Marcia Kia Simpson-James.
2006-06-21
A LETTER TO THOSE WHO STILL CARE, AND TO THOSE WHO DON’T
“IN THE END, WE WILL REMEMBER NOT THE WORDS OF OUR ENEMIES, BUT THE SILENCE OF OUR FRIENDS” -DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.IN THIS LETTER, I WOULD LIKE TO HONOR ONE OF THE GREATEST SPIRITS THAT WE HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEDGE TO EXPERIENCE AND THAT IS THE SPIRIT OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. HIS RELEVANCE TRANSCENDS THE PARADIGMS OF SOCIAL CHANGE, BUT ROOTS ITSELF IN THE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN QUESTION OF OUR DAILY EXISTENCE, OR MORE PLAINLY PUT “WHY ARE WE HERE?” FURTHER DR. KING’S CONTRIBUTION AND SACRIFICE MOVES ME FORWARD NOT ONLY TO QUESTION MY OWN RELEVANCE, BUT TO QUESTION OUR PRESENT DAY COMMITMENT TO ANYTHING BEYOND OUR VESTED INTERESTS. BUT IN THIS TIME OF I’VE GOT MINE, YOU GET YOURS, IN THIS TIME OF THE BOTTOM LINE, AND THE QUARTERLY REPORT, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT WE DRIVE, EAT OR LIVE-IN OR WHAT WE SAVE, IS THERE ANYTHING FOR WHICH WE ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE.
THE TITLE OF MY TALK TODAY IS “AMNESIA AND BLACK SURVIVAL” OR SUBTITLED “THE PRICE OF RENDERING UNTO CAESAR.” NOW AMNESIA IS DEFINED AS THE LOSS OF THE ABILITY TO REMEMBER OR AS MERRIAM WEBSTER FURTHER EXPLAINS “THE SELECTIVE OVERLOOKING OR IGNORING OF THOSE EVENTS OR ACTS ARE NOT FAVORABLE OR USEFUL TO ONE’S PURPOSE OR POSITION. WHEN THIS PREMISE IS APPLIED TO OUR PRESENT-DAY SOCIETY AND IN PARTICULAR BLACK CULTURE, THE QUESTION MUST BE ASKED WHAT IS IT THAT WE HAVE FORGOTTEN? IN ORDER TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION WE MUST GO BACK TO THE FOUNDATION OF DR. KING’S QUESTIONING OF GENERATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY. AND I QUOTE: REF BIBLE: MATTHEW 22:15 TO 21, PAYING TAXES TO CAESAR: THEN THE PHARISES WENT OUT AND LAID PLANS TO TRAP HIM IN HIS WORDS. THEY SENT THEIR DISCIPLES TO HIM ALONG WITH THE HERODIANS. TEACHER, THEY SAID WE KNOW YOU ARE A MAN OF INTERGRITY AND THAT YOU TEACH THE WAY OF GOD IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TRUTH. YOU AREN’T SWAYED BY MEN, BECAUSE YOU PAY NO ATTENTION TO WHO THEY ARE. TELL US THEN, WHAT IS YOUR OPINION? IS IT RIGHT TO PAY TAXES TO CAESAR OR NOT? BUT JESUS KNOWING THEIR EVIL INTENT, SAID, YOU HYPOCRITES, WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO TRAP ME? SHOW ME THE COINS USED TO PAYING THE TAX. THEY BROUGHT HIM A DENARIUS AND HE ASKED THEM WHOSE PORTRAIT IS THIS? AND WHOSE INSCRIPTION? CAESAR’S THEY REPLIED. THEN HE SAID TO THEM, GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR’S AND TO GOD WHAT IS GOD’S. WHEN THEY HEARD THIS, THEY WERE AMAZED. SO THEY LEFT HIM AND WENT AWAY.
