Unholy Mess We Are

Dear Lord,

I’d like to chat with you,

If you have the time

For some things are on my mind,

And you are the right one to talk to.

My prayers to you come out as a lament

While friends of mine seem pretty thrilled

To see those actions and their hopes fulfilled

While me and mine just feel pretty spent.

We are an unholy mess

As I look around at this place

And I hang my head in disgrace

But I love this place I must confess.

Jewish people slaughtered when they met

Worship on their minds and hearts

They unknowingly would depart

Before that holy day would set.

Guy with a gun sought entrance into a church

Door was locked to the black church so he gunned down

Two black people while making very little sound

Except that gun burping away leaving us all in an unholy lurch.

And then that killer down in the south

Made all those bombs and sent them out

To people who’d been attacked by the one running about

Spewing hatred from his wide-open mouth.

Still people coming up from other places

Looking for asylum from pain and destruction

Hope in their hearts and their fear of abduction

Walking the long path with weary worn faces.

While still a thousand long miles from here

The man in the White House sends military down to the border

Just a week from the election, no small order

But we know what is behind his very thin veneer.

It’s all a big unholy political stunt

To arouse his base and inflame the fury

Of people of his ilk will not face any jury

While we worry and pray and bear the brunt.

Some of us keep on hoping and praying

That the man with the power will see his wrongs

Repent of his narcissism but we’ve waited too long

To see any hope of change, you know what I’m saying.

Compassion is lost across this fertile land

Incivility reigns and is seen all day and night

Just watch FOX NEWS, CNN, or MSNBC for the sight

Of people hurting people and kindness banned.

We have chosen up sides to the left and the right

And some in the middle cling to hope

That some ray of sensibilities will help us cope

When our long, long days turned into the night of nights.

We’re going to polls in large numbers as we pray

Then election day is here for all of us to anticipate

That change will come that we can all create

With our children in mind and work for a brighter day.

Lord,

I know that you hear

And that you are near

Though you are above the fray

And that is why we hope and pray.

Amen

Land Gains, Land Losses: The Odyssey of African Americans Since Reconstruction

Here is the abstract for the article by the title above. Would be honored if you could read it and respond to it.

Abstract. The history of African American land acquisition and
dispossession is a long and torturous story from the shores of Africa,
through the Middle Passage, to enslavement in America in both urban
and rural settings, and into the complexities of freedom under
Reconstruction and Jim Crow. Prior to enslavement, Africans lived in
agricultural settings. Despite the horrors of slavery, their cultural
attachment to the land in their homelands would prove beneficial
after emancipation. Developing an agrarian spirit and accumulating
land at a rate beyond that of whites in the first few decades of freedom,
despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, black land ownership
peaked in the early 1900s. Thereafter, African Americans began to
lose their land faster than whites. This article explores the larger
context of the South, the creativity African Americans showed in
resistance and in declaring themselves human, the movement toward
land ownership, and the ways and means by which African Americans
lost their land. Narrative and data reveal the complexities and the
lived experience of African Americans.

Here is the link. It allows for viewing all of the articles in this issue on racism and its impact in today's world. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15367150/2018/77/3-4

Let Justice Ring: Is Diplomacy Lost Forever or Merely Misplaced?

Let Justice Ring: Is Diplomacy Lost Forever or Merely Misplaced?: Seems like most days there is another sound bite by the man at the top of the pole insulting someone else, and I wonder to myself, "Is ...

Let Justice Ring: Your Face: A Few Thoughts in Response to Psalm 27

Let Justice Ring: Your Face: A Few Thoughts in Response to Psalm 27: Your face is what I want to see Your face will tell me what there is to know Your face will inform and shape Your face will rob me o...

Mr. President* and Ms. Warren: Misunderstandings That Need to be Corrected

This post originally was going to be posted on Facebook as a rejoinder to the political madness around the President's* persistent attacks on Ms. Warren, calling her "Pocahontas" and saying that he'd pay her $1M for proof of her being an Indian. In recent days she has released her DNA test results which have prompted more conversation and more insults from the Insulter in Chief. Yes, I realize that I am also insulting.

