Courage Over Cowardice (#UseYourVoice) - Serenity in Suffering
I have no words to describe the sadness in my heart over the social injustice in this country. What grieves me more deeply is the complacency and denial of many people who refuse to see the blatant racism. Of course we know that violence is not the answer, but there comes a time when indignation over injustice spills out as anger. I want to encourage my readers here at Serenity in Suffering to choose Courage over Cowardice (#UseYourVoice) and speak out against this horrible inequality and hatred of fellow human beings.
“Brave-when everyone else sits down and you’re still standing.”
Our country is hurting right now, but this issue of racism and social injustice existed long before Memorial Day 2020. The souls of the downtrodden masses marginalized by prejudice and hatred have cried out for decades. Sadly, their cries seem to fall on deaf ears and hardened hearts. I stand guilty before them. If you identify as belonging to he “white” race, you were brought up privileged. It doesn’t matter if you lived in poverty, anyone belonging in the race category of “white” has always been privileged.
black lives matter
I will unashamedly speak his name, George Floyd, I cannot keep silent about what happened to this man on May 25, 2020. I will speak his name out loud, I will uphold those who knew him and loved him most in prayer. The names of Dreasjon Reed, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Eric Logan will flow from my lips in memory. I will lend my voice to thousands of others crying out for reform. I will not shrink back from saying “Black Lives Matter”, as if it should be qualified by an addendum saying “All Lives Matter”. That we have to make the statement that any lives matter in this country in the 21st century speaks volumes about the heart condition of the people. Have we forgotten the principles for the founding of our nation? We must choose Courage over Cowardice (#use your voice).
“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.”
Thomas Jefferson
Courage Over cowardice
Derek Chauvin clearly showed no knowledge of the Constitution of the United States when he put his knee on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds until he died, ignoring his pleas for mercy. I cannot imagine a more cowardly act than to abuse the office of law enforcement to further a personal agenda. An even more egregious act than the deliberate murder of George Floyd, took place while officers Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and Alexander Kueng stood by in their own cowardice and did nothing.
In courage I pray for the mercy of repentance, and that fear and grief will bring remorse in the face of just judgment. I pray for those upright officers who watched the full ten minutes of the video depicting the death of George Floyd, overwhelmed by the horrific and inhumane treatment of a fellow human being.
“All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”
Edmund Burke
Heart for the hurting
While my profile picture and story reveal that I am a white female, my life history has burned a deep desire to advocate for the marginalized. What you may not know about me is, while I grew up in a middle class white neighborhood, I witnessed racism first hand while in the 5th grade. I saw the remnants of the fire-bombed house, and cross burned on the front lawn of my Jewish schoolmate. They subsequently moved away, but the memory remains more than 50 years later.
In the same neighborhood, my black friend was jogging one morning, only to be stopped by the police. When he asked why they had picked him up, they laughingly replied, “Because you’re black and you’re running.”
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Nelson Mandela
I attended a high school where whites were a minority and race riots occurred on a regular basis. I witnessed the double standard so many times in grade school, that by the time I arrived in high school I no longer kept quiet. On more than one occasion, I was the only white person standing in protest shoulder to shoulder with my black classmates.
My son-in-law is black; a former foster child, abandoned, abused, marginalized. Of course that was many years ago, I wish I could tell you the system changed. My experience as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) would say differently. I advocate for the rights of children just like him. I have witnessed social injustice and racism long enough.
#Useyourvoice
Join me in courage and Use Your Voice; stand for what is right, speak out against prejudice and hatred of our fellow human beings. Acknowledging it exists will do nothing, we must listen to the stories of our marginalized brothers and sisters. We must stand with them for truth, justice and equality. Use whatever platform you have to lift their voices and tell their stories. Let us work with them for reform, reconciliation and unity.
These lives matter; sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, precious souls created in the image of God. Purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us in John 3:16, that because God loved “the world” He sent His Son to be a ransom for all men. God loves all people, not just white people. He loved them so much He died for them; all of them. If God values all people that much, how can we do otherwise? Choose Courage over Cowardice (#Use Your Voice), together we will see change.
