Diversity and Inclusion.

(Picture found on the UTDiversityMatters’s Facebook page)

I’m frustrated. It’s not uncommon for me. You probably know that, but today I found myself so overwhelmed with all of these negative emotions that I couldn’t even form a thought that made sense. So, naturally I’m writing about it to try to form something coherent.

This morning in my Law and Society class we talked about immigrants. Immigrants are people, and that’s all that really matters to me. I don’t care where they’re from, why they needed to leave their country, what they’ve done… All I care about is that they’re people that need help. But we (America) don’t do a good job at helping them. We make citizenship impossible to achieve. We arrest, detain and deport them just for existing. Because somehow it’s possible for a human being who God placed on this planet to be illegal for just breathing. We make it loud and clear that we are exclusive.

It’s like we’re saying “Sorry, we’re known as a melting pot but we actually don’t like anyone who doesn’t look, act or talk like us. Oh, there’s political conflict, natural disasters, war and stagnant economies in your country? Well, that’s just too bad you’ll have to deal with it or find somewhere else to go because I have to eat my post-dinner ice cream, fill up my new car with gas, charge my iPhone and watch my Netflix shows. I don’t have the time, energy or resources to help you.”

Are we really that afraid of people who aren’t like us? Are we so afraid of diversity that we’ll risk their lives? Like our luxuries and  privilege are more important than their lives. They leave their country out of fear. They don’t want to leave their home, everything they know and love, but they have to. They don’t have this big agenda to destroy America. They’re seeking refuge, and they think they can find it here. But they don’t because we don’t give it to them. Because we make them live in fear here too. Instead of being welcoming and kind, loving and caring, we make them continue to live in fear.

That entire conversation in my class this morning reminded me of the current big UT issue, The Office of Diversity and Inclusion. As most of you know, there is a bill trying to defund the office for In God We Trust decals for law enforcement vehicles and minority scholarships. Now, I have a lot to say about what they want the money to go to, but I’m going to skip that to talk about the importance of why we need diversity and inclusion. A more important conversation.

We need diversity because we’re scared of people not like us. Why is that? Because we aren’t exposed to them. Why is that? Because we aren’t inclusive. We kick people out of the country, our bakeries, our churches, you name it because we’re exclusive. Just like segregation. Only whites allowed. Only white, Christian, heterosexual, men allowed. And there’s always stereotypical reasons to allow this discrimination and oppression to happen. All blacks are criminals, all Hispanics are trying to take our jobs (like we have an entitlement to those jobs), all Muslims are terrorists. They don’t seem wrong, though, because some (a tiny minority) have done those things. We have seen them do it. But it is absolutely essential for us to remember that not everyone falls under those categories. This is why categories are so damaging. They lump all people who look the same into one category when maybe that category doesn’t fit them at all.

And I know. Trust me, I remember 9/11. I know that it scares us, it scares me. Some terrible things have happened because of outsiders. And I’ll be honest, I don’t have the magical solution. I don’t know how to keep all “bad” people out and let all “good” people in. It’s hard and complicated and tricky and risky. But all I know is that they’re people even the “bad” ones. They’re people who deserve to be treated like human beings, like a precious life worthy of living.

And I also know that less than 20% of all immigrants commit serious criminal acts. Most immigrants are arrested and deported for minor crimes like a broken tail light or not using a signal light or for simply existing in the wrong place in the wrong body.

Like I said before, I am frustrated because I want everyone on this planet to be recognized as a human. I am so tired of dehumanization, and we do it all the time. Just the other day I was reading an article about Jajuan Latham, the 12 year old who was shot as an innocent bystander by gun violence, and the comments were absolutely disgusting. The racist language being used was so dehumanizing towards all individuals of color. The violence in their words was almost as bad as the crime itself.

Dehumanization is the third step of genocide, and oh goodness are we there. I’m so scared for this nation and our inability to care or maybe our unwillingness to care. We don’t even care about our own citizens, about our neighbors, let alone the rest of the world. We only care about two things: ourselves and profit. Caring about and helping others doesn’t get us there, does it? So we just don’t do it.

I will say this. It’s easier not to care. Sometimes I miss the times when I didn’t. Caring and acting on that care is exhausting. It takes work, but it is so worth it in the end.

We’re all people created by the Creator and deserving of love and kindness because that’s what Jesus mimicked for us on the cross. He loved the unlovable, cared for the ones not cared for, sought out the ones who were ignored. I strive to be more like that every day, and I really hope you do too. We can start right here, right now on UT’s campus, not allowing the legislature to defund the Office of Diversity and Inclusion because diversity matters.

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Guns are not more important than people.

I don’t know when precious guns became more important than actually precious human lives, but I don’t like it. I don’t know when my life became more important than a potential robber’s life, but I don’t like that either.