Plainly stated, I am just a Caucasian male, a professional, who happened to work during an eight year chapter in my life with an American Indian (AI) tribe north of the Red River from 2008 to 2016. I learned a lot during those eight years and thankful for those who trusted me with their stories of living while Indian in white America. I honor them and thank them for their patience with me and their trust. Their stories resonate deeply in my heart.

While the numbers may change on occasion, presently there are 573 federally recognized AI tribes and 63 state-recognized tribes in eleven states. Oklahoma has 39 federally recognized tribes and Texas has three. There is no monolithic language or culture that is interlaced through all, though there are distinctive world views in general by comparison to western ways of thinking and seeing the world. There is much complexity within and across tribes across the United States.

As a personal aside, my ideas have been shaped by those who are from the following tribes: Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Kiowa, Ponca, Comanche, Caddo, Mississippi Choctaw, and Cheyenne. I no longer work in that world, but occasionally things pop up, especially when it occurs to me that America is still not getting it right by Native Americans. And by the way, there are three large ways of considering those who were here first, and in an attempt to be respectful, I tend to move back and forth between First Nations, Native Americans, and American Indians, but I prefer AI, but many AIs think any of those are ridiculous misrepresentations.

The debate around Ms. Warren's DNA shows how uninformed many are including the President*. Here are a few reflections for your consideration. These are nothing more than my personal opinions based upon living north of the Red River for eight years. I realize that this may stir up more controversy. Otherwise, my thoughts and words are just one more drop in the ocean of ideas and words.

1) OK is a non-reservation state with one exception. When that state was admitted to the union, the tribal lands were taken away and given back in allotments of small parcels. Charla's grandmother was on of those folks. A misnomer is that all "Indians" live on "reservations." That part of the world looks like any other part of the world with a couple of exceptions. The tribes do own land that is "trust" land. Don't do anything stupid or illegal on a tribe's trust land. 2) Phenotype is not a good way to determine American Indian status. Many who are citizens of tribes will phenotypically appear as White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, or what we typically think of as AI.

3) American Indians are either enrolled or not enrolled. Those who are enrolled will be enrolled in a tribe, many of which use the Dawes Commission Rolls to verify AI status by tribe. Many of us in the US are not enrolled due to choice of ancestors. Back in the day, racism was huge, so many AI folks chose to "pass as white." You've perhaps heard that expression for other people of color. My wife and sons are enrolled as Chickasaw citizens and I consider myself to be a non-enrolled person with roots that go back to Cherokees, Creeks, Pee Dee, and Edisto Tribes. Claiming such does not make me a citizen. 4) The whole notion of "part-Indian" is offensive to many, and it is to me. You are either AI or you are not. In my opinion the whole blood quantum thing was a derivation of the US government to "stamp out the Indian-ness" from people. That is, in my opinion, a piece of the concept of Manifest Destiny as applied to people groups who were here first, something that allowed Europeans to run roughshod over American Indians. While citizenship cards and CDIB cards are things that AI citizens carry, generally it is rude to ask someone what their blood quantum is.

5) In my time in OK, we wrestled with treatment of citizens of various tribes in medical and behavioral health settings. We developed an inventory (and I do not know that status of that as I am no longer an employee) that attempted to measure identity, cultural engagement, and satisfaction with cultural engagement. Physicians and therapists who respect the culture of AI citizens are more highly trusted than those who do not.
6) Since identity is a highly personal phenomenon, one can identify strongly with or without being culturally engaged. Similarly, those who are "unenrolled" AIs can express high levels of identity in general with or without identifying with a particular tribe. 7) DNA testing is not currently used for confirming one's citizenship, and thus the Cherokee's strong voice; it can, however, show comparatively how one's DNA is similar to a group that is known to be AI-blooded. For instance, many who have a CDIB card could conceivably show a very, very low DNA match while others could show a very, very high DNA match. In my opinion, DNA will never be used to prove tribal citizenship. 8) Back in the late 1880s and early 1900s as Indian Territory (and others) was transitioning to statehood, the feds sent folks to IT to enroll citizens in their tribal groups. That is the foundation for AI tribal status for tribes. 9) Different tribes have different rules or policies for determining citizenship. The AI world is not one monolithic, monolingual phenomenon. There is much complexity.

