Light for All

Last Litha, I watched Twelve Years A Slave and got fired up about slavery. Then as now, with the light at its peak, I look into the darkness. The darkness that the human soul is capable of is staggering, just as our acts of compassion and love are sublime.

This year, yet another white man opened fire on a group of innocent people. In this case, a black church in SC. Mark Morford, a writer who I greatly admire, wrote about this tragedy. His premise was basically that guns are evil and we shouldn’t have so many of them. But I don’t think it’s so simple as that.

First of all, restricting gun ownership is not a guarantee of less violence. Look at England and seriously tell me that this premise is true. The facts do not support it. Guns are not the problem; our culture is the problem.

Our culture is sick, and I have to wonder – what archetype are we playing out here? Is America The Doomed Paradise? Or is it simply the symptoms of a cultural paradigm shift? Since its inception, the United States has been a patriarchal system dominated by white men. It took us almost a full two hundred years to give legal equality to our citizens in terms of basics like voting and fair treatment.

Let that settle in for a moment. It’s 2015, the country is 239 years old, and we are still working for full equality of all citizens in the Land of the Free. A country whose founding document states:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”

Popular opinion is changing quickly. As the older generations fade away, the younger generations are stepping to the fore. More and more, we see Americans becoming more accepting of minorities of all kinds – women, minority races, different sexual and gender orientations and religious minorities.

In short, we are beginning to fulfill the vision of this country’s potential. The culture war has been won by fair and progressive ideas and attitudes. I believe that what we are seeing now is the desperate, frenzied efforts of the vocal minority of the old guard to stem the tide of change. These regressive, bigoted voices are intensifying their efforts to retain control over the hearts and minds of US citizens.

We have a choice – what do we want to be? As a nation, is this only a safe place for white Christians that believe in “traditional values” that aren't loving or traditional at all? Or is this actually a place for everyone, where all citizens have equality and freedom?

I think that what we need to understand is that freedom is the ability to do what YOU want to do. Unfortunately, many of the cultural battles in the news today are espousing an incorrect premise – “freedom means telling OTHERS how to live”. This is patently untrue.

Time for a history lesson! Ever heard of John Locke? He was a political philosopher whose ideas were extremely influential in the creation of this country. He was a radical for his day, and in light of our current conflicts, I say that he’s still relevant and radical today:

“The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions...”

Locke, John. The Second Treatise of Civil Government. 1690.

To paraphrase his view on the role of government:

“The function of government is to remove the use of force between citizens.”

What’s it going to be, America? Is our country free for some, or is it free for all?

As for me, I will live as I always have done. I will harm none, unless it is in self-defense. I will continue to speak up for equality and freedom for all. I will vote. I will treat others as I wish to be treated – with courtesy and respect. Even the people that don’t believe that I have the right to exist or to be who I am - even they will be treated justly by me. Especially them, to be honest.

Today, on this hot, bright day of Summer Solstice, I strive to remember the lessons of my God: the Sun shines equally on all. The urgent life force of animals and plants continues to strive and struggle for existence in all conditions, no matter how challenging. We must shine. We must go on. There is beauty yet in this world. We can help it to grow, every day, with every choice we make.

A blessed Solstice to you all. Blessed be!