THE NEW MILLENIUM IS UPON US. OLD CHALLENGES REMAIN AND NEW CHALLENGES ARE BEING FORMED; I.E. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INJUSTICES, THE SPREAD OF AIDS IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY, THE GENDER GAP IS WIDENING, THERE ARE MORE MINORITY MEN IN JAIL THAN IN COLLEGE, THE ILLITERACY RATE IN THE U.S. IS CREEPING SLOWLY TO OVER 20%. IN THE RELATIVELY NEAR FUTURE THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SECURITY, AS WE KNOW IT WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ARE BEGINNING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE WORLDS’ WEATHER PATTERNS. WAR AND RUMORS OF WARS PROLIFERATE OUR BROADCAST NETWORKS. TO RECEIVE AN EDUCATION, NUMEROUS UNIVERSITIES IN THIS NATION REQUIRE A COMMITMENT OF OVER $30,000 A YEAR. THE GAP IS WIDENING BETWEEN THE INFORMATION RICH AND THE INFORMATION POOR. WE ARE INCREASINGLY BECOMING A RACIALLY DIVIDED SOCIETY. RETREATING INTO INDIVIDUALISTIC CAVES OF IGNORANCE. SLEEP IS BECOMING A RARE LUXURY, AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IS UPON US.
A RECENT ARTICLE BY GARY CHAPMAN DATED 4/12/99, ENTITLED “REACHING OUT TO BRING LOW-INCOME BLACKS ACROSS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE,” ADDRESSES A VERY TROUBLING ISSUE AND I QUOTE “THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN AMERICAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY, AT THE END OF THIS CENTURY IS STILL RACE-ESPECIALLY BETWEEN WHITE AND BLACK AMERICANS. THIS CENTURIES OLD TENSION HAS NEARLY ALWAYS HAD A TECHNOLOGICAL DIMENSION AS BLACK AMERICANS HAVE COMMONLY FOUND THEIR ECONOMIC PROSPECTS ALTERED, USUALLY FOR THE WORSE, BY TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS. SLAVES WERE FREED JUST AS NEW AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES DEVALUED HUMAN LABOR.” NOW AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE CONFRONTING THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION, AND THE PICTURE THEY SEE AGAIN IS DECIDELY MIXED BLESSINGS. THERE ARE ALSO STUBBORN DISPARITIES IN TECHNOLOGICAL ACCESS AND PARTICIPATION IN THE HIGH-TECH ECONOMY.
FOR LOW-INCOME AFRICAN AMERICANS, THE BOOM IN THE “NEW ECONOMY” THREATENS TO PASS THEM BY. POOR SCHOOLS WITH PREDOMINANTLY MINORITY STUDENTS, HAVE TWICE AS MANY STUDENTS PER COMPUTER ON AVERAGE, AS MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE SCHOOLS. WHITE FAMILIES ARE ROUGHLY TWICE AS LIKELY TO OWN A HOME COMPUTER AS BLACK FAMILIES, ACCORDING TO HOFFMAN AND NOVAK.
THIS WELL-KNOWN PROBLEM HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED AS THE “DIGITAL DIVIDE”. BLACK AMERICA HAS A WINDOW OF TWO TO THREE YEARS TO GET ON THE HIGH –TECH TRAIN AFTER THAT THEY BELIEVE PATTERNS OF INEQUALITY MAY BECOME A PERMANENT PART OF THE INFORMATION AGE. LOW-INCOME AMERICANS CANNOT GET ON THIS TRAIN WITHOUT WIDESPREAD PUBLIC SUPPORT.