I also don’t like guns. They terrify me. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t love them. It doesn’t mean that you can’t use them or own them. The second amendment is clear that we all have the right to bear arms.

Guns are such an idol, though. Why is your right to bear arms more important than people in poverty or the oppressed? I’m sorry, but I don’t understand why the protection of the second amendment is one of the most fought for issues. Why not the basic rights for those who don’t have any? Food for the hungry? Maybe homes for the homeless? I don’t get it.

And I am absolutely exhausted from hearing about gun violence. Exhausted. And angry. Heartbroken. Confused. Shocked. Dismayed. Depressed.

There’s already been 135 gun deaths in 2016.

Since 2011, there has been a public mass shooting every 64 days.

As President Obama recently pointed out, America is not the only country with violent people, and we are not more prone to violence than other countries. But we are the only advanced country that has mass violence at this scale. And apparently we don’t care. Because when moves are made to try to decrease the violence, we lash out and firmly say no because we’re scared of our precious guns being taken away.

Maybe it’s naivety, but I trust people. I see the good in people. And our President said in his speech that he did not have an agenda to take away your guns, and I believe him.

Gun control is good. Stricter laws on background checks is good. While it will not completely erase gun violence. It will save some lives. And some is better than none.

And “locking away all of the criminals, thugs and bad guys” is not going to more effectively solve the problem than gun control laws.

While I don’t like that mental health care was considered beside gun control like they are one in the same, I am glad that more funding is going to mental health. I find it troubling that the stigma of mental illness is automatically associated with violence, but  many suicides are committed with guns and some gun owners are haunted by mental illnesses that make them violent meaning they probably shouldn’t own guns. Regardless though, mental health is something that desperately needs more attention, and I’m ecstatic that it’s getting some.

Also, guns do need to be safer. Far too many people, children in particular, die from accidental gun injuries. This is a combination of unsafe storage and unsafe manufacturing. Both of which need to be addressed.

And by the way, guns are different than knives. They aren’t comparable. Guns were designed to kill. Knives were not. This is why gun control is significantly more important than something like knife control. People will still die, yes. Maybe from a stab wound. People will still kill. Maybe with a knife. But maybe, just maybe the violence and deaths will decline. And with that slight hope, I say go for it. Change some laws. Make the world a little less violent. A little less heartbreaking.

Because guns are not more important than people.

I don’t completely buy this but let’s say the violence is a people problem. A sin problem perhaps. Maybe we are all just inherently evil. We are violent and want to kill others. So then why won’t we do everything in our power to help limit the violence? Why not make responsible and safe gun laws so that we don’t have easy access to act on that violence? Why not make it easier for us to act on goodness, kindness and love? Because if I had a gun sitting beside me, it would be a whole lot easier for me to act on the anger I have for the person across the room by shooting them than talking it out peacefully. Even though my heart cannot handle violence. Even though I think I’m a pacifist. Even though guns scare the crap out of me.

Many times violence is easier than peace, and we are making it so easy to be violent. We are encouraging violent responses to fear or anger instead of peaceful ones. And I know we can’t fix all of this with gun laws.

Some “good people” do bad things which is why these gun laws won’t prevent all gun violence. Some “bad people” want to own guns for self-defense but would never pick it up to willing kill someone which is why these gun laws may be unfair. They don’t solve everything. But it’s better than nothing. It’s the best thing we’ve got right now.

If you’re against gun control laws, tell me what’s better. Please. I’d really like to know. But don’t tell me in the cruel and condescending way I see in Facebook comments. Like just because someone has a differing opinion they’re an idiot or attacking you. You’re better than that. Tell me how to fix gun violence, gun deaths, without throwing everyone in jail (because I don’t like that) and without gun control laws or taking your guns away (because you don’t like that). What’s in the middle? Let’s work together and figure it out.

In all honesty, though, I would be perfectly satisfied if guns didn’t exist.

And here we are at the end of some word vomit about gun control that might make everyone hate me. I hope you enjoyed.

Here’s the full text of Obama’s speech: https://sojo.net/articles/full-text-president-obamas-emotional-speech-gun-control

Four Goals for the New Year

2016 is two days away and I am terrified. In 2016, I’m graduating from college. This will probably force me to figure out what I’m doing with my life… at least for the time being. That should probably lead to finding a big girl job considering I’m confident(ish) in my decision to take a year or so off from school before grad school. Okay wow. Cue panic attack. 2016, you don’t have to come so fast alright?

Breathe. With all of the changes that will happen in 2016, I think it will be a good idea to set some goals for myself. Goals that aren’t things like eat better, exercise more and get less emotionally attached to fictional characters. All things I should do but really aren’t that life changing.

Lately, I’ve been particularly convicted to work on some things. While I’m not typically a New Year’s resolution type girl, I do think that it’s not a coincidence that these convictions have occurred right before the new year and right before the year where potentially the most amount of changes will take place that ever has in my entire life.

