Bearing the Cost of Doing the Right Thing

by Robert Wilkinson

Given the racism and xenophobia dominating the new government, this article bears reprinting. I have been asked why I am so adamantly against Trump, his inner circle, and all he stands for. This article will explain why.

Martin Niemoller’s famous quote is at the end of the article. This is what I originally wrote 4 years ago:

I read an op-ed piece in the WaPo today with that title, and it reminded me of just how segregated and passively racist America was in 1966-68.

Titled "Bearing the cost of doing the right thing" by James Rupert, it is the story of his father, a preacher who stood up to the overt pandemic passive racism in his little segment of white Amerika. The reason it caught my attention is that a very similar thing happened to a Methodist minister in the little church of my childhood at the same time in history.

Around 1966-67, our pastor spoke up a little too strenuously and a little too often about civil and human rights for the “good people” in that church, and they had him transferred somewhere. The next preacher was a windbag who went back to the same boring drone that put people back in their comfort zones. It seemed that no one in our very white church wanted to talk about the very real problems being exposed in the US concerning the civil rights of millions of Americans.

It’s not like our little community was overtly racist. This was in a part of Florida that had already been integrated for years due to the presence of several military bases in that part of the world. They cheered the black running back on our high school team, and no one I knew expressed any racist sentiments during the course of their day. We had too many servicemen of various races whose wives and kids shopped in too many stores for that to happen.

But while there wasn’t overt racism, there was certainly passive racism. When I was a teen there were too many adults who were more than willing to turn a blind eye to the very real injustices going on both across the river and across the state. There were no protests, no news stories, no public discussions, no civil rights commissions where we lived. It was only when I left and went to college in another state that I became aware and active in working for a better world.

I suppose this article awakened these memories due to the ongoing global discussion about how much the new Pope (Francis) was complicit, if only passively, in the murder of priests and tens of thousands in Argentina by the military junta back in the 70s and 80s. That calls all of us to question what we would do in the face of such massive violent violations of human rights. That can be known only by us in the depth of our hearts in the heat of the moment.

Humanity continues to learn the great truth expressed by the immortal Doctor Benjamin Franklin, that “we must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” Or as it was expressed by the 18th century Irish philosopher Edmund Burke, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”

For those who ask how much one clergyman, whether small town Methodist minister or future Pope, can do to speak out against injustices in the face of widespread kidnappings, torture, murder, and other crimes against humanity, I will leave you with a quote from Martin Niemoller that we ignore at our peril:

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Catholic.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.

Please read the article linked at the top of this one. It seems southern New Jersey was just as hostile and racist as anywhere in the deep South of my youth. The new Age will not resemble this dying one in many ways.

© Copyright 2017 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Jo Garceau]

I stand with you for the recognition of our common brother and sisterhood. Yesterday, I called two state legislators of the party I am not in and requested they support state legislation introduced in our legislature to protect refugees and immigrants. A small thing to do, but a statement of belief and determination.

[sw]

Thank you, Robert. It's been a struggle since November and I am looking forward to the New Age. I know circumstances have to play out in their own time, but..please hurry!

[Robert]

Hi Jo - Yes, I also pestered my red state Senator, and of course was ignored. Still, there are private social media groups forming that are HIGHLY active, and it seems hundreds of women are mobilizing across our nation to run for various offices. This is a great awakening. Now if we can just stop the cheating, all will be well.

Hi sw - Perhaps we are the midwives, midhusbands, grandmothers and grandfathers of the era to come. We will be the ones who will be known for standing up for all that is true, good, and beautiful in the One Life we share. Still, because we are at the end of the Age of Separateness, those who are still lost in their separation will do all they can to perpetuate the dream. They do not want to wake up, since then they would know their responsibility to themselves and others. This will literally rip a person in two if they don't willingly accept it. Those in power do not give it up just because it's the right thing to do. But they will be swept aside when they show themselves to be the selfish incompetents they are. We are currently seeing that come to a boiling point.

Just remember that with each turn of the Wheel of Time from an old way to a new way, there are Earth changes that disrupt many things. All we can do is hold the faith, shine the light, BE the Love, and tell the truth as we know it the best we can. Where we can help, we do. Where we must witness, we have compassion. When the Law is administered by the One from Whom we come forth and return, we stand in awe and learn what we can about Karma and karma. And of course, have a good attitude, have a good time, and celebrate the good fortune we have had and will have, knowing we are Eternally Divine having human experiences.

[chickie]

Thank you Ur Highness for this piece!!!

[Nic]

A great testament of important issues regarding not only a moral consciousness but also a call to intelligent action that needs a broad, big picture overview and understanding.
There are a lot of selfish, destructive thoughts and actions taking part in America and elsewhere. It is a world issue. One of the worst things that can happen is to feel isolated and that the "task is too big for anyone to be able to do anything" That is why your call to hang together or hang alone is spot on. If we stand together, the coming of the New Era cannot be stopped.

Blessings be to all.

[sw]

I'm thankful for your response. You're a calming beacon of light in these turbulent seas.

[sue]

'they' have hacked the voting machines...if only we knew
the greedy old paedophiles are but a few...

[sue]

Toxic, talentless, sold out souls
over our planet 'they' have control
Remember what Jesus said about knowing their fruits?
Those self-salting slugs in their tailored suits...

[sue]

...All to discover upon their last breath
Divine the justice they meet in death...

[Raul Davila]

There is a hidden message in the current political turmoil. The poison in the system is corruption and paybacks under the table. The Theme "Drain The Swamp" . Has meaning. Years ago a high ranking bureaucrat in the Dept of Education told me: " We have a problem with Access to congressional offices. We can not communicate without going through 15 to 20. Underlings who are in place to stop and create barriers. ". I recall visiting his office in D.C. His desk was piled with a Stack of Priority Mail trying to influence his decisions. The Bottom Line is Bureaucracy also destroyed the Nazi party.