jQuery Slider

You are here

Charleston: Recognizing True Witness Amidst the World's Insanity

Charleston: Recognizing True Witness Amidst the World's Insanity

By Ladson F. Mills III
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
July 3, 2015

"When anxiety reaches certain thresholds, "reasonableness and honesty" no longer defend against illusion." So wrote the noted Edwin Friedman in his definitive work A Failure of Nerve. Our culture has now reached that stage where it is almost impossible to discern between reality and illusion.

In anticipation of the 2012 General Convention of the Episcopal I offered a question which was intended as irony. "What happens if a white supremacist transgender person should apply for Holy Orders or employment in a parish? Which would take precedent? Are we to reject them for their racist views or embrace them for their willingness to come to grips with their sexuality in the face of victimization?" If this same question were asked today it would be considered legitimate.

Over the last two weeks I received numerous contacts concerning the Emanuel Church tragedy in Charleston. The powerful Christian witness provided by the families of the slain is inspiring. From the very start the majority of locals chose not respond in the way far too familiar throughout the nation. Rather than embrace the divisive philosophy of predatory opportunist this horror was treated as an affront to the entire community.

If victims' families can be extend forgiveness to the murderer the community can do nothing less than unite behind their powerful example. Such profound Christian witness is rare. The defining difference in Charleston has been the community's refusal to embrace self-serving agendas of those who prey off of the misery of others.

Prior to 1925 a prominent local family displayed a Burgee (the identifying nautical flag for their yacht) containing the Swastika. In the early 20th century before the emergence of the Nazi Party this was a recognized symbol of good luck and success. Once Hitler came to power the symbol changed and the Burgee was removed.

The same can be said for the Confederate Flag. Regardless of what it once meant its symbolism has been hijacked. This is painful for many and must be recognized as such. The decision, however to remove it from the grounds of the State Capitol is the right one

There is something inherent within us to want "do something" in situations like this. This is natural and emanates from our better nature. However, Walmart recently discovered there is truth in the old adage; plunging quickly and ill prepared into the new and unfamiliar is what made General Custer a household name.

The company's decision to no longer merchandise confederate symbols may be laudable but it is not without challenges. A Slidell, Louisiana Walmart bakery upheld the new policy and refused to bake a confederate flag cake. Unfortunately there was no such difficulty when it came to baking an ISIL flag cake.

VOL contacted Walmart's Headquarters and received an immediate response from the Director of Corporate Communications, John Forrest Ales. In replay to our inquiry he wrote "An associate in a local store made a mistake. The cake should not have been made and we apologize." Fair enough and a lesson learned.

The Citadel's Board of Visitors voted to remove the Confederate Flag from the campus chapel citing concerns its presence might be misconstrued. The symbolism of this act should not be downplayed. The school has deep historic ties to the Confederacy yet made the appropriate decision in light of the Emanuel Church tragedy.

Sadly the same cannot be said for the efforts of two professors from its History Department. In a local op-ed, Build on post-atrocity against racism, professors Amanda Mushal and Kerry Taylor assert under-funding public schools and public transportation systems are forms of aggression directed against black people to deprive them of "economic security and the right to be heard in a democracy."

As one who is the product of public schools and enthusiastic supporter of public transportation I can only question what criteria these assertions were based. Baltimore ranks in the top five percent of public school funding and eighteenth nationally in public transportation. If funding alone guaranteed success Baltimore would be a utopia. With a 72 percent single parent birth rate among minorities the city ranks among the ten most dangerous in the nation.
.
The world in which we live has become illusory indeed. Christian children worldwide are regularly kidnapped and sexually assaulted under the name of radical Islam. The Episcopal Church is unwilling to condemn those responsible for fear of being labeled as Islamaphobic. The General Convention is more concerned in promoting inane celebrations such as "Disordering our Boundaries." It seems more concerned with pandering to the LGBT community than standing against the true evil of the world.

Academics tasked with educating and training future leader offer trite phrases and overused slogans masked as solutions. Intentionally disregarded are inconvenient facts exposing failure.

Yet in the midst of the insanity one thing is clear. In the summer of 2015 in a place called Charleston the families of nine innocent murder victims who were killed studying the Bible proclaimed the love of Jesus Christ in a way that humbles. Rather than succumb to hate they shared the essence of Christianity by forgiving the murderer.

One question regularly asked by those contacting me is what can be done for the victim's family. It is a noble question, but it is the wrong one. After witnessing their example the real question should be, "what can they do for us?"

"The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness"(William Blake)

Ladson F. Mills III is a priest with over thirty years experience in pastoral ministry. He lives with his wife in South Carolina. He currently serves as Scholar in Residence at Church of Our Saviour, Johns Island. He is a regular contributor to Virtueonline

Subscribe
Get a bi-weekly summary of Anglican news from around the world.
comments powered by Disqus
Trinity School for Ministry
Go To Top