FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN

FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN

When I was invited to preach today, my first question was about the monthly Faith Rocket theme. When I heard that this month’s theme is Evil, it gave me pause. A very very very long pause. There are some topics I don't preach about. I don't preach about evil. I don't preach about politics. I don't preach about topics that are too controversial.

 

I immediately wanted to talk about Pharoah. We are approaching Passover, and that’s nothing terribly political or threatening, so it felt safe, and I agreed speak today.

I wrote a sermon. It’s a good sermon. It was neither pithy nor personal, and it kept the topic of evil at arm’s length. Nothing threatening, nothing actionable. It didn’t move me, or any of us, to do anything.

I wrote a second sermon. Another good one, if I do say so myself. But again, it was too fluffy. Too rainbows. Too arm’s length. There was something deeper here calling to me to speak out with a voice I rarely use.

In the meantime, Parkland happened. So the next time I sat at my laptop, the sermon wrote itself. 

 

Evil is not a pleasant topic, for sure. Yet, we don’t have to look too far to find very real, too real in fact, recent examples of evil––some not very far from us. Vegas, Florida, far too many other less publicized but very real nonetheless school shootings, police brutality and uncalled for violence, unresponsive and irresponsible government officials. Even Ferguson is in our own backyard, and the racial issues still rage around us and across our country. 

 

And what of all the devastating hurricanes and tornadoes from our past summer? Isn’t that, too, evil of the natural disaster kind? Now THAT would have been a far easier kind of evil to address this morning!

But that is not what called out to me. And I haven’t even mentioned the important #MeToo movement, of which I am one.

This morning, I’m going to get down and dirty about our children, and how we must take action NOW for their sake. And here’s why I must no longer keep silent or avoid the rather unpleasant topic of evil:

Not only am I a child and adult victim of the #MeToo movement, I am also a child victim of gun violence. . . .  

At the age of four, while on a day of fishing with my father and his brother, my uncle, a felon who had served time in prison, drew a loaded pistol from his jacket pocket, took aim at my heart from 3 feet away, and pulled the trigger. A convicted felon, and yet he not only had a pistol, but he felt the need to bring it, and have it loaded and in his pocket, on a fishing trip with his brother and 4 year old niece. This was more than half a century ago. It still affects me PROFOUNDLY today.

 

#MeToo and gun violence are very real parts of the reasons why I suffer terribly from PTSD and its most severe form, DTD, Developmental Trauma Disorder. Some of you already know I am a very broken vessel, and yet, every morning, I awake and try one more day to be better at coping with life than I was the day before. Some days I am not very successful at it.

Let’s face it; we all have our wounds. Today, we have a chance to prevent these kinds of unnecessary wounds in our children. Let’s talk about that.

Gun violence, the abuse of females, and so many other similar situations of abuse and violence weigh heavily on our hearts and minds these days, and Emerson is a community who has chosen, time and again, to put their actions and money behind more than just speaking out. So I don’t need to rehash the presence of darkness and evil which has become all too frequent and all too familiar in our daily barrage of news bombardment. 

 

Yet the real issue always comes back around to, what do we do about it? How can our voices rise above the cacophony around us? Those who scream for their right to bear arms and that guns don’t kill people, other people do... how can we be heard?

There is something important missing in the debate about evil. Susan Nieman, author of the book, Evil in Modern Thought: An Alternative History of Philosophy, posits that there are usually two theses in the way theologians and philosophers have typically tried to understand evil and suffering. The first sees “natural disasters,” such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes––the fare typically referred to as “acts of G!d”––as “natural evil,” which premodern people saw as a result of both “G!d's plan” and “doing something wrong” on the part of the individual. 

 

The Lisbon earthquake in 1755 did much to begin cracking that theory of causality, and only the strictest fundamentalists will banter words of condemnation, pointing at certain groups whose “sin” triggers “G!’ds wrath.” All of us here this morning have the maturity and reason to know that those kinds of accusations are laughable.

The second thesis of evil revolves around trying to make sense of moral evil, or “sins of choice” so to speak. Hitler, September 11^th, Paddock and Las Vegas, police brutality, human trafficking, school shootings--all of these fit into this second category, as do such actions as rape, murder, incest, child abuse, genocide, arson, the list seems endless.
 Clearly, there is no debate about the evil of these willful actions. I think we are all on the same page with that.

