Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the Inhabitants thereof.
The bell
became the symbol of freedom during the Abolitionist Movement whereby
on January 1, 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued his final Emancipation Proclamation
ringing in the beginning to an end of the inhumane tolerance of slavery in this
country. Yet, even a century later
discrimination lives on.
By the turn
of the 20th century it was women who fought for an equal right to vote -
finally granted with the 19th Amendment in 1920. Yet in 2014 there still exists a gender gap
inequality in pay between men and women.
And just
when you think (or pray) that perhaps society has matured to the point where we
will begin to cease discriminating against other people who happen to be not
like us - the State of Arizona takes it to a whole new level.
Five days
ago Arizona's Legislature passed a controversial bill that would allow business
owners, as long as they assert their religious beliefs, to deny service to gay
and lesbian customers. The bill now sits
on the desk of the governor as the country waits to see if she will, once
again, veto the bill. Meanwhile…other
states are considering similar bills.
How can such
a bill even be passed in these United States....where we live with a foundation
rooted in 'Liberty throughout all the Land to ALL the inhabitants..."
not just those who we like...or those we agree with....or those who are
like us. Our history is tarnished with
discrimination against American Indians, African Americans, Irish, Italian,
Polish, women....as well as those who have a sexual orientation different from
others.
I know many
will argue for their First Amendment rights...but this country...our
faith...says that we need to be open to all.
This past weekend we heard the Gospel remind us that God "causes the sun
to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the
unrighteous." And Pope Francis reminded
us, "Who am I to judge?"
That is good
enough for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment