Racism and Anti-Racism 

Our society in the U.S. is so deeply divided that we have come dangerously close to internal warfare in recent months. More than cultural and political differences, the division between racism and anti-racism is the issue. 

There are a number of words 

  that we are hearing often lately. 

One of those is "pandemic." 

Another is "racism." 

Yet another is "anti-racism." 

Somewhat related to "anti-racism" is "Antifa," 

  which is a recently coined term 

    to refer to a social movement 

      which is not any sort of organization. 

The Antifa movement exists primarily 

  to counteract fascism. 

It's name is taken from the term, Anti-facism, 

    and I find it somewhat related to anti-racism 

      because racism is a feature 

        of most forms of fascism. 

Antifa, racism, and anti-racism are among

  the most misunderstood terms 

    in common use these days. 

Sometimes the misunderstanding 

  is caused by the deliberate actions 

    of the purveyors of prejudice. 

At first the insurrection at the U.S. capitol on Jan. 6 

  was called a false flag operation 

    by those who wanted to distract from the reality. 

So-called conservative commentators accused 

  Antifa activists of creating a false impression 

    that supporters of the former president 

      had led the protest that exploded into sedition. 

In fact, supporters of the former president 

  did lead a protest on January 6, 

    and most of those who attacked the capitol 

      had the specific purpose of stopping 

        the constitutionally required certification 

          by both houses of Congress 

            of the election of President Biden 

              and Vice President Harris. 

The attempt to stop the certification failed. 

A threatened open war was prevented. 

One of the expressed purposes of such a war 

  was the starting of a race war in the U.S. 

In other words, 

  racism was at least part of the heart of darkness 

    that came to threaten democracy in the U.S. 

Racism is a serious problem in our society, 

  and it is not limited to certain 

    geographic and demographic areas. 

First and foremost, 

  I want to clarify, 

    especially for purposes of today's sermon, 

      that racism is not the same as racial prejudice. 

The confusion between the two is most evident 

  when people say that they are not racist 

    because they do not think of skin color 

      as an issue in human relationships. 

What they are saying is 

  that they do not have racial prejudice. 

Racism does not involve judging people 

  on the basis of their skin color, 

    ethnic background, 

      primary language, 

        or other similar characteristics. 

Racism is a matter of history and social inequity. 

We can regard people as truly equal in value, 

  (Our UU 1st Principle: 

    The Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person) 

      but still be involved in racism 

        because of the society and culture 

          in which we live. 

It's most uncomfortable for me to say this, 

  and I'm deeply sympathetic with the reality 

    that it is uncomfortable for anyone to hear it, 

      but everyone who lives in the U.S. today 

        is involved with racism in one way or another. 

Our involvement can be a matter of working 

  for racism or against it. 

We do not have to cooperate with the racism 

  built into our society. 

We can act in anti-racist ways. 

As we do so, it is important to remember 

  that it is not 

    helpful to refer to another person as racist. 

Social institutions are more often the contexts 

  where racism and oppression are expressed

    than the lives of individual people. 

It is much better to set an example 

  by acting against racism in our own lives 

    and in our communities. 

We can counteract the racism we find 

  in our social institutions and interactions. 

And we can work to change social structures 

  that tend to perpetuate racism. 

More and more, the term racism 

  is being used 

    to refer to systemic forms of oppression, 

      and that is the way I'm using it today. 

Even Merriam Webster is now offering

  the definition, systemic forms of oppression, 

    as a way of understanding the meaning 

      of the term, racism. 

One example of the experience of racism 

  occurs in the valuation of property. 

An interracial couple will almost invariably 

  receive a higher appraisal on a home they own 

    if the darker skinned members of the family 

      are not in evidence 

        when the home appraiser is present. 

The experience is well documented and common 

  for people in the United States today. 

There are too many other examples 

  of systemic racism 

    for me to try to make an exhaustive list, 

      but another well known experience 

        of people of color 

          is the events that transpire 

            if and when they are stopped by the police. 

People who have lighter skin tones, 

  do not often think, 

    "Will this be the way that I die?" 

        when they are stopped. 

People with darker skin tones 

  often do think in those terms. 

Speaking of lighter and darker skin tones 

  reminds me of a way of distinguishing 

    the appearance of people 

      with different racial backgrounds. 

To make reference to Star Trek 

  and my affinity for science fiction, 

    the actor LeVar Burton played Geordi LaForge 

      in Star Trek, The Next Generation. 

He refers to his friends 

  who have lighter skin tones than his 

    as "melanin challenged." 

I find that amusing and telling. 

We who are melanin challenged, 

  as evidenced by our lighter skin tones, 

    may be a little bit uncomfortable with the idea, 

But I do believe that certain insecurities are part 

  of the foundation of prejudice and 

    oppression of people 

      based on their race or ethnicity. 