Author Nieman goes on to bring up a third kind of evil, one which is more difficult to see, yet ultimately more destructive. Nieman names this as the evil committed by people who do not have evil intentions. While we believe that Hitler clearly had evil intentions, what about the thousands of civilians who went along with Hitler’s plan, not out of evil intentions, but out of what philosopher Hannah Arendt calls “the banality of evil”?


What is the banality of evil? The great French philosopher and activist Simone Weil, as she contemplated suffering in an illogical world, wrote in 1933, “Never react to an evil in such a way as to augment it.” Echoing this, Maya Angelou has said, “Throughout our nervous history, we have constructed pyramidic towers of evil, ofttimes in the name of good.”

The banality of evil wears a cloak of good intentions and is perpetuated, often, because bureaucracy dehumanizes the evil.

Journalist Hannah Arendt  covered the trial of Nazi war criminal Eichmann. She described his demeanor of having become so detached from reality, that his rhetoric was always the same, expressed in the same words. The longer one listened to him, the more obvious it became that his inability to speak was closely connected with an inability to think from the standpoint of someone else. He had surrounded himself with the safeguard of the inability to see anyone else’s viewpoint and reality but his own.


This describes too many of our current elected officials who have said of the recent shootings out of one side of their mouth that they are pure evil, and yet clamor aboard the train which claims that it’s not about the guns and weapons of violence, that evil cannot be legislated or even regulated, and that there is no need for gun control legislation, that this kind of evil cannot be prevented by limiting the number or kinds of weapons a citizen may own. In fact, Florida politicians went so far as to say we don’t need to legislate fewer guns, but we need to allow more guns in our schools by requiring teachers to carry them! What kind of insanity is that? The same insanity which allowed Nazi crimes.

No one disagrees that Paddock of Vegas and Cruz of Parkland probably had evil intentions, whatever might lie at the deep, dark bottom of their thinking. The point here is to ask, what if the “good intentions” of those wielding the legislative powers are as morally evil and corrupt as the Hitlers and Paddocks and Cruz’s of the world?


Any discussion of the evil in the massacre in Las Vegas and these school shootings will naturally consider the evil committed with malice and forethought by someone whose motives, in the end, will probably be unclear to us. But we also must look at the evil committed by all the ways in which we refuse to enact sane, reasonable legislation to protect our citizens, to protect our children.


Author Susan Neiman said she doesn’t believe political leaders who refuse to consider gun restrictions, or oil executives who exploit the earth, are necessarily acting with evil intentions. But that’s irrelevant, she argues. Judgment, not intention, is the “heart and soul of moral action.” As Neiman writes, ‘The world must hold you responsible for what you do, since it's what you do, not what you intend, that resounds in the world.”


Perhaps we’ve been crying the wrong battle cry as we have attempted to change the legislation in the past. Perhaps we have been failing to call the legislators’ attention to the eery similarities between Nazi war criminals who were “just following orders” and the fact that their inaction, lining their pockets with lobby money, and following the party lines are no different from the actions and inactions and intentions of Nazi war criminals. 

 

Perhaps if we begin holding the legislators to the same standards to which we have held Nazi war criminals, they might more seriously consider the situation. Perhaps if enough citizens and children cry out andhold them to this comparison, they will finally get the memo. 

 

Perhaps it is time we made this point more clear. I don’t know for sure, but I hope, as I look around and see our children raising their voices. We must, we MUST, rally behind them with our full support! 

 

Perhaps our children can lead the way and accomplish the goals we adults have been unable to accomplish. At the very least, we must try.

The point is, whether the issue is regulating guns or environmental pollution, we must look beyond whatever good intentions might be held out, and look instead at the deeper moral actions, or inactions, at work, and call them exactly what they are: evil. Every bit as evil as the shootings themselves.


As a Jewish Rabbi, I hold the Torah as an important instructional manual from which I derive core values of life. I believe that the Torah teaches these critical core values through its stories, and these stories and core values serve as guides, as a moral compass for how to live, and to make decisions. 