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS ARTICLE? AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO THIS BODY, TO CHILDREN OF THE FUTURE AND WHY SHOULD WE CARE? TECHNOLOGY IS BECOMING MORE SOPHISTICATED EVERY DAY, ANALOG IS MOVING TO DIGITAL, CABLE AND SATELLITE ARE BATTLING. THINGS ARE GETTING SMALLER IN BIGGER WAYS. BUT IT IS NECESSARY TO EXAMINE THE QUALITATIVE ASPECTS OF THE INFORMATION FLOWING THRU NEW TECHNOLOGY MIRACLES. SHOULD THERE BE A NEW AGE ANALYSIS OF THE MESSAGE AND ITS IMPACT? IN ADDITION, IS THERE A GROWING NEED TO IMPACT THE CHARACTER OF 21ST CENTURY MESSENGERS. SHOULD THERE BE ANY CONSIDERATION GIVEN TO THE INFLUENCE THAT THESE MESSENGERS AND THEIR MESSAGES HAVE AND WHAT DIRECTION SHOULD THAT INFLUENCE TAKE? WHETHER THESE MESSAGES COME FROM A MOVIE, TV, BOOKS, MUSIC, THE INTERNET OR THE PULPIT WHAT RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD BE PLACED UPON THE MESSENGER. AS WE HAVE MOVED FROM THE INDUSTRIAL AGE INTO THE INFORMATION AGE WHAT TOOLS MUST WE HAVE TO FACE THE CHALLENGES OF TOMORROW? WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO BRING RELEVANCE TO TODAY? WHAT DO WE WANT OUR CHILDREN TO INHERIT THAT HAS BEEN THE MISSING LINK OF OUR GENERATIONAL FULFILLMENT AND HAPPINESS? THESE ARE QUESTIONS THAT QUITE FRANKLY, I DON’T HAVE ANY IDEA HOW TO ANSWER. BUT, IN MY SEARCH FOR A PERSPECTIVE FROM WHICH SOME INSIGHT CAN HOPEFULLY BE GAINED, MAYBE, IN THESE NEXT FEW MOMENTS TOGETHER, SOME INTERESTING QUESTIONS CAN BE RAISED, WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF A PHRASE OF HAUGHTING DIMENSIONS. WHICH I WOULD LIKE TO REPEAT, REF BIBLE: MATTHEW 22:15 TO 21, PAYING TAXES TO CAESAR; THEN THE PHARISEES WENT OUT AND LAID PLANS TO TRAP HIM IN HIS WORDS. THEY SENT THEIR DISCIPLES TO HIM ALONG WITH THE HERODIANS. TEACHER, THEY SAID WE KNOW YOU ARE A MAN OF INTEGRITY AND THAT YOU TEACH THE WAY OF GOD IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TRUTH. YOU AREN’T SWAYED BY MEN, BECAUSE YOU PAY NO ATTENTION TO WHO THEY ARE. TELL US THEN, WHAT IS YOUR OPINION? IS IT RIGHT TO PAY TAXES TO CAESAR OR NOT? BUT JESUS KNOWING THEIR EVIL INTENT, SAID, YOU HYPOCRITES, WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO TRAP ME? SHOW ME THE COINS USED TO PAYING THE TAX. THEY BROUGHT HIM A DENARIUS AND HE ASKED THEM WHOSE PORTRAIT IS THIS? AND WHOSE INSCRIPTION? CAESAR’S THEY REPLIED. THEN HE SAID TO THEM, GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR’S AND TO GOD WHAT IS GOD’S. WHEN THEY HEARD THIS, THEY WERE AMAZED. SO THEY LEFT HIM AND WENT AWAY.
THIS HAS BECOME A VERY PUZZLING AND TROUBLING PHRASE FOR ME. ONE THAT IN TIME I THOUGHT I WOULD UNDERSTAND. BUT UPON CLOSER EXAMINATION I REALIZED I NEEDED TO REVISIT ITS MEANING. AND TO FULLY DIGEST JESUS’S MEANING I HAD TO GO BACK – WAY BACK INTO MY CHILDHOOD – IN EDWARD ALBEES’ PLAY “THE ZOO STORY” THE CHARACTER JERRY STATES IT BEST WHEN HE SAYS “SOMETIMES YOU GOT TO GO A LONG WAY OUT OF THE WAY TO COME BACK TO THE RIGHT WAY, CORRECTLY.” SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME…………..
