"It’s very hard for westerners to believe this because it goes against what we have been raised to believe. That there is separation of church and state. That all people have the right to worship as they wish and that religion becoming a part of government is a danger we should avoid at all costs. So many people came to America escaping persecution in order to worship freely. It’s almost as if it's in our blood."
Sadly, this might have been true at some point and may still be in some places, but here in America we are getting more and more brazen examples of how some Christians seem intent on reversing this. The AL Supreme Court ruling on IVF being a recent example in which the chief justice of that court wrote a concurring opinion that repeatedly cited Christian texts (most prominently the Bible), beliefs, and theologians in justifying his decision, far more than it cited actual AL (or any) law. He has made comments for years that his primary guide in judgements is his god, as he believes he will answer to that God for eternity and this job (and his oath to uphold the Constitution of the state and country) are only temporary. Thus, if the law or Constitution conflicts with his faith, well, his faith will win, and he will try to find ways to twist the law to justify that if possible, but if not oh well.
And the politicians who appointed and supported this man are many of the same who rail against Sharia law. But a theocracy is always going to become dangerous to those who don't subscribe to the faith that rules, or even those who do but don't hew closely enough, or in the same way as, those in power. It would be great if those who want to institute such a system here could learn from Sharia systems why that might not be such a good idea, but they're too busy believing their faith is superior to all others and thus it's okay as long as it's their particular strain of religion that is in charge.
"I remembered the Nubian sailor, his face chiseled as if from obsidian, long robe billowing behind him as he stood proud and tall, guiding his boat through the water. He had shown me profound beauty in the flow of the river, the bending of the reeds, the curve of the banks, the unbearable blueness of the sky. In those few hours he had enlightened me in ways that all my hours in church had not."
(I was raised in a fundamentalist catholic school, and what you conclude is so perfect)
"It was sad leaving the land of the Nubian, but not the land of Nasser."
(perfectly said, the controversial paralell shapes of reality, and the intuitive/sensitive perception of them)
Wonderful Karen, beautiful way to describe the strongest and poetical lessons in life from people who we cross for a moment perhaps, but last with us forever... you tell them so vivid... and what destile from these encounters and histories, are so important to keep in mind and heart today.
I love your writing. How fortunate you were to have traveled to so many different places. I am 76 years old but I am still inspired to write especially by your stories. Thank you
Your article was powerful. I too must be about your same age. I was not blessed to travel when I was young but I wanted to. When I was 17 I volunteered at church to be a counselor at a kids’s camp in Cincinnati, all urban kids , mostly black. In Kentucky in my county we did not know any black people. None lived where I was from.
My Co-counselor was a black girl my age. We became friends the first day.
She seemed surprised by my friendship. I didn’t know why at the time.
Later she explained the prejudice in Cincinnati schools . She and her black friends had separate swim classes at school for PE. That made no sense to me whatever. I swam on a swim team most summers. Water was water. Swimming was swimming. How could doing it at different times make any difference whatsoever?!
When we were showering one of my of my little 3rd graders shouted “ oh no! I forgot my towel!”
I shouted back, “ No problem I’ll hand you mine as I was just out “. She poked her cute little face out of the shower curtain and asked me, “ You gonna let me use your towel?” Quite incredulous that I as a white gurl would do such a thing. I replied “sure.”
She smiled really big and took it.
I never have forgotten that experience. Never. And have always sought to live my life seeing people for who they are not what skin color they were born with. My husband and I have lived with Native Americans … First Nations people and call many friends. We’ve lived in Europe and traveled and taken many medical groups all over the world to attend the Dick and share Jesus. But not share religion. We have friends everywhere.
I'm so moved by this, Karen. It's a masterpiece of writing, wrapped around a story of deep beauty and grace. Thank you for writing it; thank you for sharing it. I feel like I understand you and your path in life a little better. And I'm inspired to find ways to do more to make a difference. ❤️
"Getting out at a gas station in a town that boasted a sign—Friendliest God-fearing town on Earth— terribly thirsty, and approaching the drinking fountain to find a sign in bold black letters Whites only."
A sign explaining why the rest of the world hates America for its freedom.🤔
That being said, Empires have operated pretty much the same for thousands of years.
"An academic study found that British colonialism caused approximately 165 million deaths in India...
In North America alone, it is estimated that the British Empire killed more than 50 million indigenous people between 1492 and 1900."
And let's not forget the Spanish Empire, where it's estimated that during the initial Spanish conquest of the Americas up to eight million indigenous people died, primarily through the spread of disease.
What's particularly revolting is that human nature has remained the same over the span of many millenniums. Nothing has changed except for the technology.
The identical plebian mentality that might've thrown a pot of shit out of the window of an insula more than 2,000 years ago in Ancient Rome is probably working at a dubious medical research lab today.🙈
And the same barbaric, but also "smily" creatures are in control of
approximately 12,500 nuclear warheads worldwide and almost 90 percent of them belong to two countries: the United States and Russia.🙀
Wonderful writing. Thanks for digging up that gem from the past and sharing it. Reminds me of c.s.lewis book called the last battle in terms of those serving the one true God as if under another name, yet from a pure place.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
"It’s very hard for westerners to believe this because it goes against what we have been raised to believe. That there is separation of church and state. That all people have the right to worship as they wish and that religion becoming a part of government is a danger we should avoid at all costs. So many people came to America escaping persecution in order to worship freely. It’s almost as if it's in our blood."
