REFLECTIONS IN THE LIGHT OF JAN 7, 2024

Responding in the context of history

Yesterday was the 3^rd “anniversary” of that awful day at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.  I do not need to see another video as a reminder of the threat posed by illegal, destructive behaviors.  We sat in stunned silence, watching those events unfold in real time.  Then a wave of anger swept in directed toward both the perps and those who supported them.  As that feeling subsided into sadness, I knew that once again, we had to come to terms with having not learned the lessons of the past.

I grew up having seen the violence and hate born out of fear and insecurity that spawned World War II.  I saw that we were fighting against white supremacy and an authoritarian regime bent on destroying those who were seen as the opposition.  I also saw that we were fighting for peace, justice, and a more humane world.

When the time came for me to choose meaningful work, I began working with people, organizations, and communities dedicated to our greater good as human beings.  To me, that meant helping to solve problems and address issues around peace, justice, equity, and inclusion.

We worked to help integrate housing, education, and employment; we built coalitions dedicated to finding peaceful solutions to ending racism and war. We were like mini MacArthur Foundations without the money – “effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world.”

I was deeply involved in this work in 1967 in Detroit and experienced the riots when the National Guard was mobilized to help restore order.  I had an encounter with them at gunpoint that helped reinforce my commitment to continue working for non-violent, peaceful solutions, understanding again that violence and hate are destructive to human dignity and life itself.

The following year, spending two days with Martin Luther King, Jr., a month before he was shot and killed on April 8, 1968, solidified my beliefs, values, and actions on behalf of justice and peace.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”   MLK, Jr. “Letters From A Birmingham Jail”

My position was clear and controversial because of the beliefs, values, and actions of those opposed. One speech I gave entitled “A Moral Necessity” laid out my beliefs in terms that everyone understood.  Everyone did not agree.  Racism and the Vietnam War were hot topics in the 60’s.

My activities were such that threats aimed at me and my family were sufficient that I felt unsafe and I believed it was time to leave and shift gears. I wanted to find a way to help develop human beings who valued their humanity and that of others. The question was how to do that?

The answers came through my studies and work in Human Development. Four years later, with another Master’s degree and a Doctorate, I was ready to immerse myself again in a different context.

I believed then and now that our hope is in working with children and adults and helping them to learn, grow, and change, to evolve into more of their potential as human beings.  Two activities that I took up professionally in the following years were psychotherapy and education.  I believed that both of those fields were about change, change for the better, for the greater good, for good persons, and a good society.  I was given wonderful opportunities to work again with people, organizations, and communities who espoused similar values. Working together, with great people and teams, I believe we made progress. I see evidence of that work in numerous people and places and I am grateful to have been a participant that contributed to those efforts and achievements.

In 1980, more than a decade after meeting MLK,  I met Elie Wiesel and leave you with his words, “…how naïve we were, that the world did know and remained silent. And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.” -Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, 1986. Wiesel also told a small group of us that if we wanted to know what evil is, put a face on it.

The work goes on and while the events in Washington and elsewhere took me back to years past, I remain hopeful for the future. Our strength lies in what we can do to build up rather than tear down, to promote love instead of hate, to spread kindness, and to work together with a common purpose and common goals, building communities of common concerns.  That makes sense to me.  I hope it does to you too.  If it does, we know what to do in the coming months to work for positive change.