The Big Now
In 1971, there was an ad on tv showing a Native American, an "Indian" at the time, with a tear in his eye after surveying the litter on the water from his canoe and the trash alongside a road. All these years later, the tear in the eye of an old man whose country we inhabit continues to resonate. I was just a kid. But I grew up canoeing, spending time in the woods, "leaving a campsite cleaner than I found it." That was nearly fifty years ago. We, white people, as a group, ruined his home.
The year before, my brothers and I went to the movies and saw "Little Big Man" with Dustin Hoffman as a 122-year-old man recounting his life's story --- he was a white pioneer boy whose parents were murdered by the natives, he was then raised by these same "Indians." Captured by the military, he renounces his tribe to save his life. Put into foster care he becomes a good Christian boy who is then seduced by his foster mother. He runs away, becomes a mule skinner, a gunslinger, marries; his wife is abducted. He then returns to Cheyenne life, becomes a father with four wives, who are then massacred by the cavalry. Thus, there follows a general unravelling of his mind... He claims to be the only surviving white man from the Battle of Little Big Horn. He was the reason, he claims, Custer and all his men were slaughtered. As the hired scout, he sent them all to their death.
Fast forward to 1993. I saw a movie and afterwards sat in the parking lot and wept. I was horrified to be a person. Being a human was too painful to bear. I had just sat through "Schindler's List" and couldn't stand being a person when people are capable of such inhumanity. The horrors depicted I could not understand. How could anyone behave in this way? How could millions of people behave in this way?
Fast forward to now. It's not a movie. It's the same horror in real life. Torture and then death. On a street corner. Why? Because some people have forgotten the truth of life. All life. Every single person in the world is a child who got bigger. Every single human being is someone's baby. Who then became three. And then four. And then grows... Into an adult and then older and finally, elderly. And fragile, like a small child.
Would you kneel on the neck of a three-year-old? What's the difference? Two hundred pounds, give or take. Would anyone defend this behavior? I repeat: Every human was once a child, and deserves the kindness shown to a child. Just because you are taller doesn't mean you lose your right to kindness. It's really very simple at its core. Treat all humans with the care and respect you would afford a small child; the heart of this is kindness to each other. Pure.
I am white. I have led a privileged life. Yet from childhood I have had a sense of guilt. This is not my country. It belongs to the native people who we Europeans have treated with atrocities. We brought Africans here to exploit by the tens of millions. I can't get on an elevator with a non-white person without wanting to say, "I'm sorry." That sounds absurd to write down on paper, but it's true. As a little kid, my grandmother in Virginia had a "yard boy," a black man in his seventies. My entire life I have seen that for its implicit disrespect. I can't blame my grandmother for her lack of vision. She was a product of a system of beliefs, another world view. But CIVILIZATION is overdue to evolve. NOW is the time to stare into the bias deep within and recognize we are either part of the solution or we are the cancer itself.
The simple crux move is kindness. NOW. Regard a person as a person, and as a child, and you will elevate them to their status as a precious member of our big family. We are different skin colors. We have different faiths, countries of origin, languages, preferences for partners... You will see these things, but you will first see a little human on a journey through life that we all make. The Dalai Lama says, "Be kind, whenever possible. It is always possible."
Will this solve today's crises? Will racism be eradicated so simply? No. It won't. For that we need strong, determined, brilliant people of every color and gender and background working together to reshape the collective mentality of all citizens of all countries. I can't do this. I'm just one small person and far from the smartest guy in the room. I am just one voice; this will take a choir and probably a drum section and lots of horns, some marching and conductors and very loud arrangements. However, I can stand for kindness. Moment to moment, remember, every person needs it, deserves it, and I will give it to the best of my ability. Please walk with me in this direction.
Thanks, my friends. Just a small step...
It's love put in action.
Bruce
P.S. You are thinking, "huh, ok. Sounds good." But, get busy. NOW means NOW. Get political. Write to your law makers. Donate. March. Volunteer. Register new voters and, most importantly, vote for leaders who will make the changes we demand. Now is an excellent time to change the world. Inequality. Pandemic. Climate change. Ready GO.
