“I have a
dream that my four children will one day
Live
in a nation
Where
they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
But
by the content of their character.”
This
declaration of a broad vision for humanity was
Central
to the dream that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Articulated
in his speech on August 28, 1963 at the March on Washington.
What
would Dr. King say if he knew of current examples
Of intractable hatred and racism?
We
have heard about a Yale graduate student
Who
happens to be black
Who
was napping in a dormitory lounge
And
accused of not belonging there by another student
Who
called the police.
Then
the graduate student was not believed by the police officers who confronted her
even
when she took them into her own dorm room.
A
current lawsuit by General Motors workers
At
a plant in Toledo, Ohio
Cites
the appearance of “Whites only” signs
Outside
restrooms,
Nooses
being hung in various places in the plant,
And
one black supervisor being told
“Back
in the day, you would have been buried
With
a shovel.”
And
there was the incident in late December
Of
a black man staying
at
a Doubletree Hotel in Portland, Oregon.
He
was standing in the hotel lobby
Talking
on the phone with his mother
When
he was unexpectedly told
by
a white security guard
that
he was trespassing and
he
was escorted out of the building.
It
is an unfortunate truth that
Some
people still have a problem
With
difference.
An
outward appearance
that
some people see as “other”
Continues
to instill fear that the person
Who is “different” poses a
threat.
After
the shootings at Tree of Life Synagogue,
we
know this all too well, but it was the victims
at the congregation that were seen
as “different” and “dangerous.”
Perpetrators
of acts of racism and violence
have
no concern for the hurt they may cause.
All
that matters is their perspective
That
their targets don’t deserve human consideration.
That runs counter to Dr. King’s
dream.
In
my reading of comments about the long-term impact
of
the leadership of Dr. King,
One
value that was often cited in the way he approached
the
struggle for civil rights was empathy.
If
we know that someone is the victim
of
hurt or prejudice,
we
need to feel it so we will do something
to
make a change.
In
Dr. King’s vision,
Love
is not reserved for just some people;
it is for everyone.
Justice
is not reserved for only some people,
it
is for everyone.
And
the possibility of living a good life,
one
of opportunity and even prosperity,
needs
to encompass all people
So
that the world can reap the benefits of true equality and understanding.
One
of the great recent examples of empathy happened in the aftermath of the
shootings at Tree of Life synagogue.
The Rev. Eric S. C. Manning leads
Emanuel
African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, the
congregation where nine church members were shot to death on June 17, 2015
during a bible study class.
Within
a few days after the shooting in Pittsburgh,
Pastor
Manning reached out to Rabbi Jeffrey Myers
of
Tree of Life synagogue and told him he wanted to come to mourn with the
community. And so he did.
And
in doing so, he demonstrated
The
empathic impulse in humanity.
We
know that firsthand here at Temple Beth-El
from the large crowd of local community
members
Who
attended our memorial service on October 28.
The love, the concern, and the mutual support
in the wake of both of those tragic events have overtaken fear and created deep
human connections that were not there before.
People found a way to reach out
to each other, to feel each other’s pain, and to rejoice in the triumph of
unity that can emerge when we extend hands and hearts in love and hope.
The Song at the Sea in the Torah reading for
this Shabbat is a celebration, but one tinged with sadness. The rabbis imagined the angels rejoicing in
heaven at the deaths of the Egyptians in the Sea. God rebuked the angels, saying, “My children
are dying, and you sing praises?”
But the Israelites, down below, still rejoiced,
because a God that believed in freedom for humanity had triumphed over an
earthly ruler who saw himself as a god who perpetrated slavery and
cruelty.
And it is still love, empathy, and
acceptance that can lead us to become a united human family.
I
remember
Being a member of
my Temple junior choir
Participating in a
city-wide faith community music festival in 1967
Which featured
singers from Jewish and Christian congregations
From across the
community,
Including at least
one African-American church,
In Kansas City.
One of the songs we
sang in the performance
Included these
lyrics:
“Many
the ways all of us pray to One God
Many
the paths winding their way to One God
Brothers
and sisters....there were no strangers
After
the work was done
And
your God and my God are One.”
That
song by Dave Rotheray and Paul Heston
Offered
a hopeful message
One
that sought to promote interfaith understanding
And
a vision that resonated with the dream
Of
Martin Luther King, Jr.
We
knew at that music festival 52 years ago
That
our presence together
Might
bring the world just a little closer to justice,
Acceptance
and equality.
Martin
Luther King, Jr. was assassinated about a year after that music festival.
But
the dream lived on then as it does now.
Let
us not forget what it feels like
to
be the victims of hatred,
but
let us also remember
What
it feels like to rejoice and to join with others in celebration knowing that
freedom,
justice and love will ultimately prevail.