WHEN I WAS A YOUNG BOY IN THE SMALL TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK. EVERY SATURDAY FOR MANY YEARS, MY PARENTS USED TO TAKE MY SISTER AND I DOWNTOWN TO MAIN STREET. WE COULD NOT AFFORD A MOVIE TICKET TO THE PICTURE SHOW AT THE ASTOR THEATRE. SO, MY FATHER WOULD HELP US MAKE MOVIES OF OUR OWN. MY MOTHER WOULD POP SOME POPCORN, PUT IT IN A PAPER BAG AND THEN WE WOULD SIT ON MAIN STREET WATCHING PEOPLE. MY FATHER WOULD ASK “HOW OLD DO YOU THINK THAT MAN IS OR WHERE DO YOU THINK THEY LIVE OR WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY DO FOR A LIVING. HE WOULD POINT OUT HOW THEY CARRIED THEMSELVES OR HOW WORN THEIR SHOES OR CLOTHES WERE. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEIR EYES. MY FATHER FELT IF YOU LOOKED DEEPLY ENOUGH AND LONG ENOUGH A MAN’S HISTORY COULD BE FOUND IN HIS EYES OR HIS HANDS. WE WERE TAUGHT VALUES THRU OBSERVATION AND THRU THE RITUAL OF FAMILY. A FAMILY POOR IN MONETARY TERMS BUT RICH IN AN APPRECIATION OF THE HUMAN CONDITION. MY PARENTS WERE TOO POOR TO AFFORD A TICKET TO THE ASTOR THEATRE BUT RICH IN PARENTAL COMMITMENT, IMAGINATION, AND A SENSE OF GENERATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES. BEING A POOR MAN WITH A 2ND GRADE EDUCATION, MY FATHER MOST CERTAINLY KNEW THE HARSH LESSONS OF CAESAR. BUT, IT DID NOT PREVENT HIM FROM RECOGNIZING AND APPRECIATING THE DIGNITY OF GOD IN EVERY MAN.
NOW FLASH FORWARD WITH ME IF YOU WILL TO 2001. NOW A NUMBER OF MONTHS AGO IN LA, THE LOCAL NEWS REPORTED A STORY THAT MOVED ME VERY DEEPLY. A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN SOUTH CENTRAL, L.A. HAD BEEN ARRESTED FOR MURDER. IT SEEMS THAT A FELLOW CLASSMATE HAD WORN A JACKET HE WANTED. SO HE DEMANDED THAT HIS CLASSMATE GIVE IT TO HIIM. WHEN THE CLASSMATE REFUSED, HE STABBED HIM SEVERAL TIMES. AS HIS CLASSMATE LIE DYING HE REMOVED THE JACKET, PUT IT ON AND RAN AWAY. THIS ALL HAPPENED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN FRONT OF FELLOW STUDENTS. WHEN THE POLICE ARRIVED, THE CROWD POINTED THEM IN THE DIRECTION OF WHERE THE YOUNG KILLER HAD GONE. THE POLICE ARRIVED AT THE YOUNG KILLERS HOUSE WITH GUNS DRAWN. THEY BROKE THRU THE FRONT DOOR, AND DOWN A CORRIDOR THEY HEARD A TV BLASTING. WHEN THEY ENTERED THE ROOM WITH THE BLASTING TV, TO THEIR AMAZEMENT THEY DISCOVERED THE YOUNG KILLER LYING IN BED WITH THE JACKET ON SOUND ASLEEP! I FOUND MYSELF WANTING HIM TO BE AT THE WINDOW SHOOTING HIS WAY OUT OR SOMETHING. BUT HE WAS ASLEEP AS THOUGH NOTHING OF SIGNIFICANCE HAD OCCURRED. THAT HE HAD TAKEN ANOTHER HUMAN BEINGS LIFE DID NOT COMPUTE. THESE THINGS HAPPEN EVERYDAY ALL OVER THE WORLD AND I WAS TOTALLY AWARE OF THAT, BUT THAT PARTICULAR DAY THAT PARTICULAR STORY HIT ME, AND SOMETHING ELSE HIT ME. A QUESTION, AND THAT QUESTION WAS WHAT HAS CHANGED AND HOW HAD I PARTICIPATED IN CHANGING IT? WHAT PART OF THE LESSONS THAT MY FATHER HAD TRIED TO TEACH ME IN THE CAR ON THOSE SATURDAY AFTERNOONS ON MAIN STREET THAT, THAT YOUNG KILLER HAD NEVER BEEN TAUGHT? AND IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT IN MY CASE AND IN THE CASE OF SO MANY OF US MAYBE WE ARE NOT GUILTY OF THE SIN OF COMMISSION BUT COULD IT BE THAT WE ARE GUILTY OF THE SIN OF OMISSION. THE OMISSION OF CERTAIN VIABLE NUGGETS OF INFORMATION, INFORMATION THAT EXIST IN THE REALM AND LANGUAGE OF VALUES, MORAL AND CIVIL CONDUCT. INFORMATION IS NOT NECESSARY TO SURVIVE IN THE MONETARY WORLD OF CAESAR, BUT IN THE SOCIAL REALM OF HUMAN DECENCY AND CIVIL CONDUCT, THE WORLD OF GOD, IF YOU WILL.
