So Tired of the Hate

Hatred of Roman Catholics.
Hatred of Gays & Lesbians.
Hatred of Muslims.
Hatred of Mormons.
Hatred of the President.
Hatred of people with opposing political views.
Hatred of people who value science.
Hatred of transgendered people.
Hatred of people who don't hate who we hate.
So much hatred...

Doesn't anyone ever just get tired of hating? I mean, it is exhausting. It's toxic. It's ugly.

We don't have to agree with everyone...PS, we couldn't if we wanted to!
But what ever happened to disagreement? Why can't people just have a different view anymore? I can disagree with your political opinion without deciding that you are a louse on Satan's scalp.

I can worship differently than you do without dismissing you as human garbage worthy only to be cast upon the trash heap of eternity.

I can love someone of a different gender than the person you love, and I can do so without campaigning against your love and the joy it brings to your life.

Remember that great lyric from a few decades ago: "There ain't no good guys; there ain't no bad guys. There's only you and me and we just disagree."

So simple. So profound. So true. So needed.

I may not hate who you hate. I may not hate what you hate. I may not be part of a group you favor. But maybe you can handle that without hating me. Or, if you have to hate me, maybe you can do so without trying to punish me. And if you can't manage that, maybe you can hate and punish me without trying to punish others simply because they may not hate me.

Really...aren't we tired of the hate yet? Can't we try something else. Maybe we could try on Jesus' suggestion that we love our neighbor...not just the neighbor who resembles us, but every neighbor. Let's give it a try. We can always go back to hating if the love thing doesn't work out.

Still Learning to Turn the Other Cheek

"One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any [perons], however much we have suffered from [that person]." - Socrates

Socrates, Buddha, Jesus...they have very high ideals, and thousands of years later we are still trying to embrace and live into them...at least I hope we're trying.

Eid Isn't Xmas, and "The Stamp" Isn't New

I keep getting these emails by people who are horrified about an Islamic Christmas stamp (as if)...the stamp in question is already 8 years old and has nothing to do with Christmas (its for Eid, at teh end of Ramadan). It was not ordered by Pres. Obama (as the uninformed claim) but by the USPS EIGHT years ago. Fear and hatred of the Other is bad enough, but circulating misinformation to promote one's prejudices really is unacceptable. I guess we're all entitled to our hatred, but let's at least know the facts we are using to justify the hatred...or, we could buy what Jesus was selling and try to forgive our enemies and love our neighbors. Now there's a thought...

http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp

I Am A Values Voter

I am a US citizen.
I am a faithful voter.
And, as it turns out, I have values.

I value equality.
I value civility.
I value religious pluralism.
I value "liberty and justice for ALL."
I value mutual affection (regardless of the genders expressing that affection).
I value civil liberties.
I value peace.
I value opportunity for all people.
I value diversity.
I value health, and I believe all people should have full access to health care.

Those who beat the drums of war, and those who confuse homophobia for family values, and those who point fingers and shout insults and make threats rather than engaging in respectful dialogue, and those who equate capitalism with democracy, and those who are willing to sacrifice civil liberties for a false sense of security clearly have values, and they are demonstrating what they value. But let's not be fooled into believing that those are the ONLY values to be had.

Liberal values are values none the less.
I, an unapologetic liberal, have values.
And I am a values voter.

Not everyone will share my values. But not everyone who uses the rhetoric of values speaks for all values, and certainly not for mine.

No Gambling on Sundays, Faggot!

"Church leaders called Friday for Jamaica's government to drop plans for horse racing on Sundays, saying the ills from gambling addiction and its harm to families will far outweigh financial benefits." - Forbes.com
(http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/09/18/business-cb-jamaica-gambling_6905531.html)

Are you freaking kidding me? They're getting worked up about Sunday gambling, but nary a word about the epidemic of gay murders and mob violence? I'm sure this is the karmic result of colonization, imperial conquest, and other evils where one culture tried to dominate others...but it is mind numbing regardless of the sociological explanations. Give me strength!

Victorian prudishness is alive and well. This is a perfect illustration of fundamentalist religion...to be outraged about what day on the calendar gambling takes place while being totally ambivalent (or even pleased) about the violence done to same-gender loving people in society. Jamaica may be the most homophobic country in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most dangerous countries for gay people on the planet. But in that country, an outcry can be heard from the "faithful" against horseracing on Sundays.

I know its complicated. I know many factors for many years have contributed to this sad reality. Slavery, financial exploitation, colonization, European racism, and imperialism disguised as "missiology" and other harsh realities can all share blame for the fundamentalist and violent attitudes that thrive in Jamaica.

We have contributed to a world where a day of the week is sacred, and love shared between two humans is not, where a column on a calendar has importance, and the human dignity of a person whose innate attractions are for people of the same-gender does not. Surely there is a cure for this madness. Surely fundamentalism will not always be with us.

Sigh.

- dw+

Speak Out Against Homophobic Violence in Jamaica

Since 1997 Amnesty International has recorded the murders of more than 35 gay men in Jamaica. 32 incidents of mob violence have been recorded in just the last 18 months. And last week, another gay man was attacked and brutally murdered in that country.

John Terry, a British diplomat living in Jamaica was beaten and strangled. A note found near his body read, "This is what will happen to all gays."

You can email the Jamaican Prime Minister, The Hon. O. Bruce Golding (hpmgolding@opm.gov.jm) and tell him that as a person of faith you are calling for decisive action to change the culture of violence and intolerance in Jamaica. And join us in praying for an end to homophobic violence in Jamaica and around the world.

To view our statement on the recent killing, go to www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral



Yours in shared service,

Durrell+

Hate is Not the Answer

On this day in 2001 in the US, four airliners were hijacked and crashed. Two airliners hit the World Trade Center in NYC. One airliner hit the Pentagon and another crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people were killed.

Hate Is Not the Answer
“Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” [Buddha]

Remember when desegregation scared many people in the South? The fear of change caused some people to behave reprehensibly. Demonizing the “Other” allowed people to act in demonic ways themselves. The demonized “Other” has taken many forms in our history: Homosexuals, Communists, Middle Eastern Muslims, Japanese, Jews, Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Irish, Latin Americans, Italians, Feminists, etc. Eventually, we come to our senses and see that “they” are really fellow human beings and our prejudices against “them” created needless conflict in the world and kept us from being our best selves. Today is a new day. Let’s let go of old hatreds and suspicions and truly embrace the Christ Way of justice, peace, and reconciliation.

Prayer Treatment:
Divine Love, in and as me, has no enemies. I see the sacred value of all people and I celebrate my unity with all the world. And so it is!

Today’s devotional prepared by Durrell Watkins

{from Spirit & Truth, the daily devotional magazine of the Sunshine Cathedral}