For when a Facebook post just won't do

Oh goodness, where to even begin with this one? I'll start by saying that this past weekend I enjoyed a time away from home on retreat with my church family here.  I won't try and claim I understood all the talks or discussions, but I was able to know and be known better by the people I see every week and build a stronger sense of community.  It was a lovely little place, about an hour and a half from my home, and completely outside of coverage for everyone's cell phones.  The bunkbeds were a smidge too short and I have the bumps on my head to prove it, but all in all it was pretty great.

Until we hit to road to head for home Sunday afternoon, and my phone practically exploded halfway back.  All the media coverage, news reports, safety check-ins, and friends trying to find out if other friends managed to stay alive in the deadliest attack of late, a scant hour from my "home" home, in Orlando early Sunday morning.  Sometimes technology is great for staying in touch across distances, but sometimes you're stuck on another continent unable to do anything but worry and wait.

It has taken me a couple days to process all this.  And I have a few conclusions from my journaling that I'd like to share, but which far exceed the polite length for a facebook post before it hits "rant" status and folks tune out. (you're still welcome to go, by the way, but I also haven't seen anything similar to what I want to say on my facebook timeline, so it may yet stay interesting)

1. As far as I can possibly understand from the English translation of the words attributed to Jesus of Nazareth in the bible, followers of Christ are called to love EVERYONE. The. End. (and I'll say right now I am profoundly glad that not a single facebook contact of mine has posted any message of hate in light of this incident. Yay! Go you guys! But that is not an unerring truth for all Christians)  And I do know very well and very personally that this can be hard.  In fact, I'll even be honest enough to share my personal list of people I have struggled to see as equal children and love as creations of God:

• People who always chew with their mouths open
• Folks who recognize that they are uninformed on a topic but don't bother to educate themselves about it
• Drivers that take the shoulder and try to cut into the line at the last minute during rush hour
• People who blame their behavior or bad choices exclusively on intoxication
• Anyone who still uses an AOL account on their business card

Clearly I have some serious biases to address in my own life, and I know it won't always be easy. (And this list is not entirely comprehensive nor serious...although I do get frustrated with these things)

2. Regardless of where you or I personally stand on gun laws, I think we can all agree that there is obviously some sort of massive problem here.  I also think it is far more complex and intertwined than any one single law or issue could describe.  When they talk about mass shootings in the states, there is never a single #taggable issue.  It's not just about gun laws, it's about mental health issues, homophobia, Islamophobia, terrorism, preventatives measures to ensure public safety, AND gun laws. And that is a whole lot of things that one law, even if absolutely gigantic, will never fully be able to address.  Clear example: Brazil has some of the strictest gun laws in the world! Brazil also has the biggest number of total anual deaths by firearm IN THE WORLD! (It's about double the US in terms of per capita) It's very easy to say the obvious: "Criminals don't care about laws, so if you outlaw guns, it only disarms good people"  So what has happened since this legislation in 2004? Well, accidental firearm deaths dropped by a whole lot, and overall firearm deaths did indeed drop significantly at the outset (and the crazy big number of deaths in the US due to toddlers getting a hold of a gun is a major issue for me).  But that doesn't necessarily mean the total homicide rate did, because the bottom line in Brazil is that these are not mass shootings or plain old homicides, these death numbers stem from gang on gang violence tied to the drug trade which is tied to extreme poverty which is tied to pretty extreme wealth inequality (in the ranking of countries by IHDI, US is in 27th, Brazil gets in at 76th!).  Based solely on the numbers, these laws dropped the firearm death rates for white people, but they do zero to address the actual numbers because the numbers aren't coming solely because of gun laws. And just making laws won't be what fixes it here.  Programs like the one I work for, that place value on educating those with no other options but street life and gang income, providing care and role models for the ones most likely to end up in gangs, and doing it at NO COST to the beneficent and their family, are a better hope for dropping that number, even though it won't be seen to move for a decade or two after programs are started.  And this is a program where the government isn't and couldn't be involved. It just wouldn't be possible.  This is a fix that takes long term prayerful emotional, personal, and financial perseverance from the church to provide, teach, and model a Christian education and way of life.  Here, to reduce firearm homicide rates, you must reduce the dependence on gangs as an only option.  Obviously, for much of the urban violence in poor areas of the US, this is exactly the same need.  But it isn't the exclusive solution; the shooting in Orlando was unrelated to gangs, so there's clearly more to this story.  But, I feel many would agree with this, both the state and the religious communities cannot continue to solely offer our prayers and condolences.  Or maybe it's that the religious community needs to add on a few things to our prayers.  Don't JUST pray for their souls and their families, pray to be inspired and bolstered by courage to start addressing these root causes head on at the heart of the moments where fear (of not knowing where a meal might come from, of not understanding another person who appears so very different from you, or for physical safety) is contorted to hate and divisiveness that inextricably leads to death.