IT IS CERTAINLY NOT OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO TEACH CHILDREN VALUES THAT SHOULD BE TAUGHT AT HOME. THEY ARE NOT MY CHILDREN. I AM NOT MY BROTHERS KEEPER, OR AM I? OR LIKE MY FATHER, DO I HAVE AN OBLIGATION OF GENERATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY. DO I HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO CARE?
MAYBE IT’S WHAT’S NOT BEING TAUGHT THAT TROUBLES ME. “RENDER UNTO CAESAR THAT WHICH IS CAESAR’S AND UNTO GOD THAT WHICH IS GODS”. WE MUST CERTAINLY TEACH THAT WHICH IS CAESAR'S BECAUSE CAESARS IS UNCOMPROMISINGLY DEMANDING.
SOCIETY MUST DELIVER THE NECESSARY SKILLS AND INFORMATION THAT ENABLE STUDENTS TO NEGOTIATE THE WATERS OF THE REAL WORLD – CAESAR’S WORLD – A WORLD THAT’S MECURIAL. A WORLD THAT SHIFTS IN PARADIGMS ON A SOMETIME’S MONTHLY BASIS. A WORLD IN FLUX, OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, CORPORATE MERGERS, DOWN SIZING AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF COMMUNITES.
SCHOOLTEACHERS SHOULD BE PAID MORE THAN BASKETBALL PLAYERS ON THE COURT OF LIFE, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO SHOOT FASTER, JUMP HIGHER, AND LAST LONGER. CAESAR’S WORLD “RENDER UNTO CAESAR THAT WHICH IS CAESARS AND UNTO GOD THAT WHICH IS GOD’S.” IS THERE ANY ROOM FOR GOD IN WHAT WE DO? MARSHAL MCCLLUEN WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE THAT THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE. THIS IS A STATEMENT I NO LONGER BELIEVE. WE MOST CERTAINLY MUST BE MORE REPONSIBLE THAN THAT TO GIVE A SOCIETY THE GUN, BULLETS OF THE MEDIA, TEACH IT HOW TO AIM IT AND THEN TO TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TARGET THAT’S HIT. IT IS A FASHIONABLE WAY OF THINKING IN THE WORLD OF RELATIVISM BUT NOT IN THE REALM OF GOD? IS THERE ANY ROOM FOR GOD IN DAY-TO-DAY LIVING? AND BY GOD, I DO NOT MEAN RELIGION. I MEAN THAT INNATE SENSE OF WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG. DECENCY OR AS GRANDPA USED TO SAY “SON YOUR RELIGION IS NOT WHAT YOU BELIEVE OR SAY BUT WHAT YOU DO.”
WE SEE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE LAST DECADE OF RELATIVISTIC THINKING AND BEHAVIOR. I’M NOT SUGGESTING THAT WE MUST HAVE ALL OF THE ANSWERS. BUT IF WE CAN RAISE RELEVANT QUESTIONS WITHIN THE FABRIC OF THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF OUR CHILDREN. PERHAPS WE CAN GIVE THEM THE FOUNDATION WITH WHICH THEY CAN EVALUATE THE GREAT POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TOOLS OF MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE ARE HANDING THEM. PERHAPS RAISING QUESTIONS WITHIN THEIR MINDS WILL BE ENOUGH. “RENDER UNTO CAESAR THAT WHICH IS CAESARS AND UNOT GOD THAT WHICH IS GODS.” INFORMATION IN THE INFORMATION AGE WEBSTER DEFINES AS: KNOWLEDGE, DATA, FACTS, NEWS, ADVICE, TIPS, INTELLIGENCE AND WISDOM. IT’S INTERESTING THAT WISDOM IS AT THE END OF THAT LIST. WEBSTER ALSO DEFINES WISDOM AS: GOOD SENSE, THE TEACHINGS OF THE ANCIENT WISE MEN.