Those insecurities and their results in relationships 

  are a profound threat to the fabric of our society 

    and to the security and well being of us all. 

Anti-racism offers us opportunities 

  to counteract the threat. 

There are ways to act against institutional racism 

  that will make a difference for us all. 

Certainly we can offer ourselves as people

  who treat other people well 

    whatever their race or ethnicity may be. 

Even more importantly, 

  we can act against policies of government, 

    business, church, and other social institutions 

      when they treat people differently 

        because of their racial or ethnic background. 

Across the U.S. today 

  there are many efforts underway 

    especially in education 

      to encourage anti-racism. 

There are also corresponding efforts 

  to resist the encouragement of anti-racism. 

It's threatening to have to acknowledge 

  that we have all been involved 

    in one way or other 

      with the racial discrimination and oppression 

        (in other words, the racism) 

          that have long been endemic in our society. 

One of the most powerful anti-racist viewpoints 

  in education and media today 

    is the 1619 project, 

      based on the year that the first enslaved Africans 

        arrived in the territory that would become 

          the United States of America. 

It has inspired a lot of reflection and study 

  as well as a lot of opposition and anger. 

At least the project provides a way of approaching 

  the history of the United States 

    from an anti-racist point of view. 

Another way of promoting anti-racism 

  is the social movement known as 

    Black Lives Matter. 

'Tis an ill wind that blows no one any good. 

That old saying could surely have been 

  a UU proverb! 

I'm thinking of the current pandemic 

  creating the opportunity for the growth 

    of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Many people have paid more attention to the news 

  and current events 

    than generally happened in previous years. 

This has meant that oppression based on race 

  has come to many people's attention. 

The whole idea that Black Lives Matter 

  has been a result. 

To say that all lives matter is not necessarily 

  a contradiction to the idea 

    that Black Lives Matter, too. 

To work against racism, 

  it is important to emphasize the equal importance

    of lives that have all too often been devalued. 

If we return to our First Principle(s), 

  we can remember clearly that the words are true: 

    Black Lives Matter, too, 

      as we affirm the inherent

        worth and dignity of every person. 

Amen. 

So let it be. 

Blessed be. 

 

Love is Love 

Beltane is the ancient Feast that led to May Day. It is a celebration of Life and Love of every kind. 

Yesterday was Beltane, 

  one of the high holy days of the ancient faith 

    sometimes called paganism. 

It stands in a position 

  similar to Samhain (Halloween), 

    since it falls approximately halfway 

      between an Equinox and a Solstice. 

In our culture, 

  Beltane is probably better known as May Day, 

    an ancient celebration 

      of Spring and approaching Summer 

        in much the same way 

          that Samhain commemorates 

            Autumn and the approach of Winter. 

Among the earth based spiritualities, 

  the emphasis of Beltane is fertility. 

Agriculture, both plant and animal, 

  and human reproduction are ways 

    that fertility is sought and celebrated 

      in this holy time. 

Probably the best known symbol 

  of Beltane and May Day 

    is the May Pole, an obvious sign of fertility 

      with its phallic shape to represent the god 

        and its decorations of flowers 

          to represent the goddess. 

Numerous gods and goddesses represent 

  the meaning of Beltane. 

Two of them are primary, 

  Cordelia, the Celtic Goddess of Spring and flowers 

    and Bel, the Celtic god of the sun. 

The name, Bel, means shining, 

  and tane means fire, 

    so Beltane is the feast of shining fire. 

Hence bonfires are characteristic of Beltane. 

The warmth of the bonfires 

  represent the approaching warmth of Summer.

As we think of Beltane and the coming of summer, 

  we are also considering 

    our own place in the cosmos. 

As human beings, 

  we have a special resonsibility to the rest 

    of the natural world of which we are a part. 

We easily forget our place in nature, 

  and we do so at our own peril. 

The present pandemic 

  and the growing global emergency 

    of climate change 

      are only two examples of the danger. 

Thinking of ourselves as a part of nature 

  can help us find our way as stewards 

    who are called to share nature's gifts 

      rather than thinking of ourselves as 

        rulers of the natural world  

          whose will can control the events around us. 

Natural science was once considered a tool 

  of human advancement and domination. 

Now we can see better 

  that science is a tool of understanding, 

    a way of advancing stewardship and care 

      rather than a way of promoting 

        more selfish interests. 

Our care and stewardship of each other 

  and the world of nature 

    is a way of describing love, 

      since love at its heart is the care of the beloved. 

The most important statement we can make 

  about love as care of the beloved 

    is that Love is Love. 

As such, 

  Love is altruism, 

    and it is being understood more and more 

      in natural science 

        as an adaptive trait. 

It may not work well for the individual organism, 

  but altruism is self sacrifice for the greater good. 

