One day in the future, a Republican is going to stand up and admit that his or her party lost its way. They are going to say that they are sorry their party went down a dark path and caused so much pain and destruction to our country and to so many innocent people in it. They are going to bend their knee, promise to be better and ask for forgiveness from us.
This may sound like a fantasy, but it is based on a real moment when a young police chief in Birmingham, Alabama offered his humblest apology to Senator John Lewis in a ceremony at First Baptist Church. Lewis and everyone present broke into tears.
Everyone is broken and every institution is broken. As such, we will all fail horribly in this life to live up to a standard of perfection. Now, as in times past, we are suffering through an upheaval of brokenness that seems like the beginning of the end.
It is not the end. We need to see beyond our current situation, painful though it is, and seek to become more fully human, not less. We are given reason and logic to figure things out, but it is the heart within us and our connection to a higher source some call God that’s necessary, now and always.
It is altogether too easy to create caricatures of a person whose ideas and actions we despise. Such has been my practice since I became politically aware around the time of Watergate. I admit that I have harbored anger and hatred since then for Republicans and, more recently, for those on the extreme left. That’s over 50 years of bad juju I’ve held in my head and heart.
So, I’ll start by saying that I am sorry for willingly giving my heart away to negativity. I admit that I have allowed myself to be infiltrated and disrupted, that I have denied my peaceful nature and allowed hate for the Other to enter into my heart. This is not who I want to be.
The police chief in Alabama gave his shield to John Lewis. I have no badge to give, but I will pledge myself to develop more kindness, understanding, compassion and empathy. I may be broken, but I’m not finished. May God help me to be better.
When the day comes to accept the apology from those who have harmed us, will we turn our backs or open our hearts? My prayer is that we know when to fight and when to forgive.
