Tinderbox

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was my hero. He stood up to change America's racism, improve its democracy, and empower generations of diverse people to be all they could be. He was assassinated in April 1968 for his beliefs and social activism. Some people were terrified of his message. Some felt threatened by his honesty. Entire regions of our nation became pitted against other regions, just because African Americans were different from them. 

We honor the life and legend of Dr. King today, for what he accomplished and for what emerged after his death. 1968 was a year of change, fear and violence. Tinderbox conditions existed and created more violence.

Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June of 1968. The violent and disruptive Democratic National Convention occurred that year. National fear of police action grew that year. Violent change became a thing in America in 1968.

We remember all of that on this day of remembrance for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

King's death was a seminal event in my life. It awakened in me the social contract of taking responsibility of what we expect from our nation and its values. The next day I left work early to start the process of entering seminary. I was convinced the church could be an important instrument to make constructive change in American democracy. The seminary agreed with my intention and direction for ministry. I gave up my career and began a new life.

I did change my career that day. Although I didn't complete seminary, I did shift my focus on making positive changes wherever I met them. Seminary was increasingly pulling me toward a parish ministry, but I needed to pursue a different path found elsewhere. That I did until retirement more than 40 years later.

Today, a president will be inaugurated. This presidency marks another tinderbox condition for America. Change will occur over the next few months as well as the four-year term of the newest president. He is not the change, but he represents a vast unsettled future for our nation. How he became elected is one aspect of the tinderbox. His supporters represent another aspect, who they are, what they believe, and why they believe it. Institutional change - whether wanted or not - will happen. This will lead to fundamental shifts in who and what our nation is. Whether we want it or not, change will define this period in our history.

That history will be as good or bad as we make it. It is our history. It will happen if we are the agents of change or defense of the values we hold dear. Each of us have that responsibility whether we choose to live by it or not.

I beg you as Dr. King pleaded with us, meet the challenge and stand up for the promise of our diversity and values. Do not allow the tinderbox to dissuade us from what is right.

January 20, 2025  

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more