As an individual works for the whole collective, 

  even at her or his own expense, 

    the altruism can benefit everyone else. 

We can try to understand together the meaning 

  and the extent of the collective. 

As I'm thinking of it, the concept of the collective 

  is not to advocate 

    collectivism as a social or political system.  

Our concern for all those who are in 

  the groups to which we belong 

    will enhance the hope of survival and thriving 

      for all of us, 

        and our concern for others 

          is what we are emphasisizing 

            in the use of the word, "collective". 

At this point I need to reiterate the statement 

  that I made above: "Love is love." 

I hope we can all agree to interpret the statement 

  as broadly as possible. 

In our time, of course, 

  saying, "Love is love," 

    represents an affirmation of relationships 

      among members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

It carries broader meanings, too, 

  especially considering altruism. 

Love is love whenever, wherever, and by whomever 

  the well being of the one who is loved 

    is given value at least as great 

      as the one who loves gives himself or herself. 

We consider each other's well being, 

  even when the consideration is costly. 

I have a story from my own experience 

  that tells how I went through 

    a profound conversion

      regarding my own feelings 

        about LGBTQ+ people and their relationships.

My feelings moved from homophobia to affirmation. 

To provide a little background, 

  most of you already know 

    that I have been widowed twice. 

My first late wife died of a heart attack 

  on December 5, 2005. 

(I have been happily married three times; 

  my first marriage, 

    to the mother of Kevin and Karen, 

      ended in divorce. 

The latter two marriages 

  ended with my spouses' deaths.) 

Many of you will remember the movie, 

  Brokeback Mountain. 

(You'll just have to take my word for it at this point 

  that my reference to the movie is relevant!) :-) 

If you remember the movie reviewers, 

  Siskel and Ebert, 

    you may also remember that they 

      and their reviews were very good. 

Ebert spoke of BBM as a classical tragedy. 

I love literature enough 

  that I was taken with the idea 

    of a contemporary movie as a classical tragedy. 

I knew I would want to see it. 

I did not see it in the theater at first, 

  and I later wondered why it had gone that way. 

The movie was released in theaters on December 9, 

  four days following the death of my late wife, Bina. 

I saw it the following Spring, on video. 

Seeing BBM was a life changing event for me, 

  a conversion experience as I mentioned earlier. 

Turning back the clock some nine years, 

  I had an experience in the Phoenix airport 

    that prepared the way for my conversion. 

I met two younger men, good friends, 

  who were traveling together. 

One of them was going through 

  some terrible family struggles. 

I prayed with them there in the airport waiting area, 

  and I anointed with oil 

    the one who was struggling with family issues. 

In those days I carried a small container of oil 

  almost everywhere I went 

    in case there would be a need. 

The experience was deeply meaningful 

  to all three of us. 

A little while later, on the airplane we were all riding, 

  I heard a voice from behind me calling, 

    "Hey, Pastor Fred!" 

I turned to see them both grinning, 

  explaining that they just wanted their seat mate 

    to see me. 

We stayed in touch after I got home, 

  and I even shared the story with the church Board 

    of the congregation I was serving. 

Not long afterward, 

  I learned from one of the young men 

    that the other one, 

      the one who had experienced family problems, 

        had been murdered. 

I also learned that the two young men 

  had been lovers. 

I told the survivor that it was a matter 

  between them and God, 

    and none of my business. 

He seemed to appreciate that. 

If you remember the story of BBM, 

  one of the gay lovers in that story 

    was killed, either accidentally or by murder. 

The story is not clear on that point. 

The important issue for me was and is 

  the grief so many people have experienced 

    simply because of who they are. 

Skin color or sexual orientation 

  have been treated as excuses for murder 

    far too long and by far too many people. 

I came to the realization 

  after seeing BBM, 

    and soon after recognizing 

      so much human suffering,

        I remembered the two young men 

          in the Phoenix airport. 

To this day, 

  I'm far more at peace with the idea 

    of LGBTQ+ people and their relationships 

      than I ever was before. 

The principle, "Love is Love" 

  is paramount for me. 

Beltane is a celebration of love and life, 

  and as such it is a festive reminder 

    that Love is Love 

      in all of creation. 

Whether we think in terms of altruism 

  or relationships between two people 

    whose love for each other may seem strange 

      to some of us, 

        we can remember and value the caring 

          among any and all of us. 

Beltane, as it affirms all kinds of life 

  and all kinds of love, 

    is serving us as a powerful reminder 

      of the most important principles: 

        for all of humanity. 

All life is precious, 

All love is powerful and good 

  in our caring for each other, 

And the turning of the Season 

  as Summer approaches 

    is a time to warm our hearts 

      in the shining light and heat 

        of this glorious time of year. 

Amen 

Let it be

Blessed Be