A Native American grandfather talking to his young grandson tells the boy he has two wolves inside of him struggling with each other. The first is the wolf of peace, love, and kindness. The other wolf is fear, greed, and hatred. ‘Which wolf will win, grandfather?’ asks the young boy. ‘Whichever one I feed,’ was the reply.
- Native American proverb
My schoolboy days have long since passed, but the one thing I remember clearly about my American History lessons is the idea that America is a melting pot. White Christians may be the majority, but America was built by many different types of people- different nationalities, ethnicities, and religions. Now you can add different sexualities to that list, which is evidently more than some good, God-fearing, White Christian patriots can handle.
I suppose it’s human nature to look to hold someone responsible when times are tough. It’s easier to cast blame than to accept personal responsibility or working to make things better. There’s no doubt that a lot of Americans are hurting these days, and so there are those casting a wide net in the search for someone to hold responsible for their plight. It’s easy to hate; it’s easy to think that it feels good to despise others whose lifestyle, belief system and/or politics leaves you cold. Today it’s gays and women; in another era it was Jews. Hating someone you define as The Other is easy. It may not improve your life, but it can help you feel as if someone else is responsible for holding you back.
If Jesus came back and saw what was being done in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.
- Woody Allen, Hannah and Her Sisters
The sad thing is that hatred is generally the product of ignorance and lack of understanding. If you can’t be bothered to understand those who think, believe, live, and/or love differently, it’s easy to consider them “less than,” and therefore unworthy of the rights that accrue to “normal” Americans. Hatred doesn’t make anything better; it’s tough to bring people together and pull in the same direction when some consider themselves superior and actively work to marginalize those they despise.
America will pull out of the doldrums eventually; it’s what we do. Tough times really do make tough people…but will Americans recognize that our strength lies in our diversity, or will we continue working to destroy those we see as The Other?
More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.
- Woody Allen
I can’t help but wonder if, or how, we’ll pull together after so many have spent so much time and energy working to turn others into second-class citizens. It may be trite, but it’s true; if we don’t pull together, we run the risk of perishing alone. If we don’t learn the lessons of history, America will come apart at the seams and become just another historical footnote. I’d like to think that Americans, particularly those prone to hate, will recognize what’s happening and what’s being done in their name. I’d like to think that Americans will wake up and smell the cat litter. I’d like to be optimistic, but I don’t see many signals that lead me to believe that those working to tear us apart will suddenly change stripes and begin working to unite us.
We’re better than this…aren’t we??
