What About My Words

As I watched the memorial for the five fallen officers in Dallas yesterday, I was convicted by words from both President George W. Bush and President Obama. Each one had some great things to say as leaders of our country.

President Bush said “too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, but judge ourselves by our best intentions” That really got me to think about my own words when discussing the issue of race, police shootings of black males and pretty much any other hot button topic in the last six years as a Catholic. When it came to abortion, I began to see pro-choicers as my enemy, rather than as human beings. When it came to Protestants, the same and so on and so on. It is very easy to go to your corner and began to parrot the words being said by people in that corner. We can reduce others to their ideas, politics, skin color or uniform, which are all ways of  dehumanizing “the other”.

President Obama’s entire speech was really about seeing the human dignity in each other while being honest about what we know, which is that police officers have a hard job and that racism still exists in this country, both at the same time. He said that we aren’t as divided as we seem, even as he admitted to seeing the divisions online.

I see them as well. I see the division among Catholics even. Catholic bloggers who go back and forth with word sword fights on blogs, Twitter, Facebook and comboxes. I have seen the ugly accusations thrown at people as if they are truth.  In this particular time in our society it is not about truth, but how we can insult those that we disagree with in ways that hurts the most. Nothing made that point more clear than the insults hurled at both President Bush and President Obama yesterday as they spoke at a memorial for five dead men (because more than officers, they were men. Fathers, husbands, sons and fathers.) who died at the hands of someone who allowed hate to take over his heart. Instead of respecting the moment, people went on rants about either or both Presidents.

President Obama asked us not to give into to cynicism. I’m going to be honest, I don’t really see how I can avoid doing that. Not with the things being said on Social Media, in blogs and with this election of doom hanging over our heads. I am all about trying to see the good in humanity, but right now, in this moment, I would be lying if I said that I have hope that any of this will change anytime soon.

It’s overwhelming and maybe that is because I am not supposed to change anyone but myself.

What about my words? What about the things that I say and think in my heart. I have a certain “script” as David Mills so bravely wrote about this morning. I am quick to judge people based on a lot of things. And I mean quick! Social media only makes it worse because I don’t think that we are supposed to know people’s every thought, and for sure we shouldn’t label them on a thought and never let them off the hook for having it. For instance, just because someone likes Obama’s speech from yesterday, that doesn’t make them a heretic. Just an example.

Today, I’m going to focus on the things that I am responsible for, which are my own words, my own cynicism, my own sins and the anger in my own heart.