Sadly, this might have been true at some point and may still be in some places, but here in America we are getting more and more brazen examples of how some Christians seem intent on reversing this. The AL Supreme Court ruling on IVF being a recent example in which the chief justice of that court wrote a concurring opinion that repeatedly cited Christian texts (most prominently the Bible), beliefs, and theologians in justifying his decision, far more than it cited actual AL (or any) law. He has made comments for years that his primary guide in judgements is his god, as he believes he will answer to that God for eternity and this job (and his oath to uphold the Constitution of the state and country) are only temporary. Thus, if the law or Constitution conflicts with his faith, well, his faith will win, and he will try to find ways to twist the law to justify that if possible, but if not oh well.
And the politicians who appointed and supported this man are many of the same who rail against Sharia law. But a theocracy is always going to become dangerous to those who don't subscribe to the faith that rules, or even those who do but don't hew closely enough, or in the same way as, those in power. It would be great if those who want to institute such a system here could learn from Sharia systems why that might not be such a good idea, but they're too busy believing their faith is superior to all others and thus it's okay as long as it's their particular strain of religion that is in charge.
This was beautiful to listen to. 🙏🏾
A beautiful read. Thank you very much!
"I remembered the Nubian sailor, his face chiseled as if from obsidian, long robe billowing behind him as he stood proud and tall, guiding his boat through the water. He had shown me profound beauty in the flow of the river, the bending of the reeds, the curve of the banks, the unbearable blueness of the sky. In those few hours he had enlightened me in ways that all my hours in church had not."
(I was raised in a fundamentalist catholic school, and what you conclude is so perfect)
"It was sad leaving the land of the Nubian, but not the land of Nasser."
(perfectly said, the controversial paralell shapes of reality, and the intuitive/sensitive perception of them)
Wonderful Karen, beautiful way to describe the strongest and poetical lessons in life from people who we cross for a moment perhaps, but last with us forever... you tell them so vivid... and what destile from these encounters and histories, are so important to keep in mind and heart today.
Thank you for sharing.
I love your writing. How fortunate you were to have traveled to so many different places. I am 76 years old but I am still inspired to write especially by your stories. Thank you
Your article was powerful. I too must be about your same age. I was not blessed to travel when I was young but I wanted to. When I was 17 I volunteered at church to be a counselor at a kids’s camp in Cincinnati, all urban kids , mostly black. In Kentucky in my county we did not know any black people. None lived where I was from.
My Co-counselor was a black girl my age. We became friends the first day.
She seemed surprised by my friendship. I didn’t know why at the time.
Later she explained the prejudice in Cincinnati schools . She and her black friends had separate swim classes at school for PE. That made no sense to me whatever. I swam on a swim team most summers. Water was water. Swimming was swimming. How could doing it at different times make any difference whatsoever?!
When we were showering one of my of my little 3rd graders shouted “ oh no! I forgot my towel!”
I shouted back, “ No problem I’ll hand you mine as I was just out “. She poked her cute little face out of the shower curtain and asked me, “ You gonna let me use your towel?” Quite incredulous that I as a white gurl would do such a thing. I replied “sure.”
She smiled really big and took it.
I never have forgotten that experience. Never. And have always sought to live my life seeing people for who they are not what skin color they were born with. My husband and I have lived with Native Americans … First Nations people and call many friends. We’ve lived in Europe and traveled and taken many medical groups all over the world to attend the Dick and share Jesus. But not share religion. We have friends everywhere.
Thank you for your posts. I read them faithfully.
BB
Really beautiful written memories, what an adventure your parents took you on! I look forward to more of your writing....
I'm so moved by this, Karen. It's a masterpiece of writing, wrapped around a story of deep beauty and grace. Thank you for writing it; thank you for sharing it. I feel like I understand you and your path in life a little better. And I'm inspired to find ways to do more to make a difference. ❤️
And, true to yourself you are standing up against wrong Karen. Beautiful post, thank you.
Thank you for sharing this.
My 60s were school and then engineering studies. The travels in those countries came later, working in clean-air projects.
No god and bible needed to go that way.
Beautiful story
"Getting out at a gas station in a town that boasted a sign—Friendliest God-fearing town on Earth— terribly thirsty, and approaching the drinking fountain to find a sign in bold black letters Whites only."
A sign explaining why the rest of the world hates America for its freedom.🤔
That being said, Empires have operated pretty much the same for thousands of years.
"An academic study found that British colonialism caused approximately 165 million deaths in India...
In North America alone, it is estimated that the British Empire killed more than 50 million indigenous people between 1492 and 1900."
And let's not forget the Spanish Empire, where it's estimated that during the initial Spanish conquest of the Americas up to eight million indigenous people died, primarily through the spread of disease.
What's particularly revolting is that human nature has remained the same over the span of many millenniums. Nothing has changed except for the technology.
The identical plebian mentality that might've thrown a pot of shit out of the window of an insula more than 2,000 years ago in Ancient Rome is probably working at a dubious medical research lab today.🙈
And the same barbaric, but also "smily" creatures are in control of
approximately 12,500 nuclear warheads worldwide and almost 90 percent of them belong to two countries: the United States and Russia.🙀
Beautifully written Karen - thank you for sharing ...
Wonderful writing. Thanks for digging up that gem from the past and sharing it. Reminds me of c.s.lewis book called the last battle in terms of those serving the one true God as if under another name, yet from a pure place.