THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 7, 1995 TAG: 9510060048
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Issues of Faith
SOURCE: Betsy Wright
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
IT WILL BE talked about on church steps and in choir lofts, in synagogues and in Sunday school classes. Muslims, Jews and Christians alike will debate it.
The O.J. verdict.
More than any other recent event, the O.J. Simpson trial has ripped open this country's long-festering wound of racism. While that may feel like a bad thing, it doesn't have to be. Maybe it's time that the wound was exposed; laid bare so that it might heal. I believe it's time for people of faith to take a hard look at racism. We need to ask - and seek answers for - the hard questions.
Then, and only then, can people of faith be instrumental in the healing of America's ugliest wound.
What should be the response of people of faith? If you believe the verdict was good, do not gloat. If you believe the verdict was bad, do not mock it.
Instead of ridiculing someone's opinion about the verdict, try listening. Ask them what personal experience helped define their opinion. Perhaps they have been a victim of racism or domestic violence. Find out. Care enough to want to understand.
If discussion about the verdict turns to argument, simply say, ``Friend, we're just going to have to agree to disagree about this one.'' Then walk away.
How should we pray? While some, obviously, will be thanking God for the verdict, others will undoubtedly be asking God to punish O.J. and all who supported him.
I don't believe either prayer is appropriate. Two people are dead. Two children are motherless. A father has lost his only son. A man, perhaps innocent, has spent a year in jail and lost forever his good reputation. The murderer - whether you believe it's O.J. or not - walks freely among us.
There is little here to be thankful for, and asking for revenge certainly won't bring the victims back to life.
My prayer has been simple: ``God, help me remember that only you can see into the heart of another human. Give me faith, God, to accept all that has happened. Give me strength, God, to love my neighbor, even if we disagree. Give me peace, God, so that I might pass it on to others. Be with the families of the victims. Give them faith, strength and peace. And finally, God, convince the human responsible for this tragedy to come forward, confess and seek redemption. Amen.''
How do we begin to heal the wound of racism? As always, the healing must begin with the individual human heart.
A few years ago, I was talking to one of the kids I'd taught in Youth Group. This young man - David Smith, a student at Virginia Wesleyan College - said he'd finally figured out that he could not rid the world of racism or sexism or homophobia.
``But I can, '' David said, ``do something about those problems in my corner of the world.''
David made a personal commitment that whenever he heard a racial slur, a sexist remark or a joke about homosexuals, he would respond by putting on a stoney face and saying, ``Excuse me, but I don't appreciate that kind of talk.''
And then he would walk away.
Did it work? Yes. David said that a few jerks got miffed, but for the most part, the offensive person came back to apologize. As word got out about David's stand, he noticed a lot less of that kind of verbal garbage around his dormitory.
It's not a cure, but it's a small step toward healing. It's also a step the most average human can take.
Why is it important for people of faith to deal with the issue of racism? If not us, then who?
A friend recently observed: ``We're heading for a war in this country. A race war. Whites against blacks.''
Unless something happens.
That something, I believe, is the unity of people of faith. United in prayer. United in peace. United in love.
And that kind of unity begins in only one place: the human heart.
Mine and yours. MEMO: Every other week, Betsy Mathews Wright publishes responses to her
opinion column. Send responses to Issues of Faith, The Virginian-Pilot,
150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510; call (804) 446-2273; FAX
(804) 436-2798; or send computer message via bmw(AT)infi.net. Deadline
is Tuesday prior to publication. Must include name, city and phone
number.
by CNB