Like so many of us, I am still processing the grotesque events of last weekend in Charlottesville. I’m here in New Zealand, and being so far from home where no one is talking about it makes it even more difficult, so am processing through all the social media messages, links, and videos people are sharing.

The images are disturbing but so are many of the responses to the event.

I don’t have anything profound to add to the conversation except that I stand with those of us heart broken by the state of our nation. I grieve with those of us who know people will judge us based on our appearance instead the content of our character. I question those who choose to equivocate rather than outright condemn violence, hate, and bigotry. I am encouraged by those who are having their eyes opened for the first time, like my friends’ pastor in OC who wrote this: https://mvc.life/confessions-white-male/. I am so so thankful for my own community back home who are tackling this head on with grace, love, and action.

I will say this though – while America is a great country, we have failed to be students of our own history. Unlike places like Germany who have erected monuments to remind them of past evils so that they will never make those mistakes again, we have euphemized our roots with holidays like Thanksgiving. Those in power have written the history books to give us a (literally) white washed version of this nation’s founding. And we have purposefully overlooked and ignored systems and policies that have led us to the very time and place we find ourselves in now.

I too have been guilty of all of this. But, I also know there is hope in enlightenment. There is freedom in truth. And when we make a choice to educate ourselves, we can and will be moved to action.

[Photo: “2017.08.13 Charlottesville Candlelight Vigil, Washington, DC USA 8098” by tedeytan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0]