Creating A Lasting Stability in the United States

We are in simultaneous dilemmas in this country, racially, economically, biologically, environmentally and morally. How can we address all equitably and create a lasting stability? We can, and that is by looking at the last dilemma, and correcting our moral compass to point towards fairness to all (Martin Luther King /Abolitionist Theodore Parker – “the arc of the moral universe”). We need to use it as a guide of how we should deal with the rest equitably. We can no longer put our heads in the sand, and say “let someone else deal with this problem or that, or that it will naturally correct itself,” because all of our problems are so intricately connected, we literally rely upon each other for survival. This could not have been made more abundantly clear when our very lives during this pandemic depended upon the care and energy provided by people that bring us our food, deliver medical services, take away our trash to maintain public health, fight fires, and protect the peace. We need each other to survive.

We can no longer pull towards a justice that serves only some, but one that serves all. We must think of an economy that does not destroy the economic well-being of the family or the individual, or the well- being of the environment (upon which we all depend) in order to serve the economic well-being of corporations. We have overcome the dread of death of this pandemic by working together to keep each other safe, as well as ourselves, and that is the example that needs to be exemplified in a society that will survive, and one that does not cannibalize off of its members. It was not through selfish acts that the city of New York overcame one of our greatest challenges, but by cooperating and working together for the common good.

When we have worked to the contrary principle that what is good for some, is good for all, we have failed. When we turned our backs on the environment and thought only about our immediate needs or what was best for business (what reaped the most profit) we certainly have reaped the benefits of uncontrollable fires in Australia and California, raging temperatures in our western states, vicious hurricanes, the loss of miles artic snow that we need to keep the planet the cool. It has taken the planet millions of years to create our eco-system, and we cannot ignore that it is screaming out to us for help. We need leaders that care about our planet, (who understand the science, or are wise enough to take expert advice), and consequently know how it will affect we the humans that live on it, and build economies that benefit the planet and the people.

When we turned our backs on African Americans after the Civil War (Yes, we need to go back that far!), and literally left them to their own devices, or to charity after they were freed from bondage. We put in place a set of circumstances that to this day has caused this group of people to be disenfranchised from the hopes, aspirations and opportunities afforded whites in this country, including and not limited to disenfranchising them of the vote (the repeal of Voting Rights Act - 2013), putting them in prison so that they can continue to work in order to create wealth and profit for others (see - The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander), abusive verbal and mental aggressions. This has brought grief and suffering to African Americans, and it has been returned to everyone’s doorstep here in the United States, when there is racial unrest and a demand for equal justice and reparations for past wrongs. This will not go away with more unjust practices of attacking, arresting, and abducting our own citizens that are lawfully and peacefully protesting (which we have a right to do according to the First Amendment of The U.S. Constitution) in an effort suppress a deep rage. It does not work, it has not worked, and it will not work. It only makes things worse. We need a leader who is a leader for all, and does not promote or pander to those that wish this abuse to continue. And we may say to ourselves, “these are things of the past,” hardly or else we wouldn’t have so many segregated communities in the country. We would all be living in the same community.

When we turned our backs on Unions, and left it up to corporations to do the right thing, manufacturing was sent abroad, leaving behind an economic void for everyone that counted on those jobs. This has also given rise to unfair business practices where you have employers calling in employees whenever they think they might need them, making it a hell for a parent to know when and how they will need childcare, just to work for miserable wages. And those jobs that were shipped overseas were done so, in order to exploit other populations. We have heard nothing that would cause manufacturers to bring those jobs back, or to improve the working or pay conditions abroad, or to train those left behind to take on newer positions. People have been left to figure it out themselves – or stirred to point a finger at others for their misfortune.

When we turned our backs and allowed innocent immigrant children to be put in cages, we have lost all moral compass. We have crossed a moral line. If we have not stood up and raged against this, then the safety of all children is at risk. If we have leaders that justified this atrocity, and we support that justification, then we have ceased to feel the pain of others. To be clear these children nor their parents are criminals, they came here because they were suffering in their own countries. And no, the young women that were raped, were raped along the way by officials, law enforcement, opportunists and not necessarily by people they were traveling with them, as the propaganda that was presented to the public. The Los Angeles Times (2018) report specifically stated that rapes were committed by people along the way. We need leaders that will seek to understand the reason why people are coming to this country and put the muscle of intellect, energy, money and technology towards creating a dynamic that will help to keep them safely at home, and not a wall, which is not solution, at all! No one wants to walk hundreds of miles and leave their home, their families, a native land they know, were it not for a desperate reason. We don’t need leaders that seek to demonize any group as the villain, that needs to be jailed/incarcerated/controlled because they are coming here to take away what we have. We don’t need leaders that pit one group against another, so that they can just sit back and seek to take advantage of our distraction. We need leaders who are forward thinking, and seek solutions that work for all.

When we have a leader that turned his back on the people of Puerto Rico by not using his power to get their electricity going, and not coordinating the distribution of provisions that were generously donated by Americans, which ultimately caused the deaths of over 3,000 people after Hurricane Maria, something is wrong. Even now as we speak the island of Puerto Rico schools continue to be closed, and by doing this the people on the island want to and have left, so that their children can get an education. This is no accident, this was by design, and the U.S. government’s hand-print is all over it. How can we as a civilized society still be in possession of the oldest colony. Where is our moral compass where they are concerned?

When we do not take prudent steps in order to stem the spread of a deadly virus, then we are only thinking of ourselves. When we blast our music past 10pm, our neighbors are up in arms, and rightly so, because we aren’t being considerate of them. How is it then, that is alright that we can be careless and potentially cause the death of others by not using a mask, and yet this very behavior was modeled by the official in our highest office. We have heard it said “it is best to err on the side of safety,” this is what we would wish for ourselves, and what we do for our families. Of course, we have a right to freedom, but we don’t have the right or freedom to willfully cause the death of another, even if it is through a passive transmission, that we can’t actually see with our eyes. Some say they don’t believe in science, and yet they are making these very pronouncements on technology (twitter/facebook/cell phones/computers). And when they get sick, they will most likely go to a doctor, all created by science. Even, if you don’t believe the science, you should have conscience enough think that if by the slightest chance you “may” cause another to die, then you should think not once, but twice before going without a mask. Even most old schoolers have seen a flu or cold run through their entire family, when one is infected. To think of another and refrain from only thinking ourselves, requires the presence of mind that what we do, will have an effect on others, and that it will eventually return to us. Here we need to lead, and be masters of what we do. We also need leaders that can set a good example, and have compassion for those that they have a responsibility to serve and protect.

The death of over 170,000 Americans (with 5 million confirmed cases) and climbing in the U.S. is evidence and testimony enough to warrant our attention and refocusing of the need to work together for our own good, and for the good of all. This is not a time to sit back and let others do the work, it is a time to take a stand and use our collective muscle and vote towards a moral compass, that includes the needs of the many, and not just the few.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/us/supreme-court-ruling.html?auth=login-email&login=email

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/04/05/trump-conjures-yet-another-immigrant-rape-epidemic/

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/12/magazine/puerto-rico-schools-hurricane-maria.html

About the Author: Raquel Irizarry is a 4th year seminarian at Union Theological Seminary working on a dual masters degrees in Divinity and Master of Social Work at the Columbia School of Social Work.