Larry Piper's Slothoughts

Musings of a guy in the choir

Prayer for Thursday, July 15, 2010 · 15 July 2010

Hi God,

Recently, I’ve been reading about slavery
and thinking about racism.
While slavery as practiced in the U.S.
is long behind us,
the attitudes that facilitated it
seem ever with us.
We still view “others” as being
somehow less human than we ourselves.

I suppose this is nothing new.
I can’t imagine,
when the Israelites were slaughtering
all the men, woman and male children
of the people they conquered,
saving only the young virgin girls for themselves,
that they viewed any of the conquerees as being human.
My impression is that, in Jesus time,
the Samaritans were viewed
as being less than fully human,
and treated accordingly.

So what is it in us humans
that allows us to deny
the basic humanity
that we share with all people?
That allows us to take lives with impunity—
mere “collateral damage” we say—
or to deny basic civil rights—
not torture, just adding “emphasis” to our queries—?
Is this genetic or learned behavior?
If genetic, how do we evolve?
If learned, how do we unlearn?

So, this is my prayer today,
that you do speak to us,
perhaps SHOUTING would help,
to help us understand,
not just intellectually but internally,
the ways in which we are all brothers and sisters,
children sharing a common parent, You.

I also ask you, please,
to have mercy on my soul,
sinner though I continue to be.

Amen.

— lgpiper

Comment

Prayer for Friday, July 10, 2010 Prayer for Tuesday, July 20, 2010