The Color of Character

Recently you and I looked at Stevie Wonder’s song ‘Love’s In Need of Love Today’ and quickly realized that we were not ‘loving’ or respecting each other as we should.  This love to which I refer is Philia (φιλί) means friendship or affectionate love in modern Greek. It is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle.  It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality and familiarity.  Many of us are familiar with Agape love – also from the Greek – the essence of which is self-sacrifice.  However, I am wrestling right now with philia love in light of the killing of Trayvon Martin. 

Trayvon Martin was a seventeen year old young man who was fatally shot by a gentleman who is the head of the neighborhood watch in a community where Trayvon’s father lives.  It has been reported that there were several robberies in the community with young African-American men as the perpetrators; so upon seeing Trayvon wearing a ‘hoodie’ the gentleman became scared and shot him in self-defense.  Without delving into all the details of the incident, Trayvon (who was unarmed) just happened to be African-American when he lost his life.  This incident reminded me of a line in Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous speech, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skins but by the content of their character.”  This young man was judged simply by the color of his skin and not given an opportunity to display his character.  How often do you and I do the same thing?

In 2012, one would think that Dr. King’s word (spoken in 1963) would have taken some root.  This blatant disrespect for human life was further exacerbated when the police did not find it necessary to investigate the matter any further than the shooter’s claim of self-defense.  What are we saying here?  Does this loyalty (philia love) to friends, family and community apply only when the community looks like we do?  In this multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society in which we live  (considering the world as we know it is shrinking thanks to technology), our community consists of more than the person living next door who looks like us.  Our community is now the Universe, and as such injustice anywhere affects justice everywhere according to Dr. King.  Our futures are interwoven with each other’s whether we want to admit it or not.

Where is our basic humanness or human values?  French born microbiologist, Rene Dubos noted, “Our society is highly expert in controlling the external world and even the human mind, but our relationships with other human beings and the rest of creation are constantly diminishing in significance.”  As citizens of the world, it behooves us to be respectful of each other sans consideration for their race, creed or ethnicity, thereby stalling the rapid deterioration of human significance.  We are all precious in the sight of God and while we acknowledge that people make mistakes, we must do our part to deal justly with others.  The officers of the law failed this young man and if we sit quietly by there will be no justice (for Trayvon and ultimately us) and his life would have lost its significance. 

If you have the opportunity, please read the poem Pax et Amare by Richard S. Pope.  The first verse says, “Man professes love for Man: Man talks of humanity; Yet history belies the talk; History shows Man a lie.”  What happened last month in Florida is now history and it contradicts the words of the Declaration of Independence – that ALL men would be guaranteed the inalienable (unchallengeable) rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Is history showing us to be liars?  Are the rights of some being challenged, while the rights of others are being protected?  I’m just thinking . . .