Go Beyond

Over the span of the past few months, life in America has deteriorated into something nightmarish. With tensions already running high because of the pandemic, the death of George Floyd earlier this year ignited off-the-charts outrage. The ripples of that outrage continue to trouble the waters to this day.

What started as peaceful protests in the wake of Floyd’s death quickly morphed into something less than peaceful or civil. Rioters and looters destroyed private property and robbed businesses with impunity — and continue to do so. Worse than the property damage are the number of people who have been injured or lost their lives.

The latest victims of the current cultural unrest are two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who were ambushed while sitting in their patrol vehicle outside the MLK Transit Center in Compton. Video surveillance footage shows a man approaching the police car, firing his gun multiple times at close range, and then running away.

Both deputies suffered multiple gunshots. Deputy Claudia Apolinar, a 31 year-old mother who was shot in the face and upper torso several times, was able to call for help while assisting her 24 year-old partner. Amazing! Sadly, not a single onlooker stepped forward to help the critically wounded officers.

Thankfully, help arrived and the injured deputies were taken to St. Francis Medical Center where they underwent emergency surgery. Apolinar and her partner miraculously survived and now face a long road to recovery.

Later, demonstrators assembled outside the hospital, blocking the entrance to the emergency room. Referring to the wounded officers, one protestor yelled “I hope they (expletive) die.” Another brazenly told police: “Y’all gonna die one by one. This ain’t gonna stop.” Others were yelling, “We hope they die.”

The ambush of the deputies and hateful rhetoric of protesters outside the hospital are among the latest expressions of cowardice, hatred, and violence — essentially of depravity on display. These senseless acts, regardless of who commits them, reveal the desperately sick condition the human heart and the death of civility.

If a society is to function for the benefit of all, then civility must be safeguarded.

The earliest use of the word civility denoted the state of being a citizen and hence good citizenship or orderly behavior — or as Mr. Rogers would say, being a good neighbor. Recent months have given us frightening glimpses into what disorderly behavior looks like and how such conduct hurts others.

One thing is certain, the solution to the madness goes much deeper than anything legislation or laws can reach. The late President Ronald Reagan understood that. In a speech he gave on March 8, 1983, Reagan observed:

“But we must never forget that no government schemes are going to perfect man. We know that living in this world means dealing with what philosophers would call the phenomenology of evil or, as theologians would put it, the doctrine of sin. There is sin and evil in the world, and we’re enjoined by Scripture and the Lord Jesus to oppose it with all our might.”

We must all do our part to oppose evil and to safeguard civility. Civility is the guardian of kindness, selflessness, and the capacity to give greater consideration to the welfare of others. If we allow civility to die then we will lose much more as a consequence, including the capacity to engage in the kind of dialogue that can lead to meaningful change.

The madness has got to stop.

Each of us must aspire to something greater than the anger that divides us and destroys decency. We must intentionally and purposefully practice civility toward one another. We must regain the ability to disagree without being disagreeable. The health of our democracy depends on our ability to disagree about important things while remaining friends.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached his final sermon on April 3, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. His message was entitled “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” He challenged his listeners to “develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness” — like that demonstrated by the Good Samaritan.

In this parable told by Jesus, the despised Samaritan demonstrated what civility looks like — what it means to be a good neighbor. King observed that the Levite in the story worried, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But the Good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’ That’s the question before you tonight.”

And that is the question before us today. It becomes easier to ignore others, walk past people in need, speak ill of others, wish others harm, or treat others badly when we don’t consider them people or we demonize them in some way. How sad to even utter the words, “We hope they die.” Dr. King, and Mr. Rogers, would have found such rhetoric repulsive.

May each of us do our part to safeguard what it means to be a good citizen and a good neighbor. Like Jesus, may we move in the direction of others in order to help them rather than harm them. If we fall short, as we likely will from time to time, then let’s adjust our behavior toward the better while keeping the standard high. The health of our society depends on it.

Jacob Blake’s name is the latest to be added to a roster of names associated with police shootings of black men. Every one of these shootings happened in a context of time, place, and palpable cultural tensions. All of these have contributed to some degree to the civil unrest that has gripped our nation over the past several months.

I have previously written about what I believe to be the unjust deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. I am however, troubled in particular by the context of the Blake shooting. And I am troubled by the rush to make Blake a victim or a role model or someone with altruistic intentions on the day of the shooting.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, police arrived on the scene in Kenosha in response to a phone call from a woman who said Blake was not supposed to be on her premises. These officers learned that Blake had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in May. Officers on the scene tried to execute that arrest warrant.

According to reports, Blake resisted arrest. This action prompted officers to use a Taser not once but twice in an attempt to subdue him. Video then shows Blake defiantly walking away from police officers with weapons drawn. Minutes later, as Blake leaned into his car, a police officer shot him seven times in the back. Blake survived and, according to investigators, later admitted to having a knife in his possession.

I am troubled by the fact that Blake was shot seven times in the back. This is the kind of action that has prompted calls for everything from reforms in police rules of engagement to calls for defunding the police. I wish Blake had cooperated and that cooler heads had prevailed on all sides but alas tensions escalated quickly.

The actual casualty of this particular shooting was common sense.

Blake does not get a free pass on being complicit in the murder of common sense by virtue of his race or any other reason — and neither does the police officer who fired seven rounds. Both are guilty of contributing to the death of common sense.

In regard to Blake, he should have had the sense to know that things generally do not end well when you try to settle maters with police on the street. Better to cooperate and settle things at the police station. It’s just as easy to call a lawyer from there than to have to hire one after an incident gone south. Blake may never walk again as a result of choosing to resist arrest.

I am also troubled that this incident happened in front of Blake’s children. Common sense should have prevailed there as well. A father has a responsibility to set an example for his children of how to intelligently deal with life’s troubling issues. However, by resisting arrest, Blake unwittingly communicated to his children that it is ok to disregard the police. Common sense sustained another gut-punch in those moments of resisting arrest.

As for the police officer who shot Blake in the back, I wish that he had shown some sense and restraint as well. Seven shots is a lot by any measure, and certainly more than sufficient to neutralize a threat. In light of all of the concern and debate and protest about the conduct of police, a cooler head should have prevailed. At this time in history, this shooting just added more fuel to a fire already burning out of control.

From his hospital bed, Blake has pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him. He will have his day in court as will the woman who has accused him of sexual assault. The police officer and others at the scene of the shooting will also have their day in court. Hopefully, our justice system can administer CPR to common sense and somehow revive it before the madness continues to spread like wildfire, consuming all in its path.

Because I believe in the sanctity of human life, I believe that all lives matter regardless of pigmentation, orientation, or station in life. But I also believe that brains matter. It is incumbent on each of us, regardless of the color of our skin, to use the brain that God gave us to make good choices. Had everyone involved in the Kenosha incident used even an ounce of common sense, things would have turned out a lot different.