So here’s four of my goals for the new year.

1. Love better.
   Loving is something that I continuously want to work on and do better at. Because it is painfully obvious to me that I don’t love deep enough, and I don’t love anywhere close to everyone on this planet. I’ve also realized recently that I cannot love everyone to the best of my ability until I first love myself fully and completely. I do a pretty crappy job at loving myself. So in 2016 I want to love myself better so that I can love others better.
2. Act more.
   I am quite passionate about a good amount of issues particularly anything that oppresses or unfairly affects those who are far less privileged than I am. Because I am immensely privileged, it should be fairly easy for me to help those in need. But I so often find myself doing absolutely nothing. I talk a lot about it. I talk about how everyone else should be doing something while I sit on my couch and do nothing. I let myself off by saying that informing is doing something and it’s true. Informing people about injustices is doing something and it’s something I love doing, but I refuse to let that be enough. I should be doing so much more, and I intend to do more, act more in 2016.
3. Be courageous.
   Let’s be real here. I am not a Gryffindor, but I’m going to have to be brave in 2016. I’m going to need to step out of my comfort zone. Do new things. Do hard things. And I will have to have courage. Courage and a whole lot of trust in my Lord.
4. Become less argumentative and more gentle.
   I usually stay far away from conflict, but I do get defensive over my opinions, beliefs and thoughts. If someone challenges them, I often fight for them. I argue my case and don’t like admitting I could be wrong. The truth is I am wrong. Often. And sometimes I should be a little more open to what the other person is saying. I should be listening to what they are saying instead of tuning them out while searching for my next response to prove my rightness. It’s a goal of mine to be more gentle. To listen better and learn more and not be afraid to admit my faults and wrongs. I’m not perfect, and I shouldn’t act like I am.

So there they are. My challenges to myself. Now my challenge for you is to hold me to these and more importantly to challenge yourself to do and be better at whatever it is that you need to work on. Look deep for some life changing goals and resolutions then feel free to tell them to me so that I can help in holding you accountable. Happy New Year, friends!

Let Us Be Women Who Love.

I’m ten pages (now eighteen) into Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey (forward by Rachel Held Evans… have I expressed how much I love both of those ladies?), not even on Chapter One yet and absolutely in love. While I would love to quote the entire book for you (or at least all that I’ve read), I’ll just leave you with a few things. The first is the manifesto Sarah begins the book with. It’s the manifesto for a magazine called SheLoves which I just discovered but it’s pretty great, and you should check it out. The manifesto goes like this:

Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women willing to lay down our sword words, our sharp looks, our ignorant silence and towering stance and fill the earth now with extravagant Love.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women who make room.

Let us be women who open our arms and invite others into an honest, spacious, glorious embrace.

Let us be women who carry each other.

Let us be women who give from what we have.

Let us be women who leap to do the difficult things, the unexpected things and the necessary things.

Let us be women who live for Peace.

Let us be women who breathe Hope.

Let us be women who create beauty.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us be a sanctuary where God may dwell.

Let us be a garden for tender souls.

Let us be a table where others may feast on the goodness of God.

Let us be a womb for Life to grow.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us rise to the questions of our time.

Let us speak to the injustices in our world.

Let us move the mountains of fear and intimidation.

Let us shout down the walls that separate and divide.

Let us fill the earth with the fragrance of Love.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us listen for those who have been silenced.

Let us honour those who have been devalued.

Let us say, Enough! with abuse, abandonment, diminishing and hiding.

Let us not rest until every person is free and equal.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women who are savvy, smart and wise.

Let us be women who shine with the light of God in us.

Let us be women who take courage and sing the song in our hearts.

Let us be women who say, Yes to the beautiful, unique purpose seeded in our souls.

Let us be women who call out the song in another’s heart.

Let us be women who teach our children to do the same.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women who Love, in spite of fear.

Let us be women who Love, in spite of our stories.

Let us be women who Love loudly, beautifully, Divinely.

Let us be women who Love.

I love everything about it, and I strive to be a woman who loves like that.

Her introduction is beautifully and stunningly written so I have high hopes and expectations for the rest of the book. But in the introduction she confesses to being the person who was defensive and fought and was angry instead of being faithful and kind. As I read her confessions, I realized that sometimes I’m that person too. Probably way too often, and I don’t want to be.

She says “May there be grace and kindness, gentleness and love in our hearts, especially for the ones who we believe are profoundly wrong. The Good News is proclaimed when we love each other. I pray for unity beyond conformity, because loving-kindness preaches the gospel more beautifully and truthfully than any satirical blog post or point-by-point dismantling of another disciple’s reputation and teaching.”

