Why Are People So Mad?

 Frustrated and famished, they try one thing after another. When nothing works out they get angry, cursing first this god and then that one, looking this way and that, up, down, and sideways—and seeing nothing… – Isaiah 8:21-22 (MSG)

I was watching the Democratic National Convention last night and one of the commentators on MSNBC talked about the 70% of Americans that are dissatisfied with the way things are in our country. According to the Pew Research Center in a nation-wide poll taken June 15-26 71% of people said they are dissatisfied with the way things are in this country. In other surveys the results came out pretty much the same. So I have to wonder why people feel so dissatisfied. If you look at other polls that ask about what the most important issues are for people in the US I think you get an answer.

People are not happy with our country because they aren’t happy with the way things are going and what is being done to address their concerns. Now if you were to look at these issues from a particular political perspective your reason for picking what you did would not be the same as someone with a very different perspective. But people in both parties agree that the top four issues are the most important.

Now I have my own assumptions about American’s and their dissatisfaction. I think people aren’t happy because they perceive that nothing is being done to address their concerns, at least nothing substantial. Those top four are all influenced by what I call the “fear factor.” The fear factor is what comes into play when people are looking at their own lives and the lives of those they care about. I think people are afraid that they will not have enough money, that a terrorist will kill them, that somehow our foreign policy is putting them in danger, and that health care will not be readily available to them as they age or need it. I think you can go down this list and see the fear factor in all of them.

So we have to ask ourselves, do we give into the fear? Do we want to live our lives in ways that lessen our fears? If so at what cost? An increase in livable wages means increased costs for goods and services. To increase security and make our nation safer from terrorism we will have to limit individual rights to a level unheard of in this country. To make the concerns of the world less of a force in our own nation we have to be willing to let the rest of the world slip into disarray or despair and hope that somehow it doesn’t visit our shores. To make sure I have all the health care I need means finding ways to pay for it and if I am not willing to regulate or control health care costs, insurance options, etc. then quality health care is only accessible to the wealthy. I could continue down the list but you get my point.

But what does our faith tell us? Almost all the elected official in this land claim religious affiliation to one or another of the major faiths of the world. All those faiths profess an ethical and moral responsibility to care for the poor and disenfranchised. They all preach a version of the Golden Rule – do to others as you would have done to you. When you lay these filters over the concerns and issues I think you see that what makes us anxious are the very places we are asked to stretch ourselves and risk for what is better for everyone and not just for me. We cannot give in to our selfish desires for security and comfort just for ourselves because in the end it will not work. If people are not cared for, respected, allowed opportunities to improve themselves and their families, held back from what is the right of every human being then sooner or later they revolt.

The biggest issue not mentioned is the disparity between the wealthy and everyone else and most of the issues on this list are issues of the wealthy wanting and needing one thing and everyone else needing another. Sure we all are dissatisfied and those top issues are all our issues but the billionaire real estate tycoon understands them in an entirely different way than the single mom working two minimum wage jobs. There isn’t a quick, easy answer that will make everyone satisfied. What we need is to find ways to improve peoples’ lives and that will mean some folks won’t get all that they want. We also need to recognize the fear factor and then set it aside so that we can begin to honestly address the issues and concerns in meaningful and productive ways.

Dear God, help me to set aside my fear, to recognize it and understand where it is coming from but to not let it get in the way of living and doing as you would have me live and do. Help me to do the hard but faithful work that will improve the lives of all your children and not just my own. Be with those who are suffering and in need. Amen.

White Male Syndrome

“They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces…” Matthew 23:5-7 (NRSV)

There is a disease that is spreading like wildfire across our land. The CDC has yet to study it fully and give us a break down of its symptoms but it is out there and it isn’t pretty to see someone who has caught it.  While it is predominately striking the male population there have been a few isolated cases of females contracting it. And while it is overwhelmingly a Caucasian malady a very few cases have been reported in minority individuals but these have all been males. And although it can be contracted by any white male those between the ages 40-70 seem most susceptible. It is “White Male Syndrome” or WMS for short.

Observed symptoms of WMS are:

·        An inability to comprehend the world as it is presently configured,
·         A denying of the reality of racism, sexism, and hetero-sexism,
·         A deep seated need to shout loudly and bully others,
·         A sense that a wrong has been done to them just because things aren’t as they believe they should be,
·         A lack of understanding of what science clearly says about climate change being human caused, and
·         An overwhelming need to return to an idealized version of the past that was never real but they believed to be true.
WMS is seen most clearly in those of middle to lower middle income who have experienced life as somehow unfair to them because they have not been able to achieve the American Dream as they feel they are entitled too. Often the irrational desire to carry a gun accompanies WMS. And they have an unreasonable need to ware items that say “Make America Great Again.”