IT WAS WRONG FOR THAT 10TH GRADER TO STAB HIS CLASSMATE WITH A KNIFE AND TAKE HIS JACKET. WHETHER OR NOT HE HAD A GOOD OR BAD CHILDHOOD – IT WAS WRONG! AND TO JUSTIFY THAT INJUSTICE IS WRONG AND EVIL.
IN A SOCIETY OF, “I GOT MINE, YOU GET YOURS;” A WORLD OF EXCLUSION AND PRIVILEDGE. WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF AMNESIA CONSCIOUSNESS? A CONSCIOUSNESS THAT SHUTS THE DOOR BEHIND IT SO THAT NO ONE ELSE MAY ENTER LESS THEY OVERSHADOW THE GLOW OF PRIVILEDGE, VESTED INTEREST AND SELF IMPORTANCE. A CONSCIENCE THAT ONLY HEARS THE WORDS OF DR. KING’S BUT DOES NOT ACT ON THE INSIGHT AND INSTRUCTION OF HIS WISDOM. THESE ARE ISSUES THAT DETERMINE WHAT WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE LEGACY. WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH BEHAVIOR AND THINKING? AND I QUOTE – GENESIS 4TH CHAPTER: ADAM AND EVE STARTED A NEW LIFE OUTSIDE THE GARDEN OF EDEN. THEY HAD TWO SONS: ABEL, WHO GREW UP TO BE A SHEPHERD, AND CAIN, WHO WORKED IN THE FIELDS AS A FARMER. WHEN THE TIME CAME TO MAKE AN OFFERING TO GOD, CAIN BROUGHT A FEW OF HIS HARVEST CROPS BUT HE DID SO WITH A CARELESS ATTITUDE. ABEL, ON THE OTHERHAND, BROUGHT ONLY THE BEST PIECES OF MEAT FROM HIS SHEEP, SHOWING HIS DEEP, HEARTFELT TRUST IN GOD. SO GOD WAS PLEASED WITH ABEL’S OFFER BUT NOT WITH CAIN’S. THIS FILLED CAIN WITH ANGER, “WHY ARE YOU SO ANGRY?” GOD ASKED CAIN. “IF YOU MAKE THE RIGHT OFFERING I WILL ACCEPT IT, BUT BE CAREFUL, IF YOU DO NOT, SIN IS WAITING TO POUNCE ON YOU AND RULE YOU.” BUT CAIN WOULD NOT LISTEN. BURNING WITH RAGE AND JEALOUSY, HE LURED HIS BROTHER ABEL INTO A FIELD AND KILLED HIM. “WHERE IS YOUR BROTHER?” GOD ASKED HIM, BUT CAIN PRETENDED NOT TO KNOW. “DON’T ASK ME,” HE REPLIED, “AM I SUPPOSED TO LOOK AFTER HIM?” “LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” SAID GOD, ANGRILY. “I CAN PLAINLY SEE ABEL’S BLOOD ON THE GROUND. SO NOW I MUST PUNISH YOU. FROM NOW ON YOUR CROPS WILL NO LONGER GROW AND YOU WILL HAVE TO WANDER THROUGH THE WORLD WITHOUT A HOME.” CAIN TREMBLED WITH FEAR. “MY PUNISHMENT IS TOO MUCH FOR ME TO BEAR,” HE PLEADED WITH GOD. “BECAUSE YOU ARE NO LONGER MY FRIEND, WHOEVER FINDS ME WILL KILL ME.” “DON’T WORRY,” GOD REPLIED, SHOWING MERCY BY PUTTING A SPECIAL MARK ON CAIN TO PROTECT HIM. “IF ANYONE KILLS YOU, HE WILL SUFFER SEVEN TIMES MORE THAN YOU.” SO, WITH TREMENDOUS SADNESS, CAIN LEFT AND WENT TO LIVE IN THE LAND OF NOD.
