Epidemic of drugs - Epidemic of racism and rage - The work of peace and justice

This rant has been brewing.

Yet, before I can even begin to write that which I intend to write - I have to step back and write a lead-up to this posting. This lead-up may be as long as the rant - not sure. Who knows - it may all sound like a rant.

Just over a month ago a group of Columbus clergy and activist met to once again look at how faith can be brought into public life. That can happen in many and various ways - and I am being convinced more and more that it is the character of those who seek peace and justice for all.

A Brief aside: Recently I read that Tony Campolo has pulled away from being called an Evangelical because of how that designation has become associated with too many issues and actions that are quite contrary to the way of Jesus. He noted that he will now be a part of a group that focuses on the 'red letter' things that are ascribed to Jesus in some editions of the New Testament. His long time work for social justice - racial justice - economic justice - gender justice - has always been grounded in what Jesus said and also what Jesus did. I even think that is why he eventually let go of his unwillingness to see and welcome GLBTQ folks into the realm of our faith. Maybe it was because Jesus never said a word against them - he simple followed through with a unbounded love for all. 

This brief aside is my way of moving into the area of race and that which I see as a complete lack of spiritual clarity when we come to consider the worth of others. We all know people who get trashed by others - people who end up  being the ones blamed for the unlikable conditions of the society - people more likely to be cast out and cast off rather than be held tightly - people whose mere appearance condemns them even when there is no reason for the condemnation. If we are honest at all, we all take part in this - spiritual crap. Finger pointing is too often the greatest exercise routine known to people of faith - and yet it degrades life rather than building it up.

Over a month ago in one of our gatherings there was a good effort to racially diversify the group and we entered into a conversation on race - victimization - and the endless pile of words that end up littering the world without bringing about a fresh breath of new life.

One colleague made a short yet powerful comment that reminded me of the a brutality within our society that must not be allowed to move forward without a voice and a life that is willing to say stop the systemic scapegoating that has made some lives worth-less than others and also makes some lives worth-more than others. His example was simple. There is an opiate epidemic in our society the seems to be growing faster than most communities can handle. Yes, it is being treated as an epidemic - a disease for which we must find a cure and provide adequate treatment for those who are drowning under the devilish grasp of a horrible drug culture.

Without raising his voice he presented another picture - a similar reality - a disgusting counter-point to the overwhelming attention being focused on opiate users.  He asked if we remembered a reality when houses - mothers - babies - communities - neighbors - and young men were drowning in the epidemic of crack cocaine. During that time, the press and the general public was content to live with the brutality of an adjective: crack. In that simple use of an adjective in the middle of a long-time war on drugs - we allowed our urban neighborhoods - especially those of color - to become  a war zone from which only some people were able to flee. It was then an epidemic over there - it was an epidemic that needed to be left to its own - there was a population that was again designated as dispensable - there was a method of containment that followed the policy of the great warfare on drugs - it was a systematic eliminate of generations of young men and women of color. At the same time, the white powder of cocaine flowing into white noses - was left untouched. Amazing how our systems and laws and policies made safe zones - safe neighborhoods - in which the war on drugs was not to be fought.

The righteous warfare on drugs drawn up by Democrats and Republicans and carried out by officials across the country was easy. It was directed at a few people - a few groups - this least powerful. It was able to segregate and ghettoize and condemn folks who could be contained and then slowly put away from the rest of us. It was able to eliminate the bonds of families and friends that usually are vital to providing the pathway to wholeness and healing. The righteous warfare on drugs was - in reality - a civil war waged against our African-American neighbors. In this civil war the battlefield was not out in the open so that the warring parties would be visible and civilian populations would be somewhat protected. This war was meant to be fought in civilian neighborhoods - but only some. It was a warfare meant to be hidden - camouflaged by fear and anxiety - characterized as demons at the front door. If you have a somewhat fair complexion as mine - you could move away from the neighborhoods branded as war zones - you could drop verbal bombs of disgust and blame - you could help to carefully cast a net of exclusion without having anyone see you do it.  Ah, words can be such weapons - glances so deadly - mere inferences like precision bombings - inclusivity the propaganda of self-indulgence.

So why this rant? The Columbus Dispatch has been running a very thorough - in depth - and most likely award winning series on the opiate epidemic in Ohio. It must be applauded. The demon of opiates and the demonic possession it causes has spread to every corner of the state. Ah, that may be where my ranting takes off.

There is now no one at whom we can point a finger - no one against whom we can go to war. We have found the enemy and - good God Almight - it is right in front of all of us. And yet, have you heard of a fast influx of people who are using and selling opiates filling up our prisons? I doubt it. Have rehab centers been overflowing with clients? You can bet on it. Will there be vast amounts of funds finding their way into the systems that will treat opiate addition? Of course. Will people stay out of some suburbs because opiate use is rising? Not.  Will arrests increase and will families be left to fend for themselves when loved ones are given extended prison time or the family is unable to afford help? I don't think so. Has the war on drugs been cancelled? No, but for too many the war is too close to the homes of the majority - so who are we willing to eliminate?

I hope this horrible epidemic comes to an end. I want the funds to be made available to save lives - reunite families - bring peace and well-being.

Yet, what I want more than anything these days is an end to the epidemic of racism that brews the fear and the anxiety and the hate that creates the disease of bigotry and prejudice and bias - all of which are diseases too many will not even acknowledge. Without that acknowledgment, there will be no healing - no wholeness - no shalom. There will only be warfare - staged right in the middle of our communities. There will continue to be the deadly assumptions that put police on edge - African-American communities on lock down - white folks threatened  by mere diversity at our front door. Such assumptions turn the simple, ordinary acts of life - into ones that will continue to become deadly events for more and more people.

Before things blow up even more than they have, I am putting forth the plea that we all blow up the walls that have so insidiously brought us to the edge of a society ruled by finger-pointing - name-calling - and self-consumption. Yes, this will mean an end to racism and an end to rage - it may mean expanding our circle of friends while diminishing the number of those we call other - it may mean we learn to bow and bend and listen and then find ourselves in a place in which we are able to love even our enemies. It may mean the war on drugs is transformed into plan for healing and the well-being of all. I know, I'm ranting.
TRRR