All joking aside, what we are seeing in the presidential campaign this year is a deep seated frustration on the part of mostly white middle-aged males. They feel that life as they know it isn’t life as it should be. They feel that what they have been raised to expect in their lives isn’t coming about. They know that everything around them is changing and that a lot of the change directly impacts how they are perceived and received in society and the world. They are experiencing the reality that the promises Wall Street, Madison Avenue, conservative Christianity, and major segments of society have made them cannot be fulfilled. The roles they have been groomed to take on have been coopted by others that were never supposed to have them. Or these roles have been eliminated or drastically reduce in their importance. The privileges they were guaranteed have been granted to others that were never supposed to have them either. It’s as if the earth’s magnetic poles have switched and they can’t find true north.

As someone who falls squarely within the demographics of the group I do understand what they are feeling. I myself struggle with trying to understand by place and role in society and the world. I am finding that what I thought I knew about life, relationships, families, work, and society has somehow faded almost entirely away and there isn’t a clear picture formed in my mind of what will replace it. I can tell you what I am not but I have a hard time telling you what I am because the words and metaphors aren’t there to help me like they once were. It is a bit scary to look around and realize that what you felt entitled to, what you believed your role was, what you understood as the way the world worked, and what you have been raised and trained for are all slipping away and that there isn’t anything you can do about it. Things have changed.

Bob Dylan wrote and sang a song in 1964 that he wanted people to hear as a statement about change and all that was happening at that time. It is entitled The Times They Are A-Changin’”. Here are links to the lyrics and to a YouTube video of him singing the song:

http://www.letssingit.com/bob-dylan-lyrics-the-times-they-are-a-changin-qk2lmpb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ

While all the verses are worth sharing and I think as valid and valuable today as in 1964 I want to share the fourth verse as I think it speaks to my topic in this Musing:

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land

And don't criticize what you can't understand

Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly aging

Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand

For the times they are a-changin'.

Dear God, help me to find a way to live in this changing time. Help me to explore the discomfort I’m feeling to understand what it is that is bothering me. Help me be a voice to others who are like me so that we can find a way forward into the world that is emerging. Be with all those who feel displaced, unsure and frustrated because what they thought the world should be hasn’t come about. Help us all to move down the new road together find our way, being led by you. Amen.

Connections

Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble. – Proverbs 17:17 (MSG)

Before I get into my Musing for this week I just have to say that I am once again deeply hurt by the violence one human being can exert upon others. The attack in Nice, France is just the latest in a harrowing series of these violent events. And I can’t help but point out that we get so worked up about this and still ignore so many deaths from violence in all corners of our planet. Take the violence in South Sudan last week that killed a reported 150 people. A blip on the news for just a brief moment but we will be given hours of coverage of the horror in Nice. Both deserve our attention and both speak to the same sickness, those who feel they are right believing that they have the right to do whatever they want to those they deem wrong mostly in the name of their god or political ideology or nationality or tribe or as revenge for what someone else did to them. THE VIOLENCE HAS TO STOP!

Ok. Now on to my Musing about connections. Last week I got together with my oldest and dearest friend and his family. We’ve been friends since grade school. We’ve attended each other’s weddings, parents’ funerals, and been connected across miles and years. Even though we don’t get together often or even talk on the phone much whenever we do connect it is always a time of deep and intimate sharing far beyond the level often enjoyed by friends. Russ is in a lot of ways a significant member of my family.

With the death of my dad last year and the loss of almost all my relatives in his generation my connections to a history, a past, a legacy, roots, and the generations of my family are fading like the thousands of old photos I inherited with no names, locations or hints as to who they are. So connections are becoming more important to me than ever.

My two brothers and I aren’t very close. My older brother was what we now would call a bully toward me when we were growing up. He also took advantage of me by “borrowing” money, having me do things for him, etc. when we were in our twenties. My younger brother felt he was more intelligent and sophisticated then me. Belittling me when I used the wrong word or let some naiveté show in my comments, actions or associations. I tell you this not for your sympathy. I have had some good therapy to help me with these issues. I tell you this because it plays into my need to feel connected as these connections to my brothers are not strong, nor are they very life giving for me. They are more obligation than opportunity for support and nurture.

As you know, I am an introvert but I still need some connections in my life. I still need people that love me, support me, challenge me, accept me flaws and all. These connections are what make existence living. So I have a small number of close friends. I have a pool of colleagues. I have Amy and my children. And I have a few others that provide me the connections I need, the connections we all need to live full, meaningful, productive and contented lives.

Back to violence, it may be that these connections aren’t as strong or even present in those who feel they must do the horrific things they do. It may be that these connections are THE reason they do what they do. I don’t know. But if you truly are connected to others I can’t help but believe that you will see how everyone else is connected and how violence against anyone could be violence against the ones you love.

As the world continues to shake and erupt with violence we need to remember our connections – those that are our intimate pool of support and acceptance, and to all humanity. We must reach out to hurting, desperate people and do whatever we can to improve their lives and circumstances. Everyone is someone’s special connection and everyone desires to have enough so that they can live to their fullest potential. Our connections help us do this and by figuring out how to strengthen those connections for and with others I believe we can move a bit further in our journey to being all that God dreams us to be.

