A Response to Charlottesville

Over this past weekend violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the tragic deaths of three people. Two law-enforcement officers died when their helicopter crashed as it was giving surveillance at the site of the violence and a young woman was struck and killed by a driver who deliberately drove his car into a crowd of people.  Scores more were injured in the clashes between police, the white supremacist groups, and those who opposed the white supremacist group. 




As I watched the images that appeared on television screens across America, one word came flooding into my heart and mind - hatred.  The actions of one person toward another screamed "hatred."  The words, often vulgar, hurled toward one another shouted "hatred."  The descriptions that flowed from the mouths and pens of the media present reinforced that "hatred."  Have you ever witnessed a time in our history when the streets of America are filled with such incredible hatred.  Whites against blacks.  Blacks against whites.  Blacks against blacks.  Whites against Hispanics.  Pro-choice against pro-life.  Progressives and liberals against conservatives.  People have gravitated toward one position or another.


Friends, it is great to have a position and to be able to stand behind that position.  But, to hate another person simply because he or she does not identify with your position is simply wrong.  Where has the civility gone?  Where has the ability to debate, yes with conviction and persuasion, with respect toward one another gone?  We no longer debate.  We pick up our signs, grab the biggest club we can find, and march down the streets looking for places to vent that anger we carry within.  Windows are smashed, but why should I care whose windows they are; after all, I am angry and I feel I have a right to be angry.  Cars are smashed, but why should I care whose cars they are.  Buildings are set on fire, but why should I care.  I am angry about a perceived injustice, so I can do whatever I want to do - right? 


Wrong.  Whatever happened to showing respect for other people's property?  Whatever happened to showing respect toward other people's ideas and opinions?  We have no such respect today because we have abandoned absolute truth and now live in a world filled with nothing but opinions.  Friends, opinion have a very shallow grounding.  That grounding is just me!  And, opinions have no root; they can change almost instantaneously.  So the world is filled with rootless opinions.  Yet we proclaim that these opinions are truth.  But, are they?


Truth is anchored to the past.  It finds its roots in history.  Yes, history is truth.  The Civil War was fought between the years of 1861-1865.  The Civil War resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 men killed during some 10,000 battles and skirmishes those years.  The Civil War was a struggle over an ideology - slavery - that troubled our nation from its very inception.  The Founding Fathers knew of its dangers, but chose to "kick the can down the road" and let others try to fix it.  Slavery was an ideology that was abhorrent to the thoughts of democracy, yet it persisted in the South as a way of life.  But the slaves were freed by an Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863.  And slavery was abolished throughout America because the North won the War in April 1865. 


The winning of the war did not mean that all blacks were considered as free by everyone else.  No, sadly they were considered as inferior by many, including a small minority today.  But our Constitution grants them equality.  They are part of "E Pluribus Unum" - "out of the many, one." 


Back to last Saturday in Charlottesville, what caused the conflict?  It was the proposed moving of a statue of Robert E. Lee, one of Virginia's heroes during the Civil War.  There were those who wanted the statue removed because, to them, it represents a time of oppression - perhaps an oppression they still feel today.  There were those who wanted the statue to be left as is because, to them, it represents a man who stood for what he believed was right.  Many feel that by eliminating statues, monuments, and portraits we are somehow removing that which caused the offense.  Friends, I have news for you - you cannot erase history.  History is what it is - complete with all its beauty and all its ugliness.  Instead of removing those statues, let's ask ourselves this question: How can we take steps so that the offense represented by that statue can be changed today? 


There are many things in this world that can create an offensive situation.  Years ago I had the privilege of walking through the grounds at Auschwitz.  Personally, I found that experience to be extremely offensive.  Yet, should I go to the Polish government and protest that Auschwitz should be destroyed because it represents an ideology that I find extremely offensive?  Of course not.  Thomas Jefferson owned slaves.  Jefferson could have led a charge at the writing of the Constitution to have slavery outlawed in the United States, but he said nothing.  So, should I go to Washington and protest that the Jefferson Memorial should be torn down because it is offensive to me?  Of course not. 


It is time we sit down with history and learn from it, not seek to have it erased.  And that is the problem today.  Our young people are not being taught American history, or, for that matter, world history from an objective point of view.  We have adopted this battle cry: "I am offended, so have it removed."  We see that on college campuses: "I am offended by your speech, so ban that person from the campus." 


Our President was correct when he proclaimed that the conflict in Charlottesville was created by both sides.  Neither wanted to listen to the other.  Neither wanted to sit down and have a dialogue about how a certain action - namely, the planned removal of a statue - would impact them.  If such a dialogue had been pursued, I believe three people would be alive today and thousands of dollars spent on policing would have been spared.  Our President was correct when he stated that we should reach out in love toward one another.  Love is the foundation for a dialogue.  Love is the backbone for respect toward one another.  Love say, I may not agree with you, but I will respect your right to have that opinion.  And, I believe that until we rediscover the value of sharing truth with one another in a respectful way, hatred will always win and riots and conflict will become the normal course of action. 


As believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, who is Truth, we need to lead the way in those dialogues.  Let's do our homework with care.  Then let us sit down with others and, in loving respect, share our ideas with them.  Will such dialogues change their opinions?  Perhaps yes; perhaps no.  But we will have side-stepped a reason for conflict.  I believe that is what Jesus would have us to do.