 

I have previously preached here at Emerson about the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, repair of the world, and how it begins with ourselves; how our community is to be a model of the world we wish to create. For me, the core values in the Torah offer guidelines for being the change we wish to see in the world. 

 

One of the most critical core values about how to repair the world, a task which has not become any easier throughout the millennia, is the one which tells us, Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa (“you shall not stand by idly”). We stand, but not idly... We take a stand for human rights, and a stand against oppression and inequality. We stand with the oppressed by initiating intentional interventions and supporting grassroots leadership, and by offering a hand-up for long term changes, and a hand–out in the aftermath of human-made or natural destruction, always seeking long-term solutions when possible. But we must never stand by idly!

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) Re’echa means neighbor. Not Jewish neighbor, not white neighbor, not male neighbor, but simply, neighbor. We have a responsibility to take care of those who are in trouble. And who in this society can we say right now is safe from all forms of evil and the banality of evil? Who? It seems to me that the only “neighbor” who is being fully protected right now is the legislators lining their pockets and calling the shots. Literally, calling the shots. 

 

Are not the very people who have been elected to safeguard us doing nothing more than safeguarding themselves, pocketing Big Lobby money, and ruling us by intimidation and bullying tactics?

They are turning a deaf ear to our cries for tzedek, tzedek tirdof!, Justice! Justice, we must pursue! How do we turn this tide? How do we pursue justice and not just stand by idly while we watch in horror as our neighbors are being killed, OUR CHILDREN are being killed, whether by school shootings, other mass shootings, “natural disasters” triggered by environmental standards gone amuck, fracking, bullying, rape and sexual assault, and the list, sadly goes on...? What must we do? What are we doing, and is there more we can, and must, do?

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) What kind of comprehensive action will it take to end gun violence? And while we know that criminal shootings are not necessarily tied to issues of mental health, we must also work to ensure that every person in need should have access to quality mental health care. 

 

We must work diligently to organize programs for parents and children in our communities to address issues of violence that touch all of us and the choices we can make in our own lives to help create a more nonviolent society.

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”). Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, from long ago, commented on that Torah verse, and warned against the complicity of silence, warning “that one not be joined with people of blood.” Has our silence earned us complicity, joined us to the people of blood? 

 

Concerned for the danger of weapons falling into the wrong hands and to prevent arms trafficking, the ancient rabbis set stringent guidelines not only for the sale of weapons, but also for the sale of material that could be used to make weapons.The rabbis of old were not afraid to limit the sale of weapons, nor should we be.

Today, there are virtually no limits to the weapons and accessories that can be purchased legally. Remember the Colorado theater shooter in 2012? Through on-line sales, he purchased an assault rifle, a shotgun, two pistols, a gas mask, body armor, gas canisters, explosives, and six thousand rounds of ammunition. That was 2012. 

 

Since then, what has changed? In five and a half years, what has changed? We are left scratching our heads and asking why a private citizen needs such weaponry and why it is possible to amass such an arsenal. How many more must die? And when might it be you, or I, or one of our children?

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) We need to advocate for far ranging mental health services, identifying early on and helping those at risk. 

 

We need to acknowledge and act on the link between poverty, racism, and urban violence. Whatever the antecedents to violence, we need to take away the tools that allow for the explosion of violence. 

 

For the well being of all, we need to find common ground among a broad spectrum of our fellow citizens and act from our shared concern to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. 

 

We need to foster a greater inclination to nonviolence in our children. To that end, we need to insure that we do not glorify gun violence in TV shows and movies, in the games we allow our children to play, saying it is harmless and allows them to express violence and anger in safe ways. 

 

There is nothing safe about gun violence, even if the tool is a game or words. There is nothing safe about bullying and poor treatment of others, not even the usual locker room banter boys make about girls and young women, reducing them to mere objects for their personal sexual satisfaction. We know these things.

Yet, here we are.... how many more must die, whether by guns or mega storms, caused by inaction by government officials? How many more women, young, old, even babies, must be subjected to the #MeToo? 

 

Even in the name of good intentions, our leaders must be held accountable for their actions as well as their inactions, their hot air that proclaims “pure evil” while refusing to enact sane, reasonable legislation, their finger-pointing at the mental instability of the people pulling the triggers rather than seeing how their inactions, their reduction of funds for mental health care access, and their defensive posturing fueled by organizations like the NRA are at least equally to blame? 

