“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever effects one directly, affects all indirectly;”
If there is any prophetic truth in the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and I tend to believe there are, what say ye, then, as American Airlines plans to eliminate 13,000 workers, or 16% of its workface on the eve of the biggest single sporting event of the year known as the Super Bowl. What should a football game, with expected revenues to exceed 250 million dollars generating more than 170 million in ad sales for CBS, matter to those airline employees negatively affected by a weak economy and fierce market competition?
With the tragic news of