Fire bombings, assaults in the streets,
Neighbors killing neighbors
Graffiti scarred walls act as barricades
Years pass, the “Troubles in Northern Ireland”.
So far away , across the pond.
We watched on the tele: sat in
the Irish bars in Chicago, Boston, Milwaukee
Horrified at the religious wars in the land of
Our ancestors.
It can never happen here. Never happen here.
We’ve tacitly accepted the ongoing black/white race wars.
Cities burn, race baiting is a common practice.
Separate but equal translates into plain separate
The dialogue , sensitivity community conversations
deteriorate to marches and riots.
A religious war? Protestant /Catholic/Jewish/Muslim
Listen carefully, watch body language
Attend “interfaith discussion groups”
Listen closely, very closely.
Add the racial component.
The differences are visceral.
Demagoguery run amok.
Genteel folks preface comments : “ With all due respect”,
Which is code for : You don’t know what you are talking about”.
Faces flushed. Fists hidden in pants’ pockets.
Inquire ; I dare you ..inquire
Have you studied a thesis of another faith? The Baltimore
Catechism, the Heidelberg Catechism, The Koran, The Torah,
Silence…
Any document other than our own is fallacious. By definition.
We know what we believe is the only true way.
It’s an obvious truth.
How far distant are we from “The Troubles”?
Internecine warfare begins when one faction walls themselves
off from another. Suspicion begets ignorance begets violence.
The increasing level of mistrust: the lessening of honest dialogue;
The troubles may not happen for generations… but the seeds are planted.
Are we all God’s people?
rlhassociates 