The Descendants

I am writing this post to applaud the Disney trilogy called Descendants. Over the years, I have watched all three movies with my kids. We recently watched the third one and I am excited about the themes that the films bring up. It questions current criminal justice systems that condenm people for life, as well as their families in some ways, ignoring Jesus' teaching of forgiveness. It questions immigration policies and attitudes of priviledged citizens toward immigrants. It also promotes the effort and dream of rescuing youth from the cycle of poverty and all that comes with it. 

The setting is a fairy tale land called Auradon, which is inhabited by all of the good characters in fairy tales and their offspring. The king and queen are Beaty and the Beast. They have one son named Ben. Ben becomes king upon turning 18 and makes his first decision as king to bring four youth from "The Isle" to their boarding school at Auredon. 

The Isle is where all the villains from fairy tales are kept with a magical barrier around the island that keeps them from leaving and keeps the island magic free. Ben chooses the children of Malificent, the Evil Queen from Snow White, Cruela Devil, and Jafar from Aladdin to come to Auredon in an attempt to forgive and give them a chance. He is an idealist who never gives up hope. 

These kids, especially Mal, the daughter of Malificent, are under the order of their parents to steal the Fairy Godmother's wand in an attempt to free them from the island and give them back their powers. Mal, therefore, puts Ben, the new young king, under a love spell. She later feels bad as her heart is beginning to soften as she develops true feelings for him. She tries to reverse the spell, but he confesses that he knew all along as the spell had already worn off when he swam in the enchanted lake. 

Anyway, the meaning of the first movie is that she and the other three kids choose to go against their parents' will and be good. They choose good over evil and in doing so, overcome the evil that crept into Auradon. The movie also reveals the fear that the residents of Auradon have of the villain kids and their superior attitude some have towards them. Ben breaks through this notion, and Mal and the others don't disappoint him. 

In the second movie, Mal attempts to self destruct, thinking she's not good enough for Ben and Auradon. She goes back to The Isle, and Ben goes after her. Despite the mistreatment he faced while there, he never stopped seeing the good in his abusers and encouraging peace. By the end of the movie, he agreed to allow Evie, the daughter of the Evil Queen and Mal's best friend, to come up with a list of kids from the Isle who she thought would thrive at Auradon Prep. 

During the third movie, which is quite musical, four more kids from The Isle are taken to Auradon. However, Hades almost escaped while the barrier was open, causing a scare. A decision is made to shut the barrier forever. Then an Auradon resident goes crazy and takes a crown and scepter from the museum of magic. She uses them to wreak havoc on Auradon. Who saved the day? Villains from The Isle. This puts a twist in plans and the trilogy ends when the barrier is taken down forever, giving villains a second chance, and their children a first chance. 

I generally raise a concerned eyebrown when my kids are watching shows with magic, including My Little Ponies, because I take seriously what the Bible says about such practices where powers come from something other than God. Also, we live in a place where magic is practiced in a deliberate attachment to Satan from what I understand from testimonies of people who have grown up in households where this was practiced. So I have learned to not take it lightly. 

Nonetheless, in movies where there is good use of magic and bad use of magic, as well as minimal demon possession type imagery, I often equate the good magic to God's power. I wouldn't want to keep them from learning such powerful lessons in an entertaining way out of excessive fear.  

Leading up to the recent election, I have heard points of view that I don't understand. I have heard a perhaps excessive fear of socialism and even sentiments that seem to equate global peace, communication, and collaboration through efforts such as the United Nations with something that comes from a dark place. I understand that The Descedants is a Disney movie. It is extremely simplified. However, I think it captures a glimpse of what God does intend for his creations. 

 "Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves."

-Philippians 2:3

I see you

You see me

Imperfect

Perfectly

Face to face we can see clearly

Vischer 2020 - Veggie Tales' Creator Has Captured My Heart & Mind

 When I was 14 years old, I had a huge crush on Sam Combs. Sam was so smart and witty. He was a skinny guy with glasses and taught himself to play the guitar. I was just amazed by him. I was friends with many boys throughout my youth/young adulthood, but had very few actual crushes or boyfriends, (I would say 3, counting my husband). Sam was basically nothing like the man that God gave me as my husband, who is quiet, Haitian, and into body building. However, he represents a special place in my heart you could say – a smart, talented, guitar playing white boy.

