Is the Dream Realized?

First of all, I want to say thanks to the well wishers from mine and Jackson's trip to the inauguration. I'll get pictures and stories up soon. It was the trip of a lifetime and the memories won't soon be forgotten. I've never been more proud to be American and especially am proud of my generation for setting aside arguing in favor of solutions.

So in all of this unity and hope good stuff that's been going around I've been thinking about what divides us as Americans, and specifically where I live. Standing at the concert last Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, the place where Dr. King marched and where Marian Anderson sang, I was reminded of the tough times when our nation has had to come together because of the color of someones skin. A war centered around whether someone could be owned, a man who wished his kids could be looked at equally, and a woman who couldn't use the gift God gave her because she was black. What a waste! What an un-Christian, un-American, and useless prejudice to think that someone is unworthy of God's love and human decency because of their skin color. Or let's get real about the modern face of bigotry: THE LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK. THE GOD THEY PRAY TO. THE PERSON THEY CHOOSE TO LOVE. THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THEY MAKE.

Upon returning home from what I consider the "North," I was reminded that there is progress yet to be made. Seeing someone's facebook profile referring to the swearing in of our President as an "iniggeration." Listening to a friend of a friend talk about how Obama wouldn't win a second term because "he'd get shot by then" and that "Bobby Jindal would win next time because he's colored and they can't tell the difference." It makes me sad. Look, I realize that folks aren't going to like all or even any of Obama's policies, that's why we have political parties. But to wish death upon the father of two little girls? The leader (like it or not) of our country? How juvenile, and frankly how sinful. Remember Naaman, the Syrian ruler who was at first willing to live with leprosy because of he was so caught up in his sense of nationalism and pride that he didn't want to dip in the Jordan River? Or the one we all remember- the Good Samaritan.

My question remains this- Where are God's people when all of this is happening? Rather than looking at the plight of people who can't afford healthcare, members of Congress (yes you too DEMOCRATIC REP. JIM MARSHALL) voted against a children's healthcare bill because he was afraid Mexican kids might get taken care of. Newsflash: THEY'RE PEOPLE. Should we just let them sit at the door of the hospital while the rest of the entitled walk past to get our treatment, perhaps flipping a bill their direction as we think "lazy bums." Gee, I recall Jesus talking about a man who was in that situation, who had no stock in a random foreigner's well being. "Ah but that doesn't apply here Ryan, that's an individual call." Yea, individuals like the Priest and the Levite, both members of the Jewish man's religion and nationality. What if the foreigner, ahem excuse me, Samaritan, had stopped to think "Hmmm, now I feel bad for the dude, but honestly, he's from a different country and all, and I pay too many taxes to take care of folks in Samaria as it is, geez that's just unfortunate." Didn't happen like that though, and I don't think it should here in America either.

Thank God that there are rays of hope. Like the good folks in Nashville who defeated a bill that would have cut public funding for interpreters of non-English speaking residents (ya, the legals). Great Christian non-profits like World Vision who are sponsoring THIS PROGRAM IN ATHENS, GA, to let American Christians know what the life of a child with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is really like. I guess my call is to let the love and mercy that God has shown us usurp all political platitudes and for us to rise above our (yes, ME too) selfishness and just love folks. I think we've made the Good Samaritan story into something we read as kids, and forget that this message was to us big folks too. And the tough part of the story is that the Samaritan never got his money back. Ouch. Spending hard earned cash on a foreigner whose country hates you, and then not even saying "Hey man, I'm willing to help you out, but uh my name is John Doe and I really do have a family of my own that is struggling just as much as yours and I really can't afford all of this. How can I reach your family about how to pay for all of this?" Whoa. So I guess my final question is the same as Jesus': Who is our neighbor? The illegal immigrant? The kid whose school was hit by a bomb in Gaza? These guys? Hey, maybe even the guy who wrote this.

I think I learned it best in Sunday School, "Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in His sight."God bless all of you guys, and may we continue to strive toward the Dream. Thanks for reading folks.