 

Smith & Wesson, manufacturer of the MP15 assault rifle used in the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, is a top gun industry financial contributor and corporate partner of the National Rifle Association (NRA). At some point, the world will stand up and hold us responsible for augmenting evil. And at some point, we must stand up and hold our elected leaders responsible for augmenting evil.


IT IS TIME TO TAKE AN ACCOUNTING. IT IS TIME TO HOLD OUR LEGISLATORS ACCOUNTABLE. WE MUST TAKE A STAND, NOW, FOR THE VERY SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN.

Is Paddock responsible for Las Vegas? Absolutely. Is Cruz responsible for Parkland? You betcha! We must also seriously question if those who block sane legislation for reasonable gun control while violence continues to escalate are not also accountable for augmenting evil. 

 

Is it time for us to take a stand and yell loudly enough to be heard above the clamorous crowd of the NRA, to tell them in no uncertain words that they are not promoting freedom but instead advocating and augmenting evil along the same lines as Nazi war criminals did?

What will it take for the voice of reason to be heard?

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) Just as it took enough people around the world to speak to the truth of the Holocaust to turn the tide towards freedom and justice, so it is time in our day to speak the truth to the evil we clearly see and that needs to be be changed. 

 

Our United States Constitution begins with the words: “We the People of the United States…” This country is the country of the PEOPLE, not the country of the privileged politicians and the money power behind them.

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) Our common welfare and common sense cries out to us from the blood spilled all around us! It calls on us to not stand idly by the blood of our neighbors and our children! It demands that we not become inured to these horrific acts of violence. 

 

The great Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “…morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but ALL are responsible.” 

 

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) While raising our voices in prayer and condolences for the victims of violence, we also raise our voices to call for the enactment and enforcement of reasonable gun laws throughout this country that would prevent such tragedies.

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) We must not lose hope. Our world is imperfect, and so we respond with hope. Our world is full of darkness, and so we respond with light. While each action we take may feel small, almost insignificant, and while it will not solve all the world’s ills, it has the potential to ease someone else’s pain. 

 

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) Donate to organizations and causes that champion the rights and inclusion of all people, regardless of sex, creed, status, orientation, ethnicity, or religion. Let’s have conversations about the options of actions we can find before us. We each have our own time, talent, and treasures to invest, so let’s brainstorm myriads of ways to turn the tide.

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) We must not give up our actions to take a stand against not just evil, not only the banality of evil, but also the evil behind the “good intentions” of standing by idly. 

 

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) We must not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the work which must be done. We must begin the conversations and support the efforts already in progress that will turn the tide. We must take decisive and courageous action to stop gun violence in our cities, in our state, in our country. We must call our communities to support comprehensive and consistent federal gun legislation. We must support our children who are leading the way and finding their voices.

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) We must call for an end to standing by idly. We must point out the banality of evil. We must begin to accuse the legislators of their good intentions which are leading down very bad roads. 

 

Today you can take a flyer that lists our call to action, and nine things each one of us can do right now to help stop gun violence. Perhaps you are doing some, or even all of these things. Don’t stop. Please take the flyer and look it over to make sure you are doing everything you can. It is loaded with resources and websites and ideas.

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) We need to BE the change we need to see in our world, in our country. To do that, we look deep within ourselves and look at the times and ways we, ourselves, permit violence or an attitude or behaviors that support even the tiniest fraction of violence.

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa. (“you shall not stand by idly”) Even if only for one day, in our everyday lives as we model nonviolence to our children:

Instead of anger, we choose kindness.

Instead of revenge, we choose compassion.

Instead of resentment, we choose empathy.

Instead of ideology, we choose compromise.

Instead of destruction, negativity, and tearing someone else down, we choose acceptance, positivity, and building others up.

Instead of fear, we choose endurance.

Instead of invective, we choose to send a blessing.

Instead of violence, we choose peace.

We speak the truth, we give power to the truth, we do not stand by idly, and neither do we open the door a tiny crack to evil and violence.

May we do this for one day, and may it change us profoundly, and may it change the world, for us, and for the very sake of our children,

And to this, let us say, Amein.