Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Posted in: Faith, VideoA little while back Cara and I were headed out for coffee on a Saturday morning when we noticed some commotion on the corner a few blocks from our loft. We’re getting more comfortable with “city life” and it’s always interesting to see so many diverse people interacting in such a small space. In the county people typically avoid anyone not “like” them, here people have no choice but to run into people who aren’t “like” them.
So we investigate a bit more and see that the folks on the corner are protesting. Protesting what: a union? healthcare? Obama? No, abortion. The reason they’re on this corner is because that is where the clinic is; a few blocks from where we eat sushi, down the street from where I get my haircut and on the way to our favorite Saturday morning coffee place.
All of a sudden this place, these people are in my neighborhood. I’m no longer in the grandstand, I’m on the same street.
I don’t really want to talk about abortion and faith but where I do want to stay is in a place that sees those things and is fully aware of where we can be, in the neighborhood. Too often we (I) devise ways to make these real situations entirely theoretical or overly simplistic and in doing so we lose something in the adaptation; I think we lose love.
The song in the beautiful video above talks about unrequited love, knowing that something isn’t felt by the other person. (It also reminds me of Willow) I’m not judging the folks outside the clinic but I want to use them as a tool for introspection: am I showing people love? Not romantic love but something that transcends that, am I reaching out to those that need that voice, that reassurance or am I becoming another one of their scars?
Do we examine our motives constantly and always seek to show love of do we get caught up in the comfortable game of being “right?” By being “right” am I ceasing to “love?”
Something in your voice,
sparks a little hope
I’ll wait up for that noise
your voice becomes my home
So. On a lighter note I’m trying *really* hard to get back into this blogging thing, despite my tendencies to write absolutely nothing and rarely comment on anyone else’s blog… For your own entertainment check out this week’s episode of This American Life. They run into my friend Cole and get his thoughts on spending the evening in a Chik-fil-a parking lot with folks smitten by a certain chikin sandwich.
If you’re in St. Louis this weekend be sure to stop by the Mad Art Gallery in the Benton Park neighborhood as Cara is having another craft show
I support you 100% in your return to blogging.
Abortion… I am prolife but I am blessed to be able to choose that stance. I’ve never dealt with the horror of rape or an unwanted pregnancy. My children were wanted and (sort of) planned for and made with love (and fun
). I desire to have compassion and yes, love, for ladies facing a difficult time in their life.
I like the idea of you and Cara LIVING in your city. It sounds interesting.
This really resonates with me…
“am I showing people love? Not romantic love but something that transcends that, am I reaching out to those that need that voice, that reassurance or am I becoming another one of their scars?”
Tough questions. I do a nightly “inventory” and one of the questions is, “Was I kind and loving towards all?” Kind is pretty easy to pull off, loving is another affair altogether. Even though sometimes it feels less than attainable, I keep striving for it. Some days are better than others, the toughtest are always when when he/she is pissing me off! Doesn’t that jerk know they’re doing it wrong? Self-righteousness is a tricky defect and a persistent one. I read a really great quote somewhere once that said, “Tolerance isn’t a high threshold for annoyance.” It’s more than that. It’s loving and accepting someone for exactly who and what they are.
I always cringed terribly when I saw exactly that scene…around Forest Park Ave and Boyle or so?.. All I wanted to do was judge them and ask them why exactly they thought they were there and what good they thought they were doing. Ugh it was frustrating, but probably sinful thinking. I loved moving to the city for the same reasons you just mentioned. I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves there. I definitely, in the most cynical of thoughts, assumed the protestors were from the county haha. Anyway, the proper response to that situation I guess would be, how can I counter this attempt at righting wrongs with a loving replacement of the same attempt? I know I didn’t when I was there and haven’t in this city…
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