I must be getting old - reading news articles that make my blood boil - When did it become acceptable to take others to task for doing what is normally done and socially acceptable. I am referring to a group of American youth who while attending a sporting event at their school - chose to wear red- white - blue items on what was promoted as - USA - day. Some uninformed - uneducated - teachers from the very school that sponsored the event forced the youth to apologize to the guest school at the competition - because - that school has students who are refugees. I am sorry but in my dictionary a refugee is someone who has escaped from a place - location - group - which professed - practiced things - which harm those who lived there - residents who - escaped - to the - USA - where they would no longer be oppressed - allowed to live their lives as they chose - freely. For the host school to wear red - white - blue - is more a sign of welcome - support - as opposed to exclusion. After all - if the refugees were not welcome at that competition - why would they be there in the first place? How does wearing a shirt that proclaims - USA - exclude anyone? As a person who has traveled to many foreign countries - and actually talked with the ordinary people who live there - more than once - have I heard - we love the USA - we love the American flag - they offer us hope - welcome - security - a chance at a better life. So some American teachers think their students are oppressive. Perhaps they need to think - by their actions - how oppressive they have been not only to their very students - but to those who were invited to the competition. By saying NO to red- white - blue - they have proclaimed that this is NOT for everyone - that the USA does not welcome refugees - foreigners to our soil.
God calls us to be His people - not just Americans - not just Polish - not just Italian - not just German - not just Syrian - etc.. In our diversity of cultures we share the beauty of all God's creation only when we openly - freely share what we have with others. If - we have more - we share - that is what being Christian - American - is all about. It is our legacy as followers of Christ - to go among all the people of the World - to share - our faith - our lives - our school events - to all who will walk through our doors. In Lent we need to stop and ask ourselves - do I welcome all - and if not - why not?
Deacon Dale
God calls us to be His people - not just Americans - not just Polish - not just Italian - not just German - not just Syrian - etc.. In our diversity of cultures we share the beauty of all God's creation only when we openly - freely share what we have with others. If - we have more - we share - that is what being Christian - American - is all about. It is our legacy as followers of Christ - to go among all the people of the World - to share - our faith - our lives - our school events - to all who will walk through our doors. In Lent we need to stop and ask ourselves - do I welcome all - and if not - why not?
Deacon Dale