Shortly after George Floyd, I saw a video shared by one of my friends on Facebook called Race in America. It was by Phil Vischer. It was brilliant. It put my heart on the issue into intelligent words and provided historical stats with simple graphs and images to back it up. I was so impressed and grateful. Someone shortly after shared the same video in a group I am in called Mommas Against Racism. But she introduced it by saying that Phil Vischer was the creator of Veggie Tales.

Wow! I had watched Veggie Tales since I was a kid and shown it to my kids as well. What a creative program that taught about God in a completely loving way. And its creator is a smart, sensible anti-racist? Who knew?

I ended up researching Phil Vischer and learning how Veggie Tales came to an end when he was sued by someone he did business with, causing him to lose all that he had built. He had dreamed of being the Christian Walt Disney. But after Veggie Tales ended, he continued to serve God through cartoons for kids and podcasts geared toward adults. All of his cartoons, songs, and family based Bible studies are available at Mr. Phil TV, which someone can subscribe to for a small fee. I did, and this has basically replaced our children’s church, which closed permanently due to the pandemic. (It was run by missionaries who went back to the U.S. for good, which is why it was a permanent close).

I highly enjoy watching the children’s programs with my kids, but I am very intrigued by the podcasts. It used to be called Phil Vischer Podcast, but now is Holy Post. He has some sidekicks who are with him often, who share his views and have valuable input. He does silly things like a great Irish accent when reading the Irish constitution in a discussion about how Ireland legalized gay marriage, and an impressive deep South southern accent when reading a politician’s quote from the Southern states in the mid-1900s. He writes songs to summarize topics that are discussed during the podcasts and sings them, while playing his little ukulele.  I just love it!!! As you may have guessed, he reminds me a bit of my old crush Sam!

 Today alone I shared two of Phil Vischer’s Holy Posts on my Facebook page. I have been waiting for the right moment to share his Race in America 2 post which dives deeper into misunderstandings about and fact checks of the welfare system, black families in America, divorce trends, unemployment, solutions, etc. But I saw two other videos today that friends had shared on Facebook and just had to re-share. The first was explaining why white Christians majorly vote Republican and black Christians mostly vote Democrat. The second was about whether or not Christians should vote based solely on the issue of abortion. Again, he (actually it was mostly his friend Skye) captured what I already thought in his overall message, but explained it so brilliantly with historical information to put it into context and provide a strong base.

After reading so many posts and memes that seem to be based on misunderstandings, I wish there was a way to require American citizens to watch these posts and podcasts as part of a course or something. I have no power to do that, but I can share them on social media and promote them in conversations and in this blog post.

In conclusion, I would suggest that we vote Vischer 2020, but in reality, I think his presidential duties would take up important time that he spends creatively teaching about Christian living. I know not everyone is a Christian, but honestly, he showed us in Veggie Tales how applying Jesus’ teachings are good for everyone. Veggie Tales was a Christian show that I don’t think any parents felt threatened by, no matter their religious affiliation. So perhaps he could be an advisor?  Anyway, if you haven’t checked him out yet, please wait no longer!! Prepare to be enlightened!

Wonderfully Woven

Misunderstood don't gotta be explained

But you don't understand me, so let me explain

- Lil Wayne, Misunderstood

Lil Wayne is a potty mouth, but he also has some beautiful songs and lyrics. He has emerged as an African American man who says he has not experienced racism and asks others to question situations without jumping to conclusions that race was an issue. While I appreciate his advice that no one should be too quick to jump to conclusions about conflict being rooted in racism, there are plenty of voices from the black community sharing different experiences, like THIS ONE that recently happened close to my hometown in Virginia. (Capital letters used to show that there is a link.) 

Out of all of the signs and memes I have seen regarding race issues over these past two weeks, this one may explain a situation that seems to be misunderstood the best. 

The confusion on this is something I have never understood. I used to hear people complain about affirmative action. Some are now defensive when they see Black Lives Matter. This little girl breaks it down so clearly. She says, "We just need your help with #blacklivesmatter for black lives are in danger!" 

Vandalism isn't pleasant. Looting and violence are horrible. Disrespect to undeserving police officers doesn't help. Let's all listen to this sweet little girl rather than continuing in a war with those things. 

