Won’t you be my neighbor?
Neighborliness, kindness and senseless loss have been
rolling around my thoughts this weekend.
The Gospel reading at church yesterday was the parable of the Good
Samaritan from the Gospel of Luke. I sat
thinking of how ironic and painful it was to hear this story, this lesson, this
instruction while thoughts of Trayvon Martin and the outcome of the Zimmerman
trial were in everyone’s minds. I hurt
so much for Trayvon’s family and am so ashamed that in our wonderful country
people still have to worry about the safety of their children based just on
their color. Because, try as we might to
brotherly love it away, racism is still alive and evilly well in our beautiful
country. Sitting in church, I wondered
if the outcome would have been different if George Zimmerman had treated
Trayvon as a neighbor, instead of a threat.
If he had just said, “hello, nice night” would Trayvon be sitting today
with his family not even remembering a chance meeting with an older man on his
way back from an errand? I can never
know. But I do know that the choices
that Zimmerman made instead left a hurt behind in one family and in our society
that will be a long time healing, if ever.
Choices made when frightened or hurt can ripple out for a
long time and in unexpected places.
Kindness should be extended outwards AND inwards. Anger can be a destructive emotion, both when
directed at others and also at ourselves.
Our family lost a young man early Saturday morning. Lost in a senseless car accident fueled,
according to the police, by alcohol and excessive speed. One of his passengers was also killed. Another family is in mourning this week. Our young man was lately struggling with
certain setbacks and losses and was behaving in ways that distanced himself
from those that wanted to love and help him.
If only he had been able to accept that love, that neighborliness. If only he had been able to treat himself
with kindness. He had made great strides
in separating himself from an early life that wasn’t fulfilling and healthy for
him. He had succeeded in finding a place
for himself in the real world. He was
young (25) and healthy and intelligent.
But it seems that he couldn’t recognize his accomplishments and
advancements he’d made in such a short time.
I think that he could only acknowledge what he saw as his own
failures.
Two people making bad choices - anger, suspicion, fear, despair - over the good choices of neighborliness, kindness and love. And the undulations of those choices will flow out to hurt us all, in one way or another, whether we knew them or not.
