GenEraTioN nEXt

If you have listened to me for any amount of time, you know I am a firm believer in thinking generationally. To be clear, it essentially means to consider how our actions affect others BEFORE we do them and not wait until AFTER we are facing consequences that we consider this. Might be easier said than done but look no further than your local newspaper or your Internet homepage to see the devastation in our world and how it affects the generations to come. We need to, at least, ponder the thought.

So many bad calls. So many unfortunate decisions. So many words and actions that we can't take back once they're said and made. So many lives shattered, seemingly beyond repair. WHAT IF.....

America, America
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea

I came across a picture this morning that stirred my angst about where we are as a nation. I won't post the picture for several reasons but the uppermost reason is because I just don't want to look at it every day. Every day that I log on to answer your questions or read your comments, I'd have to see that disturbing image and I would rather not subject myself or my readers to that. It is view-able online if you wish to see it but the gist is there are four "mature" women at a rally of some kind with white t-shirts and a word in red right in the center that together spells out "Make America White Again". A small child stands next to them with the word "Trump" on her shirt.

Now I am positive this isn't your first rodeo. You've seen these kinds of sentiments before. Perhaps you even ascribe to them and would rather not have anyone that is non-white in "your" country. There is a picture that is likely linked to this in a meme that has a Native American woman's picture above the words "America Wasn't White Before."

Again, I reiterate this is probably not your first time viewing a meme or picture relating to the Trump administration but the little girl in the Trump t-shirt is what caught my eye and drew my ire. Almost in the same way, the little boy or girl that would be standing with their parents while an African American man is being lynched as a main event of their Friday evening. This child can't possibly understand fully the ramifications of this. That's too much unfair weight onto the shoulders of a child with their whole future ahead of them. Even if one of the four ladies was her parent, she can't possibly fathom what the consequences are for such clear hate speech and vitriol. How could she?

She'd have to be able to see into the future and follow the lifespan and subsequent effect of every word that she speaks, every action that she takes, and see the manifestation of every thing spoken or done in her life by those with influence and proximity. Again, how could she? How could any of us really? We throw theoretical rocks (the words we speak) every day and never take any thought for where the stones land. And we do it with pride and consistency.

America, America
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

I can only suggest that a small amount of consideration is enough to change the trajectory of a life, even if only for a moment. Bigotry, to me, is a stupid person's disease because it leaves out reason, compassion, and it blatantly refuses to consider what is clearly evident. It cripples the user and destroys its victims. It is cancerous, poisonous, and merciless. It lives and feeds off of the perception that anyone that doesn't look like the bigot is irrelevant, inconsequential, or just have no intrinsic value. It is nonsensical to thieves to forcibly break into another person's home, steal or destroy all their prized possessions, assault the household members, deem the entire household savages and unfit to live then murder the entire household, and then claim that the entire household is theirs by right, because they used trickery to gain access and simply overpowered the homeowners. That sounds like the definition of savage to me but I digress. There are consequences for everyone on both sides of that scenario. Think about it.

An old pastor of mines used to love to talk to us about the "24 hour rule", which I found intriguing at first. If you walk past the window of a department store and you see an outfit or piece of electronics that you think you just have to have, instead of making the common impulse buy, you wait. Wait for 24 hours and if you still feel the same about it and deem it a wise investment, you should go back and buy it.

How much different could the world we live in be if we waited 24 hours and consider as many ramifications as we could imagine before we decided to do that thing? Is it possible that we would spare a life, perhaps even our own? Might we make a workplace better or a family stronger? Would race relations be exponentially better? Would powerful government be forced to listen to its country's voices? Would the next generation be wiser and more compassionate? 

America, America
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!

The Bible offers multiple examples of generational consequences such as Exodus 34 where crimes committed by one generation had an effect on generations later, even touching the third and fourth generation. I doubt that Adam or Eve recognized eating of a piece of forbidden fruit would make your life a little more difficult and your road to prosperity a little longer. We have the inherent ability to pass on our bad habits, our flawed thinking, and much more to the generations to follow. In actuality, we have that much power. We just don't use it very wisely. Pick an affliction. Pick a moral shortcoming. Pick something from the underbelly of our country, or our world. There's so many to choose from. What we do today has the power to affect our tomorrow. Good or bad.

The words "we", "they", and "us" are often used interchangeably but honestly, we need to ask ourselves this one question:

What is MY personal responsibility to the next generation? What will I teach them? What will I give them? How can I help them? The world is watching.....and waiting......

"America The Beautiful" - Words by Katharine Lee Bates