Sharon's Muse.... Let's chat over coffee while I ponder some things
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Sharon's Muse.... Let's chat over coffee while I ponder some things |
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Name::Sharon Cullars
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Thursday, September 21, 2006 Building spiritual muscle It is always tricky and risky to take on controversial subjects, racism and sexism being definite ones. And those who fight against any kind of -ism are often frustrated and demoralized that the situation only seems to get marginally better if at all. Well, for those who follow Christian doctrine and believe in sin, it should come as no surprise that sin will never be eradicated by man. In any form, hate is a sin. And as racism, sexism and any other -ism are simply forms of hatred, they will never be eradicated (at least on this earth) -although they may be diminished to an extent. Because if man could get rid of any sin just through effort, then what need for Jesus? This may all sound discouraging, but I believe these -isms serve a purpose. Consider them punching bags to practice on. Understand, no singular human effort will overcome hate and it may seem futile to even try. But in the end, I truly believe we are not going to be judged on whether we took down the enemy, but on whether we even took a swing. I think we build moral and spiritual muscle when we strive to combat, despite the minimal success in the end. The question put to you at judgment won't be "Did you win?" but rather "Did you even fight at all?" Sometimes, collectively, we can make a difference. If not for those who marched forty years ago at Selma, if not for the Sojourner Truths, Susan B. Anthonys, the Iron Angels, the Frederick Douglasses, the Martin Luther Kings, the Malcolm Xs, the Bishop Tutus, the Nelson Mandelas, the John Browns, the Nat Turners, the Billy Jean Kings, every female scientist who defied social convention and pursued their dreams, those sisters and brothers who simply scream "No" when other silently comply, every man who spoke out against sexism, every voice that yells out against racism, for everybody who can try to put themselves in someone else's bedraggled shoes and see what it feels like to walk a mile...if not for these folks, I would be nothing. Sometimes, it is just taking on something small and not life altering. For my part, I am going to strive to speak out more. I get angry sometimes and at those times I have no trouble speaking out. But during times when the anger isn't there, I find myself uncomfortably tongue-tied. For example, several years ago, a friend and I were riding an elevator in a Las Vegas hotel when an older southern couple tapped us and began to tell a joke about a "faggot" dog. I stood there uncomfortably stone still, displeasure on my face. They couldn't understand why I didn't appreciate the joke. My friend didn't think anything wrong, but I analogized to her – "How would you have felt if that joke had been about blacks?" Sometimes just speaking up against these small indignities is taking a swing. I once worked with a Polish guy years ago who often self-deprecatingly attributed his mistakes to his ethnicity ("you know us dumb Pollocks"). One day, I asked him not to do this, and he didn’t quite understand. But I knew that if someone diminishes himself, he'll have no problem diminishing others and will use his self-deprecation as an excuse to say "Hey, I can take it, why can't you?" The point is none of us should have to take it. Any jokes that diminishes anyone isn't really funny when you think about it. Yes, I've been sermonizing here. But sometimes we gotta preach. Sometimes we gotta take a swing. Consider this a punch to build up my spiritual muscle. Now I only have several bouts to go.
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