A Blind Eye

I think an event in 1963 was the first time I really saw racial prejudice directed towards another persos. We were vacationing in the South and had spent the night at a relatives house. When we were about to leave the next morning, I heard my Dad’s cousin say: Now Eddie, about 10 miles South of here you’ll go through a little town. Everybody that lives there is a N–. If one of those worthless black N– walks out in front of your car, just run over them. No need to stop–it’s just a N!
Even though I was just 10, I knew the hate-filled words of Dad’s cousin were wrong. The idea that anyone could over another human being and leave them to die in the road was just wrong.

It was Gandhi who said: An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.
If you know anything about history, you know that far too many people have been blinded by hatred and prejudice.

 A record of these misguided emotions can be seen in the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, England. A graphic portrayal of the devastation of generations of enslaved men, women, and children is displayed. Etched into one wall of the museum are the words of Frederick Douglass, former slave and crusader for human rights: “No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.” In the act of dehumanizing others, we dehumanize ourselves.

Each of use have a circle of influence, and we need to do what we can do to right wrongs. A clear teaching of the New Testament is the power of love when it is shared. We are told that love covers a multitude of sin (I Peter 4:8).

The prose of Sam Levenson offers sublime suggestions on what each of us can do to change the world in which we live.

For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.”

I hope this thought thought keeps you thinking.