Feeding the Multitudes?

Disclaimer: I make no claims to sainthood.  I’m not ‘better’ than anyone else.

It was a cold, late, December evening, shortly after Christmas.  I was driving my granddaughter Vivian home.  It was a special treat for her –- and me.

We sat at a stoplight.  I saw someone pushing a shopping cart along the street, across the intersection.  A homeless person, no doubt hungry.  I cautiously alerted Vivian that I was going to be rolling down the window to give that poor soul a bag of food.  I didn’t want Vivian to become alarmed, which she is often prone to do when confronted by an unexpected situation and strangers.

“Grandma does that!,” she exclaimed.  No alarm whatsoever.  It warmed my  heart to hear her say so.  (There are tears in my eyes right now as I recollect that incident.  Tears of joy.)

I had begun the practice a year or two ago.  Carrying several lunch bags of inexpensive, nonperishable foods in my truck at all times.  I rarely give money to people living on the streets, because I know they’ll often use it for alcohol.  (They’ve admitted that to me on many occasions.)  But I have no reservations about giving food to anyone ‘panhandling’ on the roadsides.  On only one occasion have I heard anything but extreme gratitude.

Over time, Jill adopted the practice.  “Grandma does that!”  I prepare those lunch bags for Jill’s vehicle, and she dispenses them freely.

And eventually, two people dear to my heart have adopted their own practice of feeding people in need, too.  My sister-in-law Susan Kessler.  And my hair stylist, Connie Palmer.  Each in their own way.  It warms my heart to know of their generosity.  Thank you.


Copyright © 2019-02-24, Mike Kruchoski, All Rights Reserved.

A Fundamental Question

Actually, I have four related questions that I’ve discussed privately for more than a year now with people of different backgrounds (whether religious or political):

1. Do you believe there are evil people in the world?
2. If so, on what basis –- their thoughts, utterances, &/or actions –- do you make that judgment?
3. Are ‘evil’ people born that way, or raised (or choose) to become ‘evil’ somehow, or is it a combination?
4. Can ‘evil’ people be redeemed (here on Earth) –- that is, change their ways and undo any harm they’ve inflicted upon others?  How so?

Please, take your time to reflect on these before answering (should you even care to weigh in).  I will not post your feedback anytime soon, because I don’t want to unfairly influence others’ opinions.  Eventually I will share what I’ve heard from others, protecting their privacy however they wish me to.

Sorry, I don’t allow comments on my blog.  It’s my personal journal, my diary, my autobiography (of sorts).  Why would anyone of you allow others to ‘edit’ a personal record such as this?

That said, I DO want to know what you think.  Email your questions, comments, and even rebuttals to me at motw20190224@xemaps.com.  I will be honest and fair-minded, promising to take your feedback into consideration.  And when I’m wrong about something, I promise to acknowledge it, revise my own writings –- and personally thank you.


Copyright © 2019-02-24, Mike Kruchoski, All Rights Reserved.

Northam, Neeson, and 'Negroes' -- and Me

To use a colorful military phrase, Ralph Northam (Democratic Governor of Virginia) “stepped on his ‘crank’” BIG TIME!

I have no doubt he knew exactly that he was in that offensive college yearbook picture.  Was it shameful?  Yes.  It was 1984, and he was 24 years old.  That was nearly a quarter century after the Freedom Riders of 1961.  How could he not realize it -- then or now?

What was truly shameful, however, were his denials and attempts to excuse it after the photo surfaced.  A heartfelt apology was called for -- from the get-go!  Take ownership of his white-privileged, racist past!  Then tell us he’s grown over the years, what he’s tried to do to change our society for the better.  Tell us what he’s doing from this point forward.

Now, on to Liam Neeson’s stunning admission that he wanted to kill any Black man in revenge for a friend’s rape.  Shameful?  Yes.  A ‘primal urge’ indeed.  But we are supposed to be socialized to overcome those primal urges.

Surprisingly, Neeson’s admission seems to generated more controversy than Northam’s weasel-wording.  I leave that matter for another time.  But what was heartening in Neeson’s case was that he knew he needed to get beyond that blind hatred.  He sought spiritual guidance, confessing to a priest.

I sometimes call myself a ‘Bama-borne Boy.  Born on the campus of what is now Auburn University, where my dad first taught.  After a few years, our family moved back to the (then) progressive state of Wisconsin.  But moving far from the Deep South didn’t mean leaving racism far behind.  Milwaukee had its own not-so-subtle racism back then.

So, all this to say I’m so forever grateful for the solid values my mom and dad instilled in me.  Dad, in particular, was adamant that we not use the ‘N word’ (nigger) or other racist insults.  The term ‘African-American’ hadn’t yet come into use, so ‘Negro’ was the best he could come up with.  He insisted we treat all people with equal respect.  Both mom and dad put that into practice, setting an example for me and my siblings.

Disclaimer (mostly as a wink-&-nod to my wife, mind you): I’m hardly perfect.  I don’t know how I might have grown up, had we continued to live in Alabama through the 1950s and 60s.  But…

Thankfully, I was raised in a home and community where it would be inconceivable to do that ‘blackface’ thing, or to harbor mindless, murderous rage against any group of people.

We can all strive to overcome our worst human impulses, and to put the worst of our history behind us by embracing all humankind as worthy of our love and respect.

 
Two favorite pictures of Dad (in Mississippi) and Mom (in Whitewater)


Copyright © 2019-02-23, Mike Kruchoski, All Rights Reserved.