Comfort Food

I had a dream about a week ago.  One of those everything is a mess and there are a bunch of people I don't know mixed with people I do know but who aren't acting normal dreams.

And in the middle of the dream, I heard a voice that said, "What we need is more comfort food."

At the time, I was thinking about the elections here in the US and about Brexit and about how I'd hidden most of my Facebook friends' comments because I was very very tired of the divisiveness, racism, materialism, misogyny, misanthropy, elitism, and EVERYTHING.  I was thinking about how we don't talk on Facebook, we meme.  And about how many comments (including mine, I confess) begin or end with "you moron."

Then, a black man was shot in Louisiana because he was selling CDs and the police were frightened.  And then, a black man was shot in Minnesota because although he was following procedure and had told police he had a CWP and was showing them ID, the police were frightened and shot him.  In a car with a small child in the back seat.  And then, in an otherwise peaceful protest in Dallas, a lone sniper killed four police officers and a transit officer.

And the response was interesting.  We prayed for peace.  Some only prayed for the two black men and some only prayed for the police officers.  Some said that if you obey the law, you don't get shot, which is disturbing on many levels.

1.  We have the death penalty for very few crimes.  Shoplifting, broken tail lights, even burglary are not generally punishable by death.  White people who commit these crimes don't get killed by police. Dylan Roof, who shot nine church-goers in Charleston, was treated with respect when he was captured, even though he had a gun.

2.  These men did what they were supposed to do. OK, the man in Louisiana got a little rowdy, but the school employee in Minnesota followed the rules.  It is disingenuous to suggest this is their fault.

3.  This is America.  It is not a police state.  Respect for police is a great thing.  Police respect for citizens is a great thing.  The suggestion that one should take abuse from a police officer then file a "civil rights" violation complaint is absurd.  Is that what you do, white person?  Oh no, you won't be in that situation.  But if you are... you will shout "Do you know who I am?" and you will not be shot.

4.  This is not about a few bad police officers.  Look at the reaction of the police officer in Minnesota.  That boy is freaking out.  He is not a bad person.  He was afraid.  He is a part of a culture of distrust and fear. He was not an anomaly.

OK, so what do we do?

Well, first we confess: I have not loved God and I have not loved my neighbor as myself.

Then we forgive.  That is not to say we don't expect our criminal justice system to do its job.  It's that we forgive and let God do God's work. And let's be real, we may have to work on this. Take your time, and find your peace.  Don't embrace your inner spoiled brat.  Civilize that little bugger.

And then we talk.  We sit down and eat together and tell our stories.  And we listen to the stories without defensiveness and fear.  And we tell our stories with embellishment or braggadocio.  And we eat real food that gives us peace and comfort and love.

People do not live by bread alone.  We need the community to feed us.