Belonging or Divesting?

Belonging. I have more to say about belonging.

It starts with some questions; who belongs in the US? Whose rights are respected in the US? Those are essentially the same question. Currently, I’d say the following people, and of course any combination thereof, are seen as not belonging – according to how they are treated by the government. More specifically by Republicans, but Democrats are no angels here.

Black people
Latinx people
Native peoples
Refugees
Immigrants
Women
Gay men
Lesbians
Bisexual people
Queer people
Transgender people
Intersex people (is that still the right word?)
Disabled people – especially if your disability is not easily accommodated.
Poor people
Protestors
People who need government assistance – they are kept poor.
Homeless people
Alcoholics and addicts
Mentally ill people
People with bad credit
People who are unmarried – don’t kid yourself, it’s a thing
People who are not ambitious, or who are content without a “career”
People who have ever been in prison, innocent or guilty
Non-Christians, especially Muslims and Jews
Atheists
People who want to protect the environment
People who want to regulate businesses
Experts in any field

This is not an exhaustive list – just what I could come up with at the moment. If you are not a rich, white, Christian, straight, cis-gendered male, the US system will work against you in a large or small way. The thing is, do we want to live in a country that devalues all these people? Do we want to participate in a system that devalues all these people?

My husband and I have begun a bible study on Sunday mornings before church. We began by reading Isaiah 40. Sunday, we read Isaiah 41:21-29. In this passage, God is speaking through Isaiah to the Israelites exiled to Babylon. The exiles are soon to travel back to Israel:

21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing
and your works are utterly worthless;
whoever chooses you is detestable.

25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold it,
no one heard any words from you.
27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
28 I look but there is no one—
no one among the gods to give counsel,
no one to give answer when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are but wind and confusion.

Walter Brueggemann’s final comment on that is:

The immediate intent … is to persuade exilic listeners that their future is to be received outside the claims of Babylon … Subsequent listeners (including us) are invited to the claim that our life as well is vested outside the pretended claims of every system of domination … To look outside the dominant system for future prospects is not an easy or obvious thing to do. (emphasis mine)

In other words, trust in God, not human systems. Human systems will always have a bias – many biases as I have just listed.

BUT … what if we took that literally and divested from buying into the dominant values of capitalism? Of Republicans? Of Democrats? Of “keeping up with the Joneses?” Of making sure we have more than enough so we don’t have to worry while others struggle – perhaps because we aren’t using our money? Of home ownership as a means of wealth? Of money and status being indicative of our worth? Of our productivity being indicative of our worth?

What if we looked at those who live, or even give, their lives for others, not as heroes, or virtuous, or exceptional, but as colleagues. What if we all organized our lives around the common good, around making sure everyone has enough to eat, around justice for all people? What if we took Jesus’s commandment seriously? “Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul … and love your neighbor as yourself?

That is the challenge that the US is facing today. Do we want to go back to normal after we – eventually – conquer the novel coronavirus? Or do we want to build something better on the ashes?

That is what my husband and I are asking ourselves. Because we don't want to "belong" to a society that excludes anyone.

In what ways is our participation in life supporting the dominant system that drags the majority of its citizens down and keeps them down? Brueggemann is right – it is not an easy decision to contemplate. But I think it is a necessary one.

Won’t you join us?

B

Belonging

Belonging.

I’ve been thinking more about belonging to each other, to God, to ourselves. There is a debate in America about who belongs. It’s not worded like that. It’s worded as Black Lives Matter or “immigrants go home.” How we answer the questions, “who belongs” or “who counts as an American” underlies how we will see others. And how we see others informs our answer to those questions. It’s a vicious circle. The idea that there are some who do not belong is behind the president’s executive order to not count immigrants here without papers in the census. He doesn’t think anyone but white people should belong. Ideally, only white men. However, that is an illegal order and has already been addressed by the Supreme Court. The constitution says “persons” not “citizens.”

A bigger demonstration that some Republicans think that some people don’t count as Americans is Acting DHS Secretary Wolf’s sending unmarked police to Portland and kidnapping citizens as they walk down the street. That may sound overly dramatic, but these agents didn’t actually arrest anyone. They held them for a few hours and let them go. This is kidnapping. This is a violation of our 1^st amendment rights to protest peacefully. It’s a violation of our 4^th amendment rights to not be searched or seized willy-nilly. It is dangerous and illegal and the secretary is doubling down.

