Wisconsin's
Concealed Carry Law - Part II
In
part one of this reflection, I described how fear based legislation
like the Concealed Carry Law promotes distrust among our citizens.
This distrust poisons and disables the public arena, an arena that is
essential to the functioning of a healthy democracy. I concluded by
saying that opposition alone to such legislation isn't sufficient.
We must reclaim and revitalize the public arena by promoting positive
affiliations among strangers.
It
is tempting to assume that such efforts require organizing skill and
money. It is true that public efforts can be effective. Recently
the cable channel, Comedy Central, hosted a program where Moslem,
Jewish and Christian stand-up comedians focussed their wits on
misunderstandings among these cultural groups. Organizations in a
number of American cities have sponsored dialogues on divisive
community issues. Interfaith groups seek to promote greater
understanding among people of different religious traditions.
Organizations like Jim Wallis' Sojourners Community and Rabbi Michael
Lerner's Tikkun urge Christians and Jews to work together to oppose
unjust systems that oppress the poor. Nonpartisan organizations like
¨Reach Out Wisconsin” are dedicated to
fostering respect and understanding in politics during an era when
the left and the right seem so divided.
Important
as these organized efforts are, we need to recognize that large scale
organizations by themselves, will not restore trust in the public
arena. Democracy functions best when everyday people, people like
you and me, involve themselves. Such involvement allows us to engage
one another in all our diversity rather than characterizing one
another in terms of one dimensional stereotypes. In the final
analysis, such engagement also helps us to know ourselves more
completely.
It
is important to recognize that engaging people in the public arena
doesn't require an organized program on our part. Rather, it
involves a change of heart. Our society is filled with interesting
individuals, and we come into contact with them daily. It's a matter
of recognizing the opportunity and seizing the moment.
I
will share a few such moments in my life to peak your imagination:
My
wife, Jean, and I have a regular Friday afternoon date at a local
buffet. One afternoon, as we were talking, a fellow in the booth
behind us interrupted our conversation with the question, “What is
the meaning of life for you?” I turned around to see a man and a
woman holding a small baby. The man introduced himself and his
family. They were visiting the United States from Syria, where they
run an English language institute. What followed was a fascinating
conversation with strangers who live in a culture different from our
own. We have now become facebook friends. Furthermore, this brief
encounter heightened my concern about the uprising in Syria, for I
could imagine these people trying to survive in that turmoil.
Jean
and I have become acquainted with a number of the other “regulars”
who eat at this buffet on Fridays. They come from a variety of
racial, ethnic and economic situations. Some people I greet, and
others I tend to avoid. This was true of one fellow in particular.
He dressed in scruffy clothes. He mades racist comments, and he
could be surly. Over time I began talking with him. To my surprise,
I learned that he is a PhD scientist who is incredibly knowledgeable
about politics. He is also an amazing story teller. True, he has
his idiosyncrasies, but my life is richer because of him.
My
sister, Sue, died last April. During her final months, my siblings
and I stayed with her. In the process we got to know some wonderful
people who loved her deeply. After her funeral, many of these folks
provided us with housing and helped us clear out Sue's house. One
family, in particular, was important because they had accepted Sue
into their family like a daughter and sister. To thank them for
their friendship, we invited them to dinner at a local restaurant.
During the meal I shared my concern about the political situation in
Wisconsin. One of the men across the table said quietly, “We are
Republicans.” Needless to say, I quickly backed off from political
discussions. To lighten the moment, others of the family said, “We
loved Sue even though she was a Democrat.” Just think, if I had
defined these dear and loving people merely by a political
stereotype, I would have missed knowing them in our mutual love for
Sue.
Last
year I attended a rally opposing the amendment to the Wisconsin
Constitution that would define marriage as only between a man and a
woman. I stood next to a man from an evangelical Christian group who
carried a sign saying that homosexuality is a sin. After the rally,
I told him that I too was a Christian and that I favored extending
the legal rights of married people to gay and lesbian couples. I
told him that we may never agree on this issue but that I supported
his right to express his views. The conversation continued and
concluded with him saying, “You know sometimes we forget the God we
worship in these situations. We are like planets circling the Sun
who are so concerned about each other that we forget that we are both
dependent on the sun.” We parted, “God blessing” each other
knowing that we still disagreed on the gay and lesbian issue but
having a deeper respect for one another.
I
have been friends for a number of years with a woman who has lived in
poverty her whole life. I got to know her as an organizer in a low
income complex when I worked for MUM, now Madison-area Urban
Ministry. Had I stereotyped her as “another poor person,” I would
never have gotten to know her in her complexity. She is brilliant,
widely read and an artist. Yet, her life experience has beaten her
down.
Related
to the above mentioned friend, I have a final story about my tendency
to stereotype people, and thus to miss knowing them. While I was
director of MUM, I was challenged by the chair of my board, a woman
who was an executive in a local industry. As I was waxing eloquent
about oppression of the poor by the powerful, she remarked, “Chuck
you don't like rich people very much do you?” Caught with my
assumptions down, I replied defensively, “That's not true. I know
that there are good and bad among the rich and the poor.” She
looked at me in the way she had of saying, “Come clean Chuck.”
Finally, I had to admit to my unthinking bias against the wealthy.
Now
that you have heard some of my stories, I wish I could hear yours.
Perhaps you can share these stories with friends and family members.
In so doing, you are helping to heal “We the People.”
I
will close with a final observation.
Our democracy, when it is functioning well, enables exchanges among
citizens with all of their differences and complexities. As we
engage, we bring together an array of resources that stimulate the
creative processes that are needed to face the challenges of
humanity.
I urge you
to work in the political arena to promote the agendas that you value.
In the process, recognize that those who oppose you are complex
human beings like yourself, who are also committed to their
political agendas. Acknowledge that they too have yearnings, fears
and hopes.
Don't
fall prey to the hate mongers who seek to disable our democratic
process by promoting fear and distrust. Be suspicious of those who
characterize strangers with one dimensional political, religious or
ethnic stereotypes.
Engage
people with curiosity and expectation. Nod at those you meet on a
public street or in a retail store. Seek out someone you don't know
at a holiday party, and introduce yourself. Join with others in
cheering for your favorite sports team or in enjoying your favorite
coffee shop or restaurant. Promote diversity of belief, race, age
and life style in your faith community.
Our lives
are too precious to live in fear. Our democratic institutions are
too important to allow them to be hijacked by those who would
manipulate us by characterizing the stranger as an enemy.
In this
holiday season of sister/brotherhood, I wish you the gift of living
with soul. Allow love of life in all its forms to fill you and bless
you even as you bless others.