Many people would say that black lives are not in danger. That is a thing of the past. While they would agree that the death of George Floyd was clearly horrible and the officer should be charged with a crime, they may still say things like, "that could've easily been a white man that the police killed" or "I can't judge any situation when I didn't see all of the circumstances leading up to it". "He had a criminal record." "He was high".

To that, I would say you are missing the point. There is no reason for police forces not to practice tactics that have been proven to reduce these situations. THIS SITE shows what these best practices are, and where they have and have not been adopted. Additionally, there is no reason for the country to not strongly and seriously consider diverting resources from policing vulnerable neighborhoods, setting expectations for the presence of criminals, to other efforts such as mentoring vulnerable neighborhoods, setting standards for growth and excellence. The latter is what is being pleaded for when "defunding the police" is mentioned. 

I would also say that some of those comments listed two paragraphs above could create groupthink, which is when people feel a certain amount of certainty over an idea because they hear many people in their groups saying it and supporting it. Groupthink causes groups to make poor decisions. What we don't want is for a jury to judge these cases with bias, making the statement that the killings are excusable. 

The history of white men and sometimes women, both police and civilians, being excused or given very light punishments after killing a black person is what has caused all of this. I hope everyone will consider that. You may not agree with the extent of the problem, or feel as though it is being exaggerated, but no one can close their eyes to the fact that all of this emotion did not come from nowhere. 

Therefore, everyone must be careful to keep from contributing to those unjust rulings on these present cases, as well as on anything that could happen in the future. We must realize that when we are too forgiving of those who happen to look like us, we are actually condemning other groups, and that only adds to the problem. If you don't think that I am right in saying that, just look at Ahmaud Arbery's case. Months after he was killed while innocently jogging by people who were not even police and no arrests were made until a video made it to the public. When I first found out, I upheld faith in the system and blamed the lack of arrests on the coronavirus chaos. However, many factors and conversations made me conclude otherwise. If the coronavirus wasn't too chaotic for an arrest of George Floyd to be made for allegedly counterfeit money, it surely wasn't too chaotic for the arrest of Arbery's murderers. 

Some are just bothered by the conflict. They don't want to deal with the situation. They would rather just say it doesn't exist. That, unfortunately, doesn't work either. The sooner we collectively face it, the closer we are to making it less of an issue. 

The changes proposed by the reasonable protestors (recognizing that not all protestors are reasonable) don't necessarily have to be a drastic change. This does not mean that police presence would be immediately and completely removed and anarchy would exist. That claim is polarized and creates unnecessary division. Pilot projects can be executed, and already have been. Camden, NJ, FOR EXAMPLE, made some of these changes and saw a 42% decrease in crime. Whether or not this is a perfect example, can we examine it, learn from it, and try new things? Change can be implemented with caution, gradually. But this is simply what Black Lives Matter is asking for. I see absolutely no harm that moving in this direction would have on anyone. In fact, if executed responsibly, it would surely be positive for everyone.  

So if you have been complaining about this movement that has been embraced all over the United States and even many parts of the world, it is time to give in to this cute little girl, whose name I wish I knew. She, like all of us, was fearfully and wonderfully made, woven together in her mother's womb by the Creator. (Psalms 139:13-14) You don't have to donate to the cause or go out and protest, but just understand what she is saying and be sensitive to it. 

We know that this is a cause that is not going to be forgotten. It must be respected and given proper attention. This isn't about political party. It's time for everyone to give in, compromise, and unite again. Only then can the true delinquents that are looting and using violence be efficiently recognized and dealt with. And when they are, they will stop taking advantage. 

Check out these wonderfully woven dolls, representing an array of racial beauty. These
dolls are designed by my good friend Nicole Plata, made with the help of local girls here in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Nicole designed them, realizing that there were barely any dolls in this country that accurately represent the children here with varying skin tones. We are selling these dolls as a fundraiser for a school here that is in danger of closing its doors. This is the school that Project Esperanza has come to grow a trusting relationship with, and is where we send our top students for high school, as it is within walking distance of our school.

After 35 years of excellent academic performance and dedication to small, manageable classrooms, the school is down on its luck because of a greedy landlord and the difficulties brought on by the covid lockdown. Your PURCHASE OF A DOLL can help SAVE THIS SCHOOL. 

Thank you for your help by either chipping in, sharing, or both. At the very least, let's work together to resolve these problems at hand. If I can look past Lil Wayne's incredibly dirty and offensive words and find his flashes of brilliance, his touching, truthful language, then I think everyone can do that in some way in order to work together toward a common cause for humanity. As it says on the Haitian flag, "L'Union fait la force" which means "Unity is strength". 

