The Past is Not as Distant as You Might Think
Recently I had the rare opportunity to speak with a man who quickly is approaching his middle nineties. Throughout his long life he has observed many interesting things, and has been a witness to numerous historical events. I found one of his earliest recollections particularly shocking. He related that as a young child at a parade, he saw elderly Civil War soldiers marching down main street. Let that sink in for a moment. There are people still alive in 2017 who saw with their own eyes veterans of the Civil War. It stands to reason that if the most elderly of our population knew Civil War soldiers, there are people still alive today who knew slaves. The point of drawing your attention to this fact is that events in our minds that may seem very far removed from the present are not as remote as we might think. Someone once wrote that the past is prologue, which means that the past continues to exert an influence in the present.
When some hear about ethnic reconciliation, they bristle at the concept. Some do so, of course, because they do not want the races to mingle. Others, however, confuse the concepts of reconciliation and racism. They reason, "I'm not a racist, and there are many people just like me who are not racists either. Most people get along, so why do we need reconciliation?"
A couple of points are worth noting. First, the need for reconciliation is not related exclusively to the issue of racism. In other words, just because a person from ethnicity "A" and from ethnicity "B" do not have any ill-will toward one another, it does not necessarily mean that they spend any time together. The point of reconciliation is to address any lingering issues in society that exist, but on a personal level it also is about bringing people together from diverse backgrounds. As discussed in my previous blog post, a sizable percentage of people from the largest ethnic groups in the United States spend no quality time together. This must change.
Second, the fact that the past is not completely dead and gone makes this process more difficult. We should not shy away from the atrocities of the past, nor should we be reluctant to consider any of the lingering effects of these problems. We must learn to discuss difficult and painful issues in a loving and respectful way that searches for solutions and seeks to build real relationships.
The past indeed is prologue, but it need not--and must not--prevent us from working toward the lofty, necessary, and Christ-like goal of reconciliation.
When some hear about ethnic reconciliation, they bristle at the concept. Some do so, of course, because they do not want the races to mingle. Others, however, confuse the concepts of reconciliation and racism. They reason, "I'm not a racist, and there are many people just like me who are not racists either. Most people get along, so why do we need reconciliation?"
A couple of points are worth noting. First, the need for reconciliation is not related exclusively to the issue of racism. In other words, just because a person from ethnicity "A" and from ethnicity "B" do not have any ill-will toward one another, it does not necessarily mean that they spend any time together. The point of reconciliation is to address any lingering issues in society that exist, but on a personal level it also is about bringing people together from diverse backgrounds. As discussed in my previous blog post, a sizable percentage of people from the largest ethnic groups in the United States spend no quality time together. This must change.
Second, the fact that the past is not completely dead and gone makes this process more difficult. We should not shy away from the atrocities of the past, nor should we be reluctant to consider any of the lingering effects of these problems. We must learn to discuss difficult and painful issues in a loving and respectful way that searches for solutions and seeks to build real relationships.
The past indeed is prologue, but it need not--and must not--prevent us from working toward the lofty, necessary, and Christ-like goal of reconciliation.
Comments
Post a Comment