3.Being a politician is a job you volunteer for. (I mean, some of them say they were told by God to run, and while I know divine calling is a thing unto itself, they are not coerced into running by any human means) So if you volunteer to represent, on any government level, a group of voters, you automatically are required to represent ALL OF THEM, whether you like them personally or not, yes?  And I believe that should include after their deaths in times like this.  So here is my question for our politicians (and I know it's not an easy job, but I think they know that when they volunteer): How many deaths does it take to count as a problem?  Please, either give and justify a number we haven't yet reached (and if they can "justify" a higher number, I'm still quite scared about that), or admit that you have repeatedly and publicly failed to do a job you volunteered for!  I don't expect perfect legislation for fix this immediately so everyone will be happy (clearly I don't believe legislation of itself is a complete answer). I only ask that you try something, anything (together!) rather than continuing to just offer condolences and apologize for not doing what we're paying you to do.  If I admit my refusal to do my job as a private citizen, I get fired. Fast.  And it will be a part of my resume/record forever.  And yet we seem to have allowed politicians to be exempt from this same reality.

Clearly, I place a lot of my frustrations on that last, as it is a public office, not a private group like religious groups or hate groups, or private individuals.  Safety in my home, for purely economic reasons, is my responsibility, not the government's (and with market participation and the 2nd amendment, I am free to secure and guard it how I choose).  But here's the part that will likely make my family cry with joy since I'm actually gonna use my college degree:

Even if we tout capitalism and conservative values (since the stereotypes say that "liberals" are all for gun restriction anyhow...*eye roll at blatant stereotypes*), public safety is unequivocally designated as a public good, which capitalism states MUST be provided by government as free markets are unable to provide it at all.  And if you don't really believe me, I'll direct you to the words of Adam Smith (and if you don't know who this is, I'm gonna guess you don't care for capitalism in the first place):

Basically he says that markets can do just about everything except for 2: Peace and Justice, for which a governing system is required, and it should be a system with no undue burden on taxes to propagate. I know that I, for one, would really like to see our government step it up on the provisions of peace right now.

So there you have it.  My thoughts as relates to some of the less discussed portions of these recent events.  And let me leave no doubt: I am so grateful that my friends and family are all safe.  I am prayerful and saddened by the friends of friends and family that were lost, as I know that those who were killed were valuable members of their communities and fearfully and wonderfully made.  God doesn't love any of us less just because the world, or parts of it, label us as sinful, broken, unworthy, or defective.  I know, first hand, how it feels to bear those labels, and I can state that in every single circumstance, sinfulness is inescapable but pales in comparison to grace, brokenness is almost always an opportunity to rely more on God, and the last 2 are just wrong.  This goes for me and all my framily (friends/family) that are counted in the LGBTQI+ spectrums, anyone else who bears the stigma of an invisible mental or physical illness, and all of us who have ever been met with discrimination. Words, labels, feelings, and -isms have zip-didly-do effect on the fact that we have all been made in the image of God and are loved by him with just as much passion as any other.  And since we are of the same creator, regardless of earthly labels, their rights must matter to me as much as my own, for I can go forward now, but later I will fall again and it will be their support that carries me. I  don't get to give up on any of them, and I don't get to opt out.  Being a Christian means being a child of God, part of a gigantic family, or O'hana.

We pray for the just and proper use of your creation,

For the victims of violence, fear, injustice, and oppression

You are not alone or forgotten. You ARE loved. And I promise to do more than "just" pray.

*And because I would want to know this if I was reading this post: SOURCE LINKS!

Brazil and Gun Laws

Brazil Gun Numbers

US Gun Numbers

Info on IHDI

Quote Reference (Page 392)