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Second, we all need more exposure to other nationalities and
ethnicities. If you’ve ever spoken to a well traveled person in the
military or some other service, you find in many instances that
their experiences changed their perspective. They tend to be
progressive and open-minded. Many I have spoken with said they
witnessed thousands of non-Americans living by a different code.
They experienced different diets, saw different religions, different
customs, and different mores. They asked themselves the question,
“What sort of God or nation could condemn all of these people?”
The lesson for them is that life had to be much bigger than one
religion’s exclusive claim. The point is WE ALL NEED A HEAVY DOSE
OF MULTI-CULTURLISM so we can see that our way, our belief, is not
the “end all-be all”. Echoing the thoughts of Dr. King, we are all a
part of a beautiful symphony of sisterhood and brotherhood. And
science confirms this fact as well. Studies tell us that we are all
99.9% alike biologically. We are homoiousian “of the same essence or
substance.” Yes, we have to shed our individual arrogance and learn
more about other people, places and things.
Third, we have to let go of superiority syndromes and understand
that systems may be superior to other systems (Democracy is
brilliant in theory but flawed in praxis) but there are no superior
and inferior races. We cannot subjugate other peoples based on a
premise that our way is the ultimate way. We cannot force nations to
succumb to our will because we feel we have a mandate from God or
some other source to make the world like us. We have to see that
our democratic way is one way to the universal sisterhood and
brotherhood but there are other systems for humans to get there.
Just as there are other religions for humans to get there. And so we
must work to heal the world of its brokenness and not be a part of
the problem of keeping it broken.
I don’t know about you but I have to ask myself all the time “Can I
see another’s woe and not be in sorrow too? Can I see another’s
grief and not seek for kind relief? Can I see a falling tear and not
feel my sorrow’s share? No, no never can it be. Never, never can it
be!” And so, if I am using my race or political system to promulgate
ideas of supremacy while subjecting humans all across the world to
brutality then I am not projecting freedom and love, rather violence
and hatred, and the result of this shows that we are not living up
to the best of our ideals.
Solution four goes with the last thought… We must develop a new
story that embraces all people. We cannot accept a story that is
built on the notion of dominance. This is where the ideology of
Joseph Campbell comes into play. Mother Culture is what he called
“the song of the universe.” Her (Mother Culture’s) tune is similar
all across the world but based on where you live and what you learn
and are exposed to, you sing a variation of her song. Therefore, we
must find a song that embraces diversity instead of erases! This
song is like listening to jazz or to a symphony where many
instruments play their part; each one important; each one
contributing in its own way. And when it all comes together, it is
beautiful music— a polyphony of sight, sound, color, motion and
emotion. This is the Beloved Community. Perhaps in this generation
and perhaps the religion we call Unitarian Universalism can be an
example and say with boldness, “I ‘aint gonna study war or hate no
more! I’m creating a new reality that nurtures, embraces, and
loves.” We have the power to change or world! We must
deconstruct and reconstruct any mythology that divides instead of
unites. Dr. King said it well “We must learn to live together as
brothers and sisters or we will perish as fools.” If we can do this,
then perhaps we can begin to build a world where peace and justice
are the order of the day. We can build a world where people use
their intelligence, not their tribal instincts to solve problems. We
can build a world where we treat people as we wish to be treated. We
can build a world where people will not live distant and in fear of
the other, rather in community where every human is treated as a
sister or a brother. We can build a world without the “us against
them” mentality but a world that embraces the “we are together”
reality. We can build a world of mutual respect and love when humans
listen more, read more and think more. And this will be a day when
goodness and conscientiousness will not be brutal forces leading to
more and more shameful crucifixions, but a time of healing and
understanding as we celebrate life, that great web of
interdependence of which we are all a part.
No, I don’t want to wear the mask anymore. I don’t want you to wear
the mask. I don’t want anybody to wear a mask! I want us to live
free, in spirit and in truth when justice rolls down like waters and
righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amen.
I leave these words in the memory of David Eaton, A. Powell Davies,
and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Might their example live on and in
me! Let it be so!
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