The whole debate around Ms. Warren's DNA is political fodder. Her DNA is consistent with people who have AI ancestors, so that is fine by me. On the other hand, she can say she has Cherokee heritage, which is fine by me. The Cherokee Nation can say that she is not one of those since she has no direct lineal descendants on the Dawes Rolls, which is fine by me. The whole thing is politics between warring political factions. I say to Mr. President*, "leave her alone and quit calling her insulting names." To Ms. Warren I would say, "don't let him pull you into more madness that he already creates."

A Troubling Story in Rhyme, Hanging On to Hope

Here I sit

In the quiet of this room

Stillness all about

Will peace arrive any time soon.

Friends on the right

Friends on the left

Noise all around

Truth somehow left bereft.

Her words

Left us troubled

Her story within us stirred

The pain in our souls bubbled.

His words

Spoken in a rage

Unfit for one of such stature

Did not my doubt assuage.

He insulted
A conspiracy that did unfold
He lost any respect
His white male privilege depths untold.

The leader

Of the land did stand

Pronounce her story credible

Yet truth has somehow been banned.

He who received

The least votes

Affirmed by men

Filibustered with many quotes.

He now appointed

One who has little support

Of the people of our country

To the nation’s highest court.

Then that man

Has the audacity

To apologize quite profusely

Doubting truth and its veracity.

Now is the time

To rally around character

Take people to the polls

Truth does indeed matter.

Yes, I will vote

Hope others take note

Bring their friends and neighbors

And restore us after our labors.

Here I Stand

We are still in a state of chaos, are we not? Partisanship left and right, literally from the right and literally front the left, have genuinely left us divided and angry and in a huge turmoil.

Please allow me to enter the fray and add to the confusion. While I am not out at one of the protests going on around the country, or especially the one in front of the Supreme Court today, count me among the protesters.

I stand with these: 45% in a Gallup poll who do not want him confirmed; 48% in the Quinnipiac University poll; 2,400 and growing number of law professors who do not support his nomination; a YouGov poll that found 43% did not want him confirmed including 40% of men and 46% of women; two people at my house; those appalled by the president*'s mocking of Dr. Blasey Ford the other night in Mississippi; the number of women (and men) who have been shamed into silence; the Reuters Poll with 41% who do not support him including 71% of Democrats, 31% of Independents, 30% of Republicans, and 36% of Republican women; the  ACLU's opposition, the National Council of Churches which calls for his nomination to be withdrawn; the 25+ environmental groups who are calling for his withdrawal; and 100+ civil and human rights groups which are doing the same. Add Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens to this list.

These numbers likely do not capture my own friends and family, young and old, who have opinions that have not been tallied.  Yes, I do have friends and family who think that this man is going to turn the tides of the culture war.  I cannot buy the theological heresy in those who say that God has chosen Trump to get the  USA back on track. That theology was not something that I learned in graduate school, nor did I learn that Christians had sold out to the Roman Empire, but instead continued to be subversive to its power.

As I stated in my last post, Judge Kavanaugh's narcissistic rage and entitlement and crass partisan opinion screaming about conspiracy theories eliminated him in my opinion. You can read a fuller summary of that in the previous post.

Bottom line, I just believe the women. I do not believe the man who had every opportunity to articulate a "yes, let's have a full and complete investigation," one who knows how those things work,but, no, he avoided and danced around that yes or no question. There are too many unanswered questions about him including too many people the FBI were not given permission to investigate, so, their report comes down in the early morning hours of Thursday while there are still two days left for more interviews and investigations.

Yes, I do have a theology of protest. I've spelled that out in earlier posts.  I think this is a holy protest.

Here I stand.