And I just want you to know

That you deserve the best

You're beautifuuul

You're beautiful

Yeah, and I want you to know

You're far from the usual

-Lil Wayne, How to Love

Oakland, CA

Photo taken by Beth Laberge 

Black Lives Matter: From Emotion to Strategy and Solutions

Opened my history book to take a better look

At where we came from and where we’re going

Without a sense of time

You’ve got no ears or eyes

I see a broken rhyme called human learning

You know this is serious

We’re repeating things we’ve done

Do ya wanna be a part of the solution?

-Solution by Paul Colman Trio

I spent many years finding out about world events long after they happened. I have lived in the Dominican Republic for 12.5 years. I am busy and removed with a large family, work, and studies. However, we’ve been on lockdown here since March 18^th and I have been paying more attention to the news due to the coronavirus. It is amazing and interesting how the topics that spread through my social media feed change daily.

I am very glad that I have been so attentive to world events; especially U.S. events because so many of my family, friends, and contacts on social media are in the U.S. I was shocked and heartbroken by the announcement of the murder of Amaud Arbery while innocently jogging, especially since his murderers were not yet arrested at the time of the announcement. I was in disbelief when I learned of the horrific murder of George Floyd so soon after the arrests of the Amaud’s murderers were finally made.

The events that took place the days following George Floyd’s death were very revealing. I am specifically referring to the fact that the four officers, while they were fired, were not arrested right away

after such a brutal murder was caught on film. A CNN reporter who happened to be black was arrested while reporting the protests. The words spoken by the president in reference to the riots, especially when compared to words he spoke about white armed protestors in Michigan during the coronavirus lockdown exposed incredible bias.

 I think it’s safe to say that many who were not convinced that racism is still an issue in the United States and that the police brutality used specifically toward black and brown people deserves serious attention now see differently. I feel hopeful for future change that will be taking place, but there is work to be done to bring it about.

First of all, let me address something that will probably be important for many to consider my thoughts on this issue. I am a white woman. I was born and raised in Virginia. I moved to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic permanently when I was 22 years old, having recently graduated from Virginia Tech. My husband is a black man from Haiti. We have three biological children and two adopted children.

As I mentioned, I have lived in the Dominican Republic for 12.5 years now. I have not lived in the U.S., and have honestly not spent many days there at all, throughout all of Obama’s terms and Trump’s. My race causes me to be a minority here in the Dominican Republic. To racially describe the Dominican Republic in a nutshell, it was the first place Columbus landed in the New World and was settled by Spain. They kidnapped people from Africa and enslaved them, but when slavery ended, the races became very mixed. The population that would be considered white in this country is very small. The population displays a beautiful array of skin color shades and there is no shame in calling someone by their skin color (indio, moreno, rubio, negro, kle, wouj, etc.) The race of the neighboring country Haiti is primarily what we would call black. If you haven’t studied Haitian history, I highly suggest that you do.

I have met many white friends here through Project Esperanza.

Line of white protestors stand between police
and non-white protestors.

However, they don’t live here. They visit. So on a daily basis, I am the odd one out in that way. I don’t usually even see someone that America would refer to as white, other than perhaps tourists in passing. My kids used to point and say “Look! Volunteers!” whenever they saw white people. I may be referred to as gringa in Spanish or blan in Creole. I have had to correct people many times and let them know how I feel when they talk about blan or gringos. I think about things I say and am held accountable if I say something that offends someone.

This isn’t to say that I have walked in the shoes of an African

American woman who grew up in the United States. I have surely not. I realized that I was unfairly privileged for many reasons in addition to race while I was growing up and felt guilt over the issue. This is largely why I wanted to use my privilege to serve situations that broke my heart.  Nonetheless, I do think I have some insight that I would like to share and engage in dialogue about. 

As I said, I’ve noticed that social media themes change daily. Yesterday and today I see that many are questioning rioting and how effective it is or was in this case. People are comparing Civil Rights Movement protests that were peaceful, strategically planned, and completely respectable, to the chaos of looting and burning. Perhaps only God knows if the rioting hadn’t taken pace, whether the killer would’ve even been arrested, and whether other factors would’ve changed in addition. Yes, it’s sad that rioting took place and is still taking place. However, war is always sad, isn’t it? War is a result of groups of people that were not able to effectively communicate and reach an agreeable compromise. Additionally, many people are just taking advantage of anarchy, which wasn't the intent of most protestors and isn't their fault. 

