I’ve just finished reading John Lewis’ book, “Walking with the Wind.” Admiration for this courageous and complex man doesn’t seem to describe the man that I discovered while reading his book. He believed we can achieve great things together as a nation but not through violence and chaos. We should be allowed to disagree with the government’s policies through peaceful negotiations and non-violent protests. He was willing to go to jail for his beliefs and the civil rights of all people, not just Black Americans. In the words of the song, “We Shall Overcome,” America can achieve its goals not through violence but through love, a love of ourselves, our families, and our nation. I wish he was alive to continue to fight for civil rights and racial issues that are still prevalent in our nation.
From his viewpoint, the government’s first concern should be the basic needs of its citizens, things such as food, shelter, health care, education, jobs and fair wages, and the opportunity to develop our own potentials. The struggles America has continually gone through are the struggles for these basic rights. They are not just our citizens’ rights; they are the global rights of all human beings. What applies to our communities applies, in a connected way, to every community around the world.
He also thought that Americans have a deep sense of emptiness in our souls because we have drifted away from reaching out to others, caring for them, and understanding different points of view, different races, and different life styles. There is a “spark of the divine” (page 483) in each one of us if we would only chose to be more like Christ rather than self-centered individuals. When we don’t reach out to others, the distances between us widen and the distances become the basis for intolerance and hate. Individuals who are not seen and not listened to often move to violently search out their truths in riots, property damage, and human hostility.
Martin Luther King referred to his “Beloved Community” to describe what he thought America should be. John Lewis saw the path to that “Community” as including both race and class. When only a few Americans are doing financially well, the middle and lower classes become cynical and discouraged. They turn away from one another, become introverted, and may feel the only way to achieve “the American dream” is by arming themselves for defense and attacking. The political system needs to respond directly to the problems of its people, to humanize how it helps them. Along with amassing a strong military and many material goods, the government must see to the spiritual strength of its communities. Without a belief in a higher power, this nation will continue to struggle to meet the people’s needs. We must, as a nation, believe what we say in our “Pledge of Allegiance,” one nation under God. “It does not profit a nation to gain the world if we must lose our soul, which includes our compassion.” (page 493)
We must also invest more in our young people by being moral compasses for their values, attitudes, and the sense that we can have a better life with liberties for all and the pursuit of happiness. They must be shown how to keep climbing the mountains they face, not just for physical growth but to give them a direction, a goal, to lead them higher. John Lewis’ basic mantra was “to do the right thing” (page 495), however hard that path might be. He firmly felt that “a united people, driven by a goal of a just and decent community, is absolutely unstoppable.” (page 500)
He was often asked, “Of what importance is prayer in your life?” When he prayed, he tried to talk with a power greater than himself. He took time to be quiet and to meditate. He prayed to reach out to the world and to ask for help in dealing with problems, things, and people that he didn’t understand. As he prayed, he believed that his dreams would come true. He also believed that every part of his body had to move while he prayed because he realized that “resources are meant to build not to tear down, to reconcile and not divide, to love and not to hate, to heal and not to kill. To be one people, one family, one house, we must pray.” (page 503)
My admiration for this courageous and complex man has grown tremendously in the past few weeks. He truly loved America as a congressman and as a citizen. Very few members of Congress today are of the same caliber of integrity and Christian love as he was. Sometimes, when I watch the news or read magazine articles, I wonder why so many of our “real leaders” have died before their time. Why are so many Americans discouraged and mistrustful of the government? Then I read a book written by one of America’s true statesmen, and I find my answer, love. That’s all we really need to be the “Beloved Community.” Our children will never learn right from wrong by watching the adults in their lives verbally abuse or physically assault another human being. They will only learn that violence, of any kind, will lead to more violence and confrontation. Love, on the other hand, leads to a more truthful path where integrity and courage reign. We need to believe again in a higher power, in God, and then those mountains of problems we hear about every day won’t seem so high and hard to climb. John Lewis used those mountains to climb higher with love as his basic core value. If you are one of many Americans walking around with a big question mark in your minds about the government, reach out to your elected officials and find out why they are more interested in themselves than doing what’s right for the people. Then sit down in a quiet place, move your body, and pray to the only One who can help us move mountains, the only One who knew who we were before we were born. I believe the “Beloved Community” can be achieved here on earth, but if not, I’m looking forward to heaven.
Anna Hartt
