I used to love watching M.A.S.H. It was a great show by an amazing ensemble cast of characters. There was one show in particular where “Hawkeye” had an incredible riff when Frank told him he was officer of the day and handed him what he would have to “carry” in order to fulfill his duties. One of the items was a gun.
“I will not carry a gun, Frank…. I’ll carry your books, I’ll carry a torch, I’ll carry a tune…I’ll carry on, carry over, carry forward, Cary Grant, Cash and Carry, carry me back to ole Virginy, I’ll even Hari Kari if you show me how…but I will NOT carry a gun!”
I loved how he ran with the “carry” metaphor to make his point about something he felt very strongly about and that was carrying a gun. I think I need to make a statement here that this post is not about gun control. It is on the other hand about standing up for what is important. Too often we follow the crowd and when our opinion differs from what the people around us are saying, we are too afraid to speak up and say something, anything about the subject at hand. And the subject matter could be anything. For example, if you are waxing poetic about your love of beets, I will definitely share my opinion about how I personally think they taste like dirt, but you do you.
I think that is in part the point. We should all be able to share, respectfully share, our opinions about anything and not feel like we are going to get yelled at when our opinion is different. We are allowed to have different opinions about anything and everything. And we can still be friends.
What we don’t get to do is ghost people, shun them, call them names or tell them they don’t know what they are talking about. Or any other way we can think of to treat someone as less than. Because when we do, we dehumanize them. And once we dehumanize someone it is easier to abuse them in a plethora of ways. They become dispensable. No human being should ever become dispensable.
Stop and think about what that would mean to you personally. You are considered dispensable, unnecessary, unwanted as a part of this world. That makes me feel creepy just typing that out! We all have value and worth. We, all of us, don’t have the same circumstances. We, all of us, don’t have the same opportunities. I think that is what we need to remember when we find ourselves judging someone for something. Just because we grew up in a certain way, doesn’t mean everyone else did. Some people had very traumatic experiences in childhood and throughout their lives. And traumatic experiences can be hard to overcome.
And so, I am carrying on about something I feel is pretty important: How can we live in a pollical climate that feels free to marginalize people groups? It is not ok. We all need to stand up for one another whether we agree with or even like one another. We all need to want what is best for one another. Life is hard enough as it is, we don’t need to make it harder for some just because they are different. The problem begins when we don’t stand up for other groups of people. Because at some point, our group will be targeted and as Martin Niemoller said during Hitler’s Nazi Germany…
“First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”
When Esther was made queen of Persia, her Uncle Mordecai said something very similar: “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
We are in a “such a time as this” space. We need each other. We need to speak up for the rights of all people. We need to help each other make the next best choice toward a sustainable life. We can’t afford not to.
Peace,
Beth
Beth's Blog 