What are you going to do to protect your city from these problems that could lead to rioting, if it hasn't already? The ONLY humane solution is to effectively communicate and reach agreeable compromises on a consistent basis. The responsibility here is on

each city’s leadership to initiate this process. Take a knee and engage the people rather than shooting tear gas and rubber bullets, (both literally and figuratively). However, where this doesn’t happen, churches, schools, and organizations exist and can initiate such communication. The bottom line is that this is not the responsibility of the black community to make themselves heard. There have been plenty of cries. I particularly teach my kids that whenever they hear someone cry, they should ask what's wrong. It doesn't matter if that person cries a lot and you are used to hearing him or her cry. It doesn't matter if the person even hurt themself. You cannot hear someone cry without asking what is wrong. Every single time they cry. It’s each community’s job as a whole to reach out to the black community and listen with opened minds and hearts. The insight provided will show the direction in which each community needs to go to create needed change.

This site (www.mappingpoliceviolence.org) provides statistics about police violence in the U.S. Simple practices such as requiring the reporting of any use of force, ban of chokeholds or strongholds, and requiring other officers to intervene if another officer uses excessive force drastically change statistics. A Canadian friend recently informed me that in Canada, a report must be filed

whenever a police takes his or her gun out of their holster. This practice puts weight on the very act of taking out a gun, AS IT SHOULD. There are things that can be done. Sources say that progress was being made in this area during the Obama administration, but went in the opposite direction under Trump's direction. READ ONE SOURCE HERE.

And then there are cases such as George Floyd’s where the gun was not the lethal weapon. However, the killer and an accomplice had quite poor records with many red flags raised. I have to agree with my brother Matthew McHale who posted:

“We have a system designed to protect police at all costs whether they behave correctly or not. It gives them a sense of being above

the law. It should be the opposite. They should be held to a higher standard than the public given the power they are wielding. Any abuse of power should be harshly punished and not tolerated.”

My friend Maryann Glascock stated, “I think it’s just far too easy to get a badge and a gun with all the authority in the world. Police officers are public servants and we pay their salaries through our taxes. I think we need to increase police officer salaries to hire more qualified people or use the money to provide more training to the people they are hiring. I’d be happy to see my tax dollars going towards that”.

When one examines how funding toward law enforcement is allocated, it probably wouldn't be necessary to ask taxpayers to increase anything in order to pay police more in order to recruit higher qualified individuals. It would simply be a matter of diverting money spent on weapons and potentially excessive police presence toward salaries. The Black Lives Matter campaign is leading a petition for police defunding. If you READ HERE, what that really means is a diversion of funds from investments such as "military hardware" and allocating those funds toward after-school programs, mentoring, and other preventative efforts.  

I agree with all of those points. I also feel strongly that there should be a campaign to recruit minorities into the police force. I understand that those who feel targeted by the police are reluctant to become police officers themselves. Black police officers are criticized by other people of color for choosing that profession. However, this is creating more of a problem than a solution. If there was a black police officer on the team that set out to arrest George Floyd, do you think things would’ve gone down the same way?

Rather than criticizing black or brown police officers, the black community and the community as a whole should celebrate them, thank them, and let them know that they are heroic in many ways. After all, police officers do risk their lives. We know that not only do police officers kill people sometimes, but they sometimes get killed as well.

I imagine images flying around of black or brown police officers and black or brown children dreaming of becoming police officers. “This is my community. I will uphold and protect it.” There should
be a sense of ownership and pride over the community. This should be a point of dialogue. If there is not that sense of community, then why not? What can be done to change that? Incentives should be developed as have been developed for the army where special scholarships or other benefits should be granted for people of color who will serve as a police officer for a certain number of years, and other such incentives. Priority should be placed on this! Of course white police officers would be jealous as with any affirmative

Protestors protect a cop who
got lost from the others. 

action but that shouldn’t be a reason not to do it.

Let me now say that anyone in the black or brown community feeling discouraged, exhausted, fearful, etc. should know this.  You may not benefit from white privilege, but you are so very privileged. I say this not to belittle anyone's feelings or to ask them to stop complaining or protesting. Share and protest (peacefully) all you want! I support you! I say this to share a truth that I can see from a different perspective as someone outside of the U.S. which some people may forget or not be fully aware of.

I am very sympathetic to and heartbroken by these recent cases. I have lost lots of sleep this past week thinking, reading, and talking about it. However, the truth is that I often brush off issues in the United States as “first world issues”. You think your public schools are bad? You think your minimum wage is low? You think your low income communities have it rough?

Being an American citizen, no matter where you are on the unfair spectrum, is a HUGE privilege. Nowhere else in the world attracts immigrants like the United States, and many cannot get in, even illegally. As a citizen, you have access to so many benefits, including student loans, loan forgiveness programs, welfare if needed, public education through high school absolutely accessible to all, and the list goes on! To put this into perspective, many of the youth I work with have

missed years of school because no public education was available to them and their family couldn’t afford private education. READ MORE HERE. In 2013, the highest court here ruled that Haitian immigrants that had been in the country for up to four generations would potentially have their citizenships removed, depending on the migration status of their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Minimum wage in this country is $200 per month for someone working 44 hour work weeks. These are just a few examples.

Additionally, having English as your native language is a privilege. I have a strong advantage with many online work opportunities I have done and looked into because of this privilege. However, I fully understand that just as a child who grows up in a loving, united lower class family may turn out more well-rounded and have a happier life than a rich kid who has a lot of toys and gadgets, but a cold family life, the effects of feeling like the underdog or whipping boy in society can be emotionally debilitating, keeping groups of people from reaching their potential despite available opportunities. Some would even say they feel as though society hates them. It’s a complex issue. And please don't think that by mentioning these benefits available to American citizens that I don't acknowledge all that has been denied to black American citizens throughout history since the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle it has been. The recent events are just a sample of proof that was made visible to the world, representing centuries of the same cold heartedness. 

Although the oppression still goes on, as has been witnessed so clearly lately, we shouldn't lose sight of the progress that has been made through the Civil Rights Movement. There are many amazingly successful African Americans in the United States. Two of my personal favorites who I’ve watched and loved since I was little are Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith. How many black Americans have become millionares through professional sports? Do we realize what a small percentage of the world has such an opportunity? While there is still work to be done before we can say that true equality is being practiced in the U.S., no one should let the horrific stories like George Floyd’s take away from the countless successes. And as they say, we're not going backwards.

Therefore, in reference to black and brown readers, if you can keep a global perspective, you may feel more encouraged by remembering that despite what it may look like in your home town, you are actually on top of the world! You also could consider spending time in or even relocating to a country like the Dominican Republic where your race would not make you a minority. Project Esperanza would love to have you as a short term volunteer, or even serve as a year or two as volunteer coordinator. 

In response to the George Floyd case, black Americans who have relocated here were posting about how grateful they are that they had done so as they don’t face the same fears of police brutality

here. And for any white Americans that would like to remain in the majority with these changing times where whites will likely no longer be the majority within the next few decades, you could consider going somewhere like Australia. I suggest this (and don't actually expect anyone to even take it seriously but you never know) because it's an English speaking country that is not too cold and there is a strong white majority. The point is, there is surely no changing the direction that the U.S. is going. The only choice is to embrace it. 

Anyone who is offended by the light suggestion of relocating should realize their American privilege right there. Do we deserve to stay in this promised land we call the U.S.A. generation after generation? Did we ourselves build it? Rather than fighting to keep others out and maintain it a certain way, why don't we explore other parts of the world and share our best practices? CHECK OUT MY TEDx TALK for more thoughts on this. 

For anyone at all wanting to teach their kids about race issues, I highly suggest watching the Netflix series Family Reunion.  There are a few episodes that deal with police brutality, reporting the officer, and consequences for the officer, starting on Episode 10. However, the whole series is great. MORE ON THAT TOPIC HERE.

It’s encouraging that so many are taking a stand and showing they

MLK's tomb site during a protest taken
by Project Esperanza
board member Edna May Hermosillo.

care by at least speaking up on social media. I hope and pray that the follow-up remains strong and these cases are seen through. If the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd don’t get a just punishment, then a lot of the efforts put forth so far will have been in vain. Also, we have to continue to share insightful information with others. Racism isn’t something we recognize when it’s never challenged and those who are in very homogenous groups can benefit from these insights that they might not be exposed to otherwise.