Remember your connections. Savor them and make sure they remain strong as they are one very real and necessary component in your survival kit for life.

Dear God, thank you for the connections in my life that give me hope, love and security. Thank you for my connection with you. Help me to do all I can to help others develop healthy connections so that all your children can be hopeful, loving and secure. Amen.

Another Shooting

Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison… Mark 6:27 (NRSV)

It wasn’t until recently that it became easy to find a number to go with the gruesome reality that black people—and black men in particular—live with every day: the ever-present threat of police violence.

Police officers fatally shot nearly 1,000 people last year, according to The Washington Post’s ongoing count. Halfway through 2016, police have shot and killed 506 more. “Unarmed black men are seven times more likely than whites to die by police gunfire,” the Post wrote last year. (from: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/07/monitorial-citizenship-technology/490286/ ).

Two more police shootings that resulted in the death of black men in just the last few days.  Both men had guns but from everything I have seen and read neither of them had drawn their guns and in one case had told police he had a permit to carry it. Now I don’t own guns and I don’t want guns carried around by people near me but as I understand things both men legally had their guns and had the right to carry them and in the one case did what he was supposed to do when confronted by police. And still these law abiding citizens who happen to black were killed by the police.

I am not anti-police. I firmly believe that of the nearly 1 million (this is an estimate as I am not able to find a reliable source that gives an accurate count) sworn law officers in the United States the overwhelming majority are good people, doing their job with integrity and as fairly as possible. I believe that most police officers use deadly force only when absolutely necessary. I believe that the job of law enforcement officer is hard, very hard and that they live in a space of uncertainty and fear for their safety. I firmly believe that the vast majority of cops are just like you and me, they want to do what is right and just and good. I also believe that there are some law enforcement officers that are troubled souls, that are vindictive, that are callous, that are prejudice, and that are the “shoot first ask questions later” type people. In other words, I believe that cops as a group have as many good people and bad people as any other group in our society.

So what is wrong? It may be over simplification but I think two things are the primary problem: one is the ease of access to guns by citizens and cops alike and the other is the racist nature of our society. If people were not able to carry guns in public, then cops would know someone was a criminal when they had a gun. You know my take on the 2^nd Amendment – it is for an armed militia and since we have a standing volunteer army there is no need for a militia. But let’s say we still want citizens to be able to arm themselves in times of need or for hunting, shooting competitions, and for recreation then armories make sense and mandatory gun safety training should be the rule. I just don’t see how having open carry laws and permitting for concealed weapons and it being legal to own assault rifles and high capacity magazines fits the stated purpose of the 2^nd Amendment. Armed citizens mean the police have to be weary that whomever they are interacting with might be armed. This leads to police being worried about their own safety, the safety of their partners and of others. This means that when a law enforcement officer has to engage the public in a potentially dangerous situation that in that officer’s mind is the very real possibility that guns will be involved. This stress and anxiety means that an officer has to be ready to use their weapon.

When it comes to law enforcement I think having lethal weapons on their hips, easily accessible and ready to use means that this is the primary method of responding to a dangerous situation. I just don’t see why we cannot come up with less lethal means as the primary protection and response tool. The argument that having the potential of lethal force works as a deterrent just isn’t true. And if Tasers are not that effective then let’s develop something that is.

You cannot look at the situation in our nation and ignore the racist nature of our criminal justice system and our society in general. As an example, our drug laws are written in such a way as to make drug related crimes have stiffer penalties for drugs that are cheaper and more prevalent in poorer and therefore non-white communities. Look at the laws about powdered cocaine verses crack cocaine and the statistics about who uses each, and the arrest and conviction rates associated with each. Guess who primarily uses powdered cocaine and gets arrested for it? Whites, and crack cocaine? People of color. This is just one example but it shows how racism is built into are legal system. So cops are naturally predisposed to view people of color as suspicious since our laws are written in ways that make people of color more likely to be criminals. If position of cocaine is illegal, then the type doesn’t seem important. If our legal system is really intended to be fair and equal, then we need defenders and prosecutors who are paid the same by the government and not have a system where money, status, privilege, and patronage means some get better defense than others.

I want guns to be far less accessible. I want our systems to be fairer. I want fatal police shootings to be so very rare that we are shocked when they happen. I want us to ferret out the racism in our institutions and legal systems so that we have to the greatest extent possible systems and institutions that fair and just for all people. I know that this is a dream but as Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it you can do it.”

Dear God, I pray for the law enforcement officers across this land. Keep them safe, guide their decisions, and help them do their jobs with compassion and integrity. I pray for the victims of police shootings and for their families. Bring them comfort and healing. I pray for our society that we can find a way forward that leads us out of our bent to violence and racism and into a world that you wish for all your children. Amen.