I haven’t written anything in some time. Partially because I have had so much to say that I couldn’t find a starting point and partly because I have had nothing to say that was really worth saying. The general outcry for justice and complaint about government and religious leaders bastardizing and misrepresenting my beliefs for their own benefit just rang hollow in the face of a pandemic that, as of writing this, has killed nearly 4 million people world wide and over six hundred thousand in the USA alone. On top of that, I got a mechanical keyboard last year and it’s super loud, so…. there’s that.

So, what’s happened over the last fifteen months in my life? Well, there is quite a bit that isn’t pandemic related. The racial instability in our nation has caused me to go on kind of a self education journey and directed me to face some uncomfortable truths. If a little bit of discomfort will make me a better person, a better friend, a better neighbor then I’m all for it. I participated in an education program last year called Justice in June (which now has a website) and since then have been consuming as much material regarding the true history of our country, colonization, white supremacy in America, and the benefit people of color have been to us as a country as I could get my hands on. I’ve started listening to voices that, at one point, were only on the periphery of my awareness and understand now what the word “Colonizer” means to the indigenous people in our country. I have tried to connect more to the LGBTQ+ community that I had previously. It isn’t enough to “have a gay friend” but you have to show up, put in a little bit of effort and I’ve tried to be more supportive in that regard. I’ve tried to understand more about the plight of women in our country, particularly those in need.

I have also been reading a little more Bible… I know, I’m not going to get preachy or anything. Religion is something I hold to be a personal thing and I don’t think should be foisted on other people. I will say that biblical and esoteric study is something that I dabble in and while I’m by no means an expert on God or Christianity, I know enough to see that modern Christians in general, specifically those espousing hate and fear and loathing and judgment (I’m looking at you Evangelicals and Sothern Baptists) are not Christians. Romans 14:14 – I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. Meaning that you as an individual can not dictate to another individual what is sinful. If it’s not a sin to them, then it’s not a sin to them and you should shut up. In a nut shell, don’t yuck anyone else’s yum. That’s all I’ll say about that.

None of my revelations over the last year plus are new or unique. They are personal, however, and I haven’t felt the need to write them down or share them, though in the sharing I am hopeful that someone might go on their own little education and self awareness trip. There is so much to be gained by sharing our experiences of the world and though the internet seems to be a place rife with pedantic Instagram posts and outright hate on Facebook, there is learning available too…. scholarly articles and papers, news that is unbiased or at least not too skewed to one side or the other. Seek it… not just what seems familiar. Listen to voices from people who are not your color, not your gender, not your sexual preference, or not your age group. It’s the only way we’ll survive what’s on the horizon.