I saw some posts about “policing the police” where people who see what seems like potentially an unnecessary amount of police officers around a car or individual stop and watch the situation to make sure there’s no foul play. I also saw, “stay with my son” which means that you stay with the black male being questioned by police until it is over to also make sure there is no foul play. These both seem like great efforts and ideas. Let’s keep it up!

I am dying for raw, honest, tranparent dialogue on this issue. Please share your thoughts in the comments. Let's work through this together! Thanks! 

2,000 years ago the greatest radical walked the earth and said we are forgiven souls

Have we forgotten him and made religion king? Love and grace is what we should be offering

You know this is serious

We’re repeating things we’ve done

We must be delirious thinking it’s new under the sun

Do ya wanna be a part of the solution?

To be one, to be one, to be one is the solution, yeah, yeah! 

Junior Jean
Unity is Strength (taken from Haitian Flag)
A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
www.GoodFruitDesigns.com

They Want to Take Your Religion and Your Guns

I still will write a second part to my post about the situation in Haiti and proposed solutions/strategies, but need to write about the impeachement trial of President Donald Trump. I have not been in the United States much at all during his presidency, but have caught a lot via social media, reading the news, and talking to family and volunteers who visit.

A few weeks ago, a friend posted this article from Christianity Today where the magazine takes a stance saying,

"To the many evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral record,

we might say this: Remember who you are and whom you serve. Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and Savior. Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency. If we don’t reverse course now, will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come? Can we say with a straight face that abortion is a great evil that cannot be tolerated and, with the same straight face, say that the bent and broken character of our nation’s leader doesn’t really matter in the end?"

Then there was a run of commentary. What an interesting situation we have here! I remember while living in the U.S. how non-Christians would sometimes relate Christians to a type of judgmental, self-righteous person which is not what anyone who reads Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John about the life of Jesus can see that Jesus was. This issue of people's feelings about Donald Trump and the commentary I saw and participated in under this article is so interesting because it's completely splitting Christianity into two groups. And I couldn't agree with Christianity Today more. Hopefully this will be a statement to non-believers as to what Christianity is and isn't. 

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23). I don't share that verse to judge anyone, but simply to raise the point that not everyone who claims to be a Christian would be recognized as so by Christ himself. 

This Washington Post article by Jeff Flake, a Republican Senator, is also excellent. He shows disappointment in House of Rep. members who simply denied that President Trump did

anything wrong in soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election.

"Regarding the articles of impeachment, you could reasonably conclude that the president’s actions warrant his removal. You might also determine that the president’s actions do not rise to the constitutional standard required for removal. There is no small amount of moral hazard with each option, but both positions can be defended. 

But what is indefensible is echoing House Republicans who say that the president has not done anything wrong. He has.

The willingness of House Republicans to bend to the president’s will by attempting to shift blame with the promotion of bizarre and debunked conspiracy theories has been an appalling spectacle. It will have long-term ramifications for the country and the party, to say nothing of individual reputations." 

In these comments, I'm seeing people say things like "Demon-crat", "we didn't elect him to be our pastor, but our president", "he's doing great things for the economy". And then there are all sorts of talk about there is no better candidate and attacks on past presidents. It is being said that every president has done things just as bad, etc. Jeff Flake said: 

"Before President Trump came on the scene, would I have stood at a rally and cheered while supporters shouted “lock her up” or “send them back”? Would I have laughed along while the president demeaned and ridiculed my colleagues? Would I have ever thought to warm up the crowd for the president by saying of the House speaker: 'It must suck to be that dumb'?"

Like I said, I haven't been in the country, but it isn't hard to catch wind of the hatefulness and immaturity that the Head of State is exemplifying. To anyone who would say that there is no better candidate, I would say that that is a lack of faith. I didn't vote for Hilary or Trump and think that most agree that was quite a radical election. I also agree that there are issues strongly supported in the left side that are not biblically aligned, but there are probably just as many on the right side. 

In response to the Christianity Today article, Trump tweeted that the magazine "would rather have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion and your guns, than Donald Trump as your President. No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close."

Your religion and your guns!?!?!?!?!? Does Donald Trump think that Christianity supports guns? That they go hand in hand? Do other people claiming to be Christians think that? (And sadly, I know that the answer is yes.) Yes, in the Old Testament there was war and killing mandated by God. That was all because creation was corrupted beyond return and God had to build up a population through which he could redeem creation. That all ended in the New Testament. What did Jesus do when an officer's ear was cut off by his disciple, while the officer (or servant of the high priest) arrested him for doing nothing at all? And he knew that the officer was leading him to his torturous death? He healed the man's ear and told his disciple that if he lives by the sword, he'll die by the sword! (Matthew 26:50-52)

But is that not what has been going on in the U.S.? Living by the sword and dying by the sword? Nearly 300 mass shootings in the United States in the first nine months of 2019!?!?! Are we crazy?!?! Are we really worrying about which "team" is in the majority when this is going on in the country!?! Is that not a problem both "teams" can work together to try to resolve?? Is anything more important at this time!?!? I think this has also become so normal in U.S. life that people somehow.... DON'T REALIZE HOW ABSOLUTELY CRAZY IT IS!?!?!?

I recently saw a Facebook post claiming that 198 or so people were killed in mass shootings in the U.S. in 2019 whereas 10,000 some were killed by illegal immigrants. I laughed and knew it was a lie, but just did a Google search to address it in this blog. This came up. It was addressing a post that claimed a much higher number of people killed by illegal immigrants, but even so, I think reading the link I just shared should make the point clear that immigrants have a much lower crime rate than native-born Americans, and that that claim is dillusional, defending the love of guns over people and God.

"For if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?" (1 John 4:20). This is the perfect sign of a gun addiction. Addicts always try to make sense out of nonsense to defend their beloved addiction. Why don't we pay attention to the stats that compare countries and the frequencies of mass shootings that take place there??? Maybe that would help us look our face in the mirror.

I refer to a political party as a team a few paragraphs up because that is what it seems like to me at times. It's no different than ghetto gangs: hating each other and not wanting to accept someone because they wear the wrong colored bandana. It is different. There are serious issues up for discussion, but they don't really make a lot of sense. How can you glorify freedom of guns and demonize abortion so? It doesn't make any sense at all.

My two-year-old son and five-year-old son sometimes get sticks and play fight with them. It gets out of hand, someone cries, and I take the dang sticks and throw them out the door. Case closed. Other countries have done the same with guns and they have had good results. Oh but it's in the Constitution. Then pray to the forefathers who wrote the Constitution, not to the God who wrote the Bible and gave you life.

If I remember correctly, 2019 started with a government shutdown about building a border wall/immigration control while mass shootings continued to take place on a daily average. What is our goal? We're trying to seclude our children so they can  play violent video games to the point that they are completely desensitized, and themselves dangerous, while protecting their right to have an automatic weapon, with the chance of them turning out to be a mass murderer increasing?  

I have theories about personal space vs. community living and its effect on mental health. I also feel certain that I am not the only person who has such theories and am looking forward to investigating to see what research is out there. I know I have had very different experiences living in the United States with, what I would call lots of space, compared to living in the Dominican Republic in much closer quarters, experiencing more community living. I was on campus during the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings. I grew up with people who tragically murdered others in adolescence with no motivation other than their own mental issues. I had friends who lost parents to suicide. I lost classmates to suicide. I myself experienced emotional instability while living a very priviledged life. Heck, we couldn't go outside for awhile in school because a sniper was shooting down people randomly around the area. 

I thankfully feel as though that was all part of a prior life. Being removed from such events for so long, it all seems even more crazy. Sure, violence takes place everywhere, but I cannot remember a violent event that has taken place here that had no tangible motivation, whether it be a robbery motivated by coveting the belongings of others, domestic violence, etc. There are plenty of other challenges here, but perhaps those challenges save us from the solidarity that brings the biggest challenge of all, which is ourselves. Perhaps we Americans have a lot we could learn from our southern (and northern, for that matter) neighbors. 

While this post waited in draft form, someone shared this brilliant post: 10 Signs You're Actually Following Trumpianity Instead of Christianity. I couldn't agree more with Mr. Benjamin Corey, except I'll admit that I haven't yet figured out what number 3 is referring to.  

I'll close by saying that I am endlessly grateful to have been born and raised in the United States of America. I recognize my priviledges and do not take them lightly. The fact that I spend very little time in the United States should not be understood as a lack of patriotism or anything of the sort. I just dont' think that God intended us to hoard our priviledges. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48)