IN THIS NEW TECHNOLOGICAL LAND OF NOD WILL WE BE OUR BROTHER’S KEEPER? AS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE WIDENS WILL WE MOVE TOWARD EACH OTHER AND BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE INFORMATION RICH AND THE INFORMATION POOR. WILL WE ENCOURAGE OUR CHILDREN TO USE THESE TECHNOLOGICAL TRICKS TO BETTER THE PLIGHT OF ALL MANKIND OR WILL WE TRANSFER TO THEM THE VALUES OF NOD – THE VALUE OF SELF INTEREST? AS A YOUNG BOY I HAD ONE MALE PARENT BUT MANY FATHERS. MEN IN MY COMMUNITY, BLACK AND WHITE PASSED ONTO ME VALUES AND INFORMATION THAT WOULD SOMETIME AS THEY WOULD PHRASE IT – “PUT ME IN MY PLACE.” MANY OF THESE PEOPLE WERE TEACHERS, THAT HAD AS MUCH INFLUENCE ON ME IN THE CLASS ROOM OF LIFE AS MY PARENTS HAD ON ME AT HOME. BUT AS THE STAKES BECOME HIGHER ALL MORAL AUTHORITY IS CHALLENGED ON EVERY FRONT. TO SEE OURSELVES AS VICTIMS OVERPOWERED BY DAY-TO-DAY PROBLEMS WITH NO TIME TO ADDRESS THE LARGER ISSUES OF HUMAN EXISTENCE IS AN EVASION OF RESPONSIBILITY THAT DR. KING WOULD NOT LET US ESCAPE TO. DR. KING CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE US WITH THE FOLLOWING HAUNTING QUESTION “HAVE YOU HELPED SOMEBODY NOT FOR PERSONAL GAIN BUT HAVE YOU HELPED SOMEBODY ON THE LEVEL OF HUMBLE RECOGNITION THAT WE ARE OUR BROTHER’S KEEPER? WINSTON CHURCHILL ADDRESSED THE PRESENCE OF HUMAN FRAILITY IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER AND I QUOTE, “TRUE POWER IS AN INDIVIDUAL’S ABILITY TO MOVE FROM FAILURE TO FAILURE WITH NO LOSS OF ENTHUSIASM.” FURTHER, ONE OF THE GREATEST THEOLOGIANS OF THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY, HOWARD THURMAN, ADVISOR TO SEVERAL PRESIDENTS, GIVES US THE FOLLOWING INSIGHT, “TO STRENGTHEN OUR RESOLVE IN THE FACE OF ANY CHALLENGE, IN THE FACE OF ANY SELF-DOUBT, IN THE FACE OF DANGER IF WE APPLY IT.” AGAIN I QUOTE HOWARD THURMAN “IN EACH OF US THERE IS A SEA, AND IN THAT SEA THERE IS AN ISLAND, AND ON THAT ISLAND THERE IS AN ALTAR, AND STANDING GUARD AT THAT ALTAR IS AN ANGEL WITH THE FLAMING SWORD, AND NOTHING MAY PASS THAT ANGEL TO BE PLACED ON THAT ALTAR UNLESS IT BEARS THE BLOODMARK OF OUR CONSENT.” WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO INFLUENCE THE CONSCIOUNESS OF A GENERATION BY POINTING OUT TO THEM THAT THERE IS SOMETHING BENEATH THE BOTTOM LINE THAT IS THE FOUNDATION OF REALITY ITSELF.
HUMILITY, A CONCEPT FOREIGN TO MOST CONTEMPORARY THINKING AND NUMEROUS ENTERTAINMENT PERSONALITIES. HOW THIS WOULD BE DONE AS I SAID IN THE BEGINNING, I DO NOT HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA. BUT I DO REALIZE THAT, THAT YOUNG BOY WHO SHOT ANOTHER CHILD AND WAS DISCOVERED SLEEPING BY THE POLICE IS PART OF A QUICKLY GROWING MASS OF PEOPLE WHO FEEL THEY HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE. IF THAT REALITY IS NOT ADDRESSED I BELIEVE WE WILL END UP LIVING OUT THE PROPHECY OF T.S. ELLIOTS’ GREAT POEM THE “WASTELAND.” THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS. THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS. THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS. NOT WITH A BANG. BUT WITH A WHIMPER.
