Thursday, January 10, 2008

whose fault is it anyway?

Allow me to paint the scene for you......I'm driving through the east side this afternoon, the community where our outreach ministry is focused, and I come upon a nasty two car collision. There's glass and smoke everywhere, most of which is coming from the front end of a Honda which is now smashed beyond repair. As I pull over to check things out, I notice that the second car has already fled the scene, and that two young black males, passengers in the Honda, are doing likewise. By the time the cops arrived, all that was left was the driver of the Honda; an intelligent young woman, dazed, bleeding , and abandoned. Call me jaded, but that scene would not have taken place in the suburbs. But in the mostly black east side neighborhood, not being around when the cops show up is nonnegotiable.

In my efforts to lay the groundwork for future ministry within this community, I've had to come to grips with an uncomfortable truth: There is an epidemic in black America. I realize that this may seem like a politically incorrect assessment coming from a non black, but this is no time to start being polite. I see the proof of the epidemic most every afternoon at the Boys and Girls Club, where the kids can't understand how my wife and I have the same last name. And where anger and hostility are always percolating just beneath the surface. The question is not whether there's a problem, because there clearly is. The question is, " who's to blame?"

Who's to blame for the rampant poverty, drug use, violence, and broken homes? Who's to blame for the pervasive sense of frustration, disillusionment, and lack of ambition? The answer, as far as I can tell is this: People. Black people, white people, all people. As resentful, fearful, and angry as the situation may make us, we must resist the temptation to label this a totally black problem. The projects didn't make themselves. It may infuriate you to drive through the projects and see a twenty year-old mom with more kids than she can handle, and nary-a-one of them fully clothed. But save a little anger for the white collar suburbanites who decided that it would be a good idea to provide monetary rewards for moms who stay single and procreate at break-neck speed. The ideals of welfare, affirmative action, and racial profiling were not birthed in the ghetto. They were birthed out of a corrupt, corporate system that would rather pacify than mobilize. Centuries of irresponsibility on the part of white America has left deep scars on the psyche of black and white alike. When one human views another as inferior, they are both gravely wounded.

I realize that whites are not alone in this. The black population has its share of the blame as well, and they gain nothing from our guilt-ridden pity. But the next time you're driving through the side of town your mama told you to stay away from, remember, you're not looking at the disease, you're looking at the symptom. Instead of cursing the symptom, why not focus more on curing the disease?

4 comments:

Kris said...

It's everywhere Josh. We see it in our travels, in the school systems, and even in churches.
We have fast become a "give me" society instead of "what can I do to help" and that doesn't have a color barrier.
It's time to take a stand and work together so that no one has to live in fear, or go hungry, or wonder where our children's clothing is coming from.
Only God can create the changes, but we need to be listening to what He says.

Timothy said...

In the words of the late great Sam Cooke in his reply to Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A Changin'

"I was born by the river, in a little tent/and just like the river i've been running ever since/it's been a long, long time comin' but I know/Change gonna come, yes it will."

Anonymous said...

great post josh. keep proclaiming. and keep doing the 'little' work. real change is never a 'from the top down' motion. movement isn't mandate from on high, or institutional initiative. it is grass roots...ground swell... little work. much love.

Eve said...

Josh,
I really enjoy your style of writing-straight to the point, hitting on the bold and ugly truth- You are one of few who are coming out and calling into question ignorance and complacency. Honesty and humility seem to be the foundations of our moving forward as a society- honesty with ourselves and others, humility in light of the cross of Christ and His power to change the world over our own.