The death of
Trayvon Martin is a tragedy – an unnecessary tragedy. That the trial brought forward the reality
that his death was caused by his own violent actions does not make it any less
tragic – and unnecessary. To make
matters infinitely worse, his death has escalated the polarization of our
nation along racial and ideological lines.
Some are using what they perceive as injustice to excuse their own
commitment to injustice and general lawlessness – including high ranking
officials in the federal government. Yet
Christians and others committed to peace and a healthy culture have an
opportunity to stand for the template God gives for society in the face of
hysteria and violence.
Attorney
General Eric Holder has promised the NAACP to investigate whether or not George
Zimmerman violated Trayvon Martin’s civil rights. (Of course it would be necessary to
demonstrate racial bias in Zimmerman to try him on federal charges and even the
prosecution in the case found no such evidence.) Holder has declared his certainty of
Zimmerman’s bigotry. The problem here is
that only Zimmerman’s rights have been violated in the way Holder imagines – as
a matter of fact.
Zimmerman –
not Martin – is the man who was assaulted and threatened with death while
walking on a public street. He is the
man who was prosecuted for second degree murder and had the additional charge
of manslaughter illegally added during summary arguments – a violation of his
sixth amendment rights. He is the victim
of a prosecution team that held back evidence and introduced perjured testimony
against him, and of an NBC News effort to compromise his defense by editing the
tape of his 911 call to make him sound racist; he is suing NBC for this and he
ought to sue prosecutors. One might ask
why Eric Holder is not investigating and arresting New Black Panther leaders
like Micah Muhammad for conspiracy and making the terrorist threats anyone can
see on You Tube. Muhammad calls
Zimmerman a wicked white beast and a dirty Jew while placing a $10,000.00
bounty on his head days before Holder addresses the NAACP.
Authentic
reconciliation begins with a commitment to deal with the realities of a
situation. It does not end there, but it
must begin there. Reality begins with
facts but includes much more – if justice is truly the goal. President Obama should be commended – I have
often criticized him for fanning flames, but not this time – for expressing
just such a commitment. In a recent
surprise appearance the president accepted the jury verdict as final and
appeared to rule out any further federal investigation of Zimmerman. At the same time he expressed the reality
that many black men – and Native Americans and other minorities – have
experiential and historical reasons for believing they cannot get fair
play. He said he could have been Trayvon
Martin thirty-five years ago; this is not inflammatory rhetoric, but simply
harsh reality. I have many black and
native friends who share how their children begged for different skin so they
would not feel judged and persecuted.
They have been boxed and labeled and refused services I can take for
granted. They have also had my back in multiple nations and I am proud to have
theirs. So how would Jesus re-frame the
present conversation?
First He
would say truth is objective, not subjective.
He calls on His disciples to let their yes mean yes and their no mean
no. He reminds them that the moral law
is not finished but enabled by His death and resurrection; that includes the
parts about not bearing false witness against neighbors or attacking them in
the street. People who do these things,
whether prosecutors, activists, or criminals should and usually do receive
consequences. So much for persecuting
George Zimmerman for defending himself, making him out to be some sort of
symbol of historic oppression of minorities.
But Jesus
likewise makes it crystal clear that the model for neighbor is the Good Samaritan
who bound the wounds and paid for the care given his natural enemy when he
found that enemy helpless and bleeding in the road. That means I can no more get away with
writing off a Trayvon Martin – or an angry demonstrator – because they “have it
coming” – than they can legitimately attack me for insisting the Zimmerman case
be decided and resolved on its own merits and demerits. It means the time is here for Christians –
and any Americans who believe the American dream is for every American – to be
the Good Samaritan rather than just admiring him. It is time for honesty across the board. That’s what repentance looks like.
James A. Wilson is the author of
Living As Ambassadors of
Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local
bookstores or by e-mailing him at:
praynorthstate@charter.net
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