justice, or of settling controversies among nations?” (You can read the
full text of this address at http://articles.christiansunite.com/article3472.shtml).
War is in Iraq and Afghanistan. We may well be involved in one in Iran before the present administration
leaves office. But war is also in Kansas City, where the school board and the city council are not always
civil to one another, where dog-lovers and park-lovers verbally duke it out over dog-dookey and turning
one of our many parks into an off-leash dog park, where smokers feel their rights have gone up in smoke
and nonsmokers cheer for cleaner and healthier air to breathe, where the murder rate in the core city
continues on a rampage – fueled by drugs and lack of purpose and opportunity in life, and the list goes on.
One of the more prophetic voices (and prophets are by no means always perfect) in recent history was the
beaten, bloodied and rather dysfunctional Rodney King who asked “why can’t we all just get along?” But it’s
not easy to get along in a society or world where the playing fields aren’t level, where the rich get richer,
the poor go bust, and the middle class just disappears. (A practical example is former Sprint CEO Gary
Forsee getting fired from Sprint, but rewarded with a $55 million severance package—which guarantees
him $84,325 per week for the rest of his life — all the while being selected as M.U. president at an annual
compensation of $400,000 plus $100,000 in “incentives.” Most of us just glaze over when we see figures
like that, or sports salaries — what do they say about what our nation most values?
I was watching an insightful program on PBS a few nights ago – which was essentially about the
astronomical number of African American babies born several months prematurely in the U.S. Why does
this happen – even in people who are physically healthy and seemingly well off? And the answer ultimately
comes down to stress in African Americans in the United States. Studies have been done about Black
immigrants from other countries; within one generation of living in America, the stress level of formerly
mentally healthy people goes sky high – and they begin having premies at alarming rates. And when these
folks are asked about the source of their stress, they say it is Americans’ attitudes toward race. According
to a recent survey 50 percent of African American people in the U.S. think about race a lot; more than 20
percent are obsessed with racially-induced stress every day. And do you know what percentage of
Caucasian Americans in this study stress over race on a regular basis? Zero. We probably should. Other
ethnicities are far-outpacing us in population growth and Caucasians will be in the minority one of these
days. Soon.
I’m Caucasian, so I could say I’m lucky that I don’t have to be concerned about race. But I’m also
Christian and my brothers and sisters in Christ come in a rainbow of colors and speak legions of
languages. If I confess to worship a God who asks, no demands, that I “do justice, love kindness, and walk
humbly” with that God, then I have to ask myself some serious questions about justice – and I have to work
on finding some practical answers. Who will be with me, as we move into our future as a vital Body of
Christ? Just us, seeking justice. — Bob Turpin (Bob@hillsidecc.com)