This is not only kidnapping; it is also terrorism. It is how many immigrants and people of color have been living in this country since it’s inception. It’s time to stop the government’s war against its own citizens. First, we have Black people killed with impunity. Then we have immigrant families separated and thrown into unsanitary and overcrowded cages. Now, we have secret police, who are terrorizing people in the name of protecting property. That’s right, property is more important to these people than actual people. Or they’re just drunk with power. Or both.

Martin Niemoller’s poem, “First They Came …“ is a confession, a lament that he did not speak up sooner when Hitler began his own reign of terror. It’s a warning to us of what is to come if we just sit back and let this $#!t happen. Here’s an update for 2020:

First they came for the Black people, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a Black person.

Then they came for the immigrants, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not an immigrant.

Then they came for the protestors demanding justice, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a protestor.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Who will speak for you? Who will speak out against this illegal, inhumane, and immoral war against all of us? I will, and I hope you’ll join me. It’s time to choose which side we want to be on. The side which treats people differently depending on their ideology or color of their skin, or the side that recognizes we all belong in America.

We belong to each other.

Let’s work to make that a reality.

B

 

Betrayal and Belonging

Matthew 26:16 – And from that moment, [Judas] began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

I’ve been thinking about this verse all week. There’s something about betrayal that seems to be part of the human condition. If I asked you to think of a betrayal, any betrayal, it wouldn’t take long for you to think of an example; either by a public figure or in your own life. Perhaps, like me, you have been on both sides of this equation; you’ve been betrayed and have betrayed someone. It’s especially heinous, because being betrayed implies that there was previously some level of trust. There needs to be some sense of security in who we are and who our friends and family are. Some level of belonging to each other, some level of community and intimacy.

And that leads me to think about the president. He has betrayed his oath of office. He has betrayed any trust anyone has had in him. He has betrayed the American people. He has handed us over to be slaughtered; either by the virus, policy violence, or by police killings. Everything I read about his behavior tells me he’s doing this because he doesn’t belong anywhere. And it is his greatest desire to belong.

Although Jesus welcomed all who came to him, Judas somehow didn’t feel that he belonged either. Did he want power and money and suddenly realize that Jesus was not the way to that? If so, he wasn’t alone. All the disciples are portrayed as thinking of Jesus as an earthly king rather than a spiritual one. Suddenly, Judas’s plans and goals were not within reach as he had thought. Maybe, just maybe, he himself felt betrayed? Thus he no longer belonged.

Belonging, that sense of security in our place in our relationships, is more than a desire; it is a human need. We all need to belong somewhere, to someone, to a family or community. Because belonging includes loving each other. Without love, the longing to be loved is unrequited. If we are unable to love ourselves, our God, or our neighbor, we will not enjoy the feeling of belonging. To anything or anybody. Not even to God.

Which reminds me of gangs. I learned a lot about gangs while I lived in Chicago. Young people join gangs for several reasons. Selling drugs is good money. Others were forced into it – survival. Yet, the most surprising reason to me was that gangs were a community. Within the gang, friendships were deep. They looked out for each other. They loved each other – even remembering their slain brothers and sisters in rituals. Yes, they were dangerous to the rest of us and to other gangs, even to themselves. But membership in a gang offered something some of these young people had never had – belonging.

Whatever led to Judas or the president feeling betrayed themselves, whatever led to their sense of not belonging, they were and are incapable of doing the one thing that would give them their desire; something even gang members were capable of doing: loving another person. Judas doesn’t belong with the disciples, and the president doesn’t belong anywhere. All they know is betrayal; how to cheat, steal, and lie to get what they want. They don’t understand the strength of love, because they can’t bring themselves to be vulnerable to being hurt by another. So they lash out in any way they can. Handing over a troublemaker to the Romans or abusing power by abusing people on twitter. They imagine themselves to be wise and strong, but to those of us who are even a little wise and strong, they look like confused children clinging to anything that promises relief.

 None of this excuses their behavior. Judas held himself accountable. By all accounts he hung himself in remorse. On the other hand, the president still needs to be held accountable. Having known the feeling of not belonging, I wonder if that is punishment enough. I mean, it is clear that he is deeply unhappy. I imagine he is living in his own personal hell now.

Yet, it really isn’t enough is it? Because there must be consequences, not just for the president, but for all those who commit the kinds of betrayals that he does. When I’m caught speeding, I get a ticket. It must be the same with all our elected officials.

There must be a way toward justice and wholeness in American life. I think it starts with recognizing that we belong to each other. And it grows when we act on that knowledge by respecting each other, caring for each other, loving each other.

