A reflection by Danny Nelson Schweers for March 3, 2024.
The 130 people in my church’s auditorium on Friday evening, February 23, 2024 were not there to eat pancakes, chicken, and king cake. We had done that ten days earlier, on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent began. That was an evening of celebration and merriment, set to the tunes of Norwood Coleman’s jazz band.
Not so Friday evening. The Friday crowd was somber, befitting Lent, a season of fasting and repentance. The Friday crowd was there to discuss the similar ways Blacks and Palestinians stand up to oppression.
God help me, I am not passionate about politics or social injustice, but I do admire people who are.
At the same time, I am repelled by people who are set in their opinions. Give me Gandhi. Give me the mature Malcolm X. Give me understanding. Spare me Eldridge Cleaver. Spare me Huey Long. Spare me the self-righteous and doctrinaire. Spare me the slogans. Give me speakers who are passionate but reasonable.
At Friday’s panel discussion, Shané Darby, City of Wilmington Councilwoman, moderated an engaging discussion with four panelists: a Palestinian chemical engineer, a Jewish ophthalmologist, a Black union organizer, and the only black Muslim woman elected to the Delaware State Legislature.
Everyone seemed to be in agreement that the Israel-Hamas War should stop. In that respect, President Biden’s shipment of weapons to Israel was criticized by all. Blacks may be loyal to the Democratic Party generally, but that support has wavered for Biden.
One long-term hope is that a single sectarian government can emerge, a government above religious quarrels.
As it is, the Israeli government is looking more and more like South Africa’s under Apartheid, the system of institutionalized racial segregation that existed in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. Hamas looks worse, but in other ways.
This hope of a government separate from religion appeals to Episcopalians like me. We remember the sad history of our own church when it was the Church of England, when it and the British government persecuted those not loyal to it and its head, the King of England.
When Americans rebelled and won, the Church of England disappeared here. The Anglican church in the U.S. became Episcopalian. Our God remained the same, we kept the same rites and creeds, but the King of England was no longer our head and religious tolerance grew. That was our revolution. Over the years, similar principles of tolerance evolved in England without a revolution. The English government and church no longer persecute non-conformists, but protect them.
If England and other countries can change, Israel and Palestine can change too. It may happen, if they can be passionate but reasonable. That is possible. It may take awhile. But right now, God help us, let the bloodshed stop!
Links
Martin Luther King’s sermon on loving your enemies.
The much shorter prayer based on this essay — Photo Prayer 2024-05.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Danny chairs SsAM’s Communication Committee. He is an active photographer and writer. Click here to visit his website and make a comment.
See all of Danny’s reflections on this website.