I want to remember that so badly. I want to practice it. I want to be kind, gentle and loving instead of angry, argumentative and harsh. Because she’s right, it’s way more effective in sharing the gospel. It’s also exactly what God asks of us. Ephesians 4:1-3 is just one of many places in the Bible that speaks on this. “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

The last thing I’ll say about this book (for now) is the subtitle is “Exploring God’s radical notion that women are people, too.” I love that. It’s empowering to know that God thinks I’m a person. It’s sad that so many treat women as though they aren’t human. It’s discouraging to realize that it’s treated as a radical notion when it actually isn’t radical at all. But isn’t that what’s so wonderful about feminism? About Jesus? Both are striving to radically love everyone equally. Something that shouldn’t be radical but is.

Jesus was the number one lover of any and all women and any and all people. This is so important to remember. To love like Jesus is to love everyone equally and fully. Excluding no one. I long to love like that. There are people in my life who I don’t want to love which makes it impossible to love like Jesus does. So that’s my goal. To love those I don’t want to love. The ones who are hard to love.

Now onto Chapter One, Jesus Made a Feminist Out of Me… ain’t that the truth.

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Oops, I started reading the first chapter before I published the blog so I have to add in a bit more… she begins the chapter with debunking myths about feminism (like it’s not man-hating PREACH) and urging the church to reclaim the word. Oh yes. I think I’m definitely going to like this book.

I already know that I’m going to be recommending this book to everyone so I’m just going to go ahead and tell you to read it. I don’t even care who you are or what your beliefs are… it doesn’t matter… read it.

Have Courage and Be Kind

“Have courage and be kind” has been the quote on my lockscreen for a while now. I initially thought that it was a random saying, but I realized five seconds ago that it was said by Cinderella in the new Cinderella movie. I’ll confess that I haven’t seen the movie, but I love the quote regardless. I’ve almost changed my wallpaper a few times since it’s been there, but every time I stop myself by remembering how much I need the reminder to be kind and have courage on an hourly basis.

Have courage. Courage is admittedly something I lack. I have an anxious, self-conscious and shy personality. My confidence in myself, my words, my thoughts and my decisions is low. This directly affects my courage to do anything from speaking up in class discussion and starting conversations with new people to going somewhere or doing something I’ve never done before. My courage to step out of my comfort zone is something I’m consistently working to improve and consistently something I beat myself up over for not being courageous enough. It’s something that those closest to me push me to do better at, and I’m glad they do because I desire to be bold. To be bold in sharing my faith, telling others about my passions and standing firm in my beliefs are things I long for.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Be kind. I struggle slightly less with kindness, but I’m not immune to hateful thoughts and angry outbursts. Being kind to everyone including those you disagree with and those who hurt you is hard, but it’s something I’m passionate about doing. In a world full of hatred, social media full of negativity, and a society full of horrific acts, being kind is a rarity. The thing is I, we, can have kind hearts. We do have kind hearts, but when we don’t act upon that kindness, that’s when we don’t succeed. I’ll be the first to fess up to the fact that I don’t act upon kindness very often, and I should.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

You may not think that courageousness and kindness are the most complementary traits. Because when you are courageous for your own benefit, the last thing you are is kind to others. You’re only kind to yourself. Selfish courage can lead to name calling, violence and greed. All things I think we can collectively agree are inherently bad things.

But in my experience if you use courage for the benefit of others, it can be an amazing thing. We have to have courage to truly act upon our kindness. If we don’t have courage, we won’t pay for the person’s food behind us in line. If we don’t have courage, we won’t go across the world to help those in need, we won’t help the homeless people down the street. To have courage and use that courage for others is kindness.

I’ve been particularly convicted lately about not acting upon kindness to produce justice. I long for justice and equality for everyone, and I can talk about it all day long. But if I don’t act, what have I done? I’ve potentially informed you about something you don’t know about, which is something I am passionate about, but have I really contributed with my own hands? How can I really make a difference if I don’t take action? The answer is I can’t. The last question on my Holocaust final was “How will you help bring liberty and justice for all?” One of the things I wrote was that I didn’t want to be a bystander which is exactly what I have been doing for 21 years. It’s time to change that.

Jesus was the ultimate example of selfless courage and bold kindness. He loved and showed kindness to the despicable, the hard to love. And He didn’t do it without action. He physically healed and provided for the ones He encountered. And He did it all with courage. He showed the most courageous act of kindness that’s ever occurred by taking on our sins and dying as a sacrifice to save our souls. That’s something I don’t know if I’d ever be kind or courageous enough to do. Thank goodness, I am not God. Thank God that He is so brave and so loving.

The realization that Jesus is the ultimate example and God is the ultimate giver of kindness and courageousness is magnificent. Not only do we have someone to look to for guidance on how to show courage and kindness, but we have someone to give us courage and kindness. We cannot produce the amounts of those qualities needed to be like Jesus on our own. We can only do it with Him.

I pray that God will give us more courage to be kinder.