Let’s contribute to justice and wholeness in our lives and in the world today; let’s practice belonging to each other.

B

What is a Human Life Worth?

Matthew 26:14-15 – Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver.

What is the value of one life? About six weeks of work, according to the chief priests in this passage (based on $50,000/year salary, that works out to about $5,800). Multiply that times the over 125,000 people who have died during this coronavirus pandemic and that works out to about $720,000. Of course, that does not include any productivity that person would have contributed. But all that is only if one insists on commodifying everything.

The chief priests were not asking the question what is a human life worth. No. instead, they asked themselves what keeping their hold on power was worth. They are like Republican leaders who consistently and knee-jerkingly support this president. The current price is much higher. They have made themselves richer and more powerful while destroying our economy, causing the death of over 125,000 of their fellow citizens, and are just now realizing how much damage they have caused. All to keep their hold on power, which is slowly draining away from them anyway. Thirty pieces of silver seems like a bargain.

No, Republican leaders don’t concern themselves with how much a human life is worth. If they were to ever ask themselves honestly, they would have a hierarchy of human lives, because they clearly value some lives over others. Obviously, white, male, cis-het, Christian lives come first. The rich come before the poor, of course, because the poor are “obviously” lazy moochers. White women come next. Any deviance from those is completely unacceptable. Hence, the need for Black Lives Matter. Now that their preferred demographic no longer holds hegemony in America, they are holding onto power for all they’re worth; using every fascist trick in the book. No, they do not care about people’s lives outside of their own.

But God cares, and God does not value one life more than another; whether that life is a queer person, a disabled person, a Black person, a Mexican person, a white person, a Russian person, a woman, a man, a gay person, a lesbian, a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew. Our value to God comes from the fact that we are her children. She created each one of us. Human mothers may have favorites, but God does not value any of these lives over another. As the song goes, “they are precious in his sight.”

Why then do we?

Holding onto power is just one reason; and it’s more a justification than an actual belief. But what about those who don’t have power? There’s a lot of anger out there among white people. Anger and fear. You may have seen or heard about the video of the white woman at Target tearing down the mask display while yelling, “This s#!t is done.” The anger in her voice is palpable. She’s taking out that anger on inanimate objects, which I guess is a step up. But it’s a step that won’t help her assuage her anger, because the masks are not her problem. The anger is real, and Fox “News” and OAN are stoking the fires of anger and fear and rage. They think they’re angry at people of color, or immigrants, or lazy people. But those are merely justifications for the anger they already feel.

The thing is, the leadership of America has never really had the well-being of all Americans at heart. Witness how easy it continues to be for police to murder Black people. The policies of the Bush years, the Obama years, and now Donald’s years have been taking their toll. But the anger began much earlier with the loss of solid, middle class jobs, and with Reagan’s policies of reducing taxes and propaganda against people who needed government assistance. Instead of getting angry at the corporations and leaders who made the decisions leading to the loss of those jobs, their anger is aimed at people less powerful. S#!t roles downhill.

What is the price of a human life?

In the last 40 years, people went from being thought of as assets to a business (Personnel) to being thought of as liabilities (Human Resources). From personnel to human resources. That rhetorical switch is key to a lot of anger and frustration. Assets make contributions, after all. Resources are meant to be consumed and replaced. Not surprisingly, wages of the average worker have stagnated while the rich get richer. It’s not slavery, but it is a kind of prison. The Republicans and CEOs deflect the anger from themselves by claiming that immigrants, Black people, poor people, disabled people, women who don’t know their place, gay people are the problem. The lie that immigrants take jobs from Americans is designed to keep Americans both angry at the wrong people and grateful for the job they have. Divide and conquer has been the ruling white leadership’s answer to how to deal with those who are in in the rich club.

What is a human life worth?

That is the question that Black Lives Matter is answering. The protestors are protesting the answer that has been fed to them from Republicans and corporations. They are protesting the consumption of people and then cutting them loose, chewing them up and spitting them out. They are protesting the idea that life is cheap – especially the lives of Black people. They are protesting the policies that have led to America becoming, as Donald once said about other countries, a s#!thole country for most of her people.

No, they do not care about human lives. It is up to us to step into that breach and care, because God cares. Because Black lives matter. Because it’s time to choose sides. Will we stand with those to whom life is cheap? Or will we stand with those who care? Will we love by lifting up and speaking on behalf of the sacred, priceless, precious life each of us carries inside?

B