There is a line in the book Norwegian Dawn that reached from the page to touch my heart. And it stirred recognition of a temptation for me to believe in an idea that divides. The line is simple: "All were safe because of what they were not." In the novel it is the memory of not being a Jew as Jews were taken from one European city after another, millions to their death.
It is the idea that we can be safe because of what we are not that grabbed me. Medicaid cutbacks threaten medical care for some of us in Indiana. I am safe because I am not on Medicaid. Thousands of children in our state depend on food programs during the summer and school year for enough food to eat. I am safe because my children are grown and my grandchildren do not have to depend on a food program.
Treatment programs, treatment options, and positive care for those struggling with mental illness are constantly under pressure to be cut. I am safe because I am not mentally ill-at least not so that it interferes with how I live. I watched a young boy serve as translator for his mother as she arrived at a doctor's office. I am safe because I speak English and it is easy to communicate.
I was sharing my travel stories with a woman from Indianapolis. She does not travel much, if at all, outside the US because it is not safe for her and her partner. Whether it is in Europe, the Middle East, and much of Africa being gay can be dangerous. I travel more easily because I am not gay. The struggle for immigration reform leaves many uneasy-will they be stopped by police...will their children born here be able to stay even if they have to leave...will people give them a chance. I am safe because I am not living in that net.
As long as I believe in this idea I am divided from others and what happens to them. Yet I am not safe! I am not safe as long as one other person suffers at the hands of others. I am not safe whenever and wherever discrimination is allowed to mess with people's lives. I am not safe if voices of hatred keep calling us to be divided from others.
I believe all of us are children of God-FAMILY! And when anyone in my family is not safe...I AM NOT SAFE! Unity, standing with each other-even if I am not like them-is the call of God I hear every day. I will not truly be safe until everyone is safe.
