I sat down to write a blog several times over the past couple weeks. But my fingers never knew which direction to fly. The purpose of this space and this farm is to provide an escape from everyday stressors, to lose yourself in the playful antics of oblivious animals, to be lulled by the constant soundtrack of a babbling brook, twittering birds and wind in the walnut trees. But at the same time, silence, or a refusal to squarely acknowledge the issues we as a nation are facing, stirred up a fire in my bones and set my fingers to task.
So here it is. I promise there are photos and stories of our hilarious fluffy animals still to come, but first, let’s talk about racism.
I don’t enjoy telling this story, let me put that out there first. The truth of the matter is that I am confederate “royalty”, a direct descendant of Jefferson Davis, president of the confederacy. Now, growing up this was something I was proud of, and even trotted out this trivia as a college student without batting an eyelash. I adamantly declared to any naysayers (including my future husband) that the Civil War was fought over states rights, not slavery. Turns out, it was over states rights, the right to own slaves. But that’s another blog.
I was talking with a friend recently who shared that the overwhelming emotion she’s felt through this season has been one of disappointment, and I would have to echo that. I’ve been disappointed by those who keep silent over an issue that so desperately needs our voices. I’ve been disappointed by those who look at this issue and zoom out, saying that all lives matter, blue lives matter, yes this is bad but so is abortion, etc etc.
By framing our voices in such a way, we trivialize this important issue. It’s not that what we’re saying is wrong, but just not the point right now. I’m sure you saw the statement going around social media about the 99 sheep, I even shared it at one point. The gist is that in the parable, the shepherd left the 99 sheep to search for the one that was lost. And it’s not that in that moment the 99 stop mattering, but just that they aren’t the ones who need help right then.
The truth of the matter is this, if you call yourself a person of faith, you cannot, CANNOT look the other way on this. Our faith should propel us just like in Micah 6:8 to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly. Now all three of these are needed in concert to be effective in our role as reconcilers, advocates, and warriors in our communities. If we do not first and foremost seek justice for the oppressed, the ignored, and the marginalized, then our efforts will veer off course. If we do not walk humbly there is zero chance our voices will be taken seriously, and if we do not LOVE mercy, we will never recognize those on the other side of the aisle as created in God’s image, shaped in their voices and choices by their upbringing, their family, their community in a way we must strive to understand.
I promised I wouldn’t wax too poetic about this so let me add one thing before we jump into farm life. My views on one tangible outpouring of this time (namely confederate statues) has changed over the past couple years.
When the statues first were being defaced and torn down several years ago, I was conflicted. These were erected for my family member, and his generals. I don’t think anyone would feel great about seeing something erected to honor their family being defaced, spat on, and destroyed. But I also knew that if these statues were causing pain to my black brothers and sisters, of course I should be sympathetic to that as a christian.
Here’s where I stand now. I think all statues erected for confederate generals and leaders should be moved from places of prominence and displayed either in museums or confederate graveyards or battlefields. Here’s why.
- Statues aren’t erected as a tool to preserve history. That’s what museums, historic plaques, battlefields, etc are for. A statue says very clearly, here is someone we respect, we honor and we want to continue to honor through the years.
- Moving these statues is not erasing history. Let’s say that again for the people in the back, moving these statues is NOT erasing history. Again, history is taught through history books, through museums, battlefields, etc. Not through prominent statues.
- Places and things hold memories. If you don’t think this is true, try revisiting the place you got engaged, a place you were broken up with, a place you lost a loved one. Those emotions are powerful and deep no matter how many years go by. Now imagine you were brutally attacked and raped in a public place. And now imagine that you have to walk or drive by that place everyday on your way to work. Now Im sure some people do have to deal with this realty, and I can’t even imagine how hard that must be. But the truth of the matter is, that for so many in the black community, seeing these statues erected to honor the very same men who fought for the right to continue enslaving and raping their relatives evokes the same emotional response. Why on earth would we think our right to “preserve history” (which by the way, no one that I know of is advocating for erasing history) is more important than the daily pain we are inflicting on our brothers and sisters?
- Now some will argue, all of my black friends don’t think it’s a big deal, and they think the statues should stay. Here is gut check time, do we as a society really want to glorify slavery? Regardless of what the black community thinks, and regardless of whether or not you are a christian, we can do better than prominently honoring a time when we fought to own other human beings.
Okay I’ll hush now. But I hope you hear me as a southern girl through and through, confederate royalty and all, saying enough is enough, now is the time to be better as individuals, as communities, and as a country. Take the statues down. And guess what, I’m not disgusted by my lineage either, what my Great(6?) grandfather did, or his generals. Because that’s where grace comes in. I know they were shaped by their surroundings just as I am and God loves us just the same. And the same goes for those I see fighting to keep the statues in place, I don’t think you hate black people (well maybe some of you do, real talk) but instead you’re taking action because you care about your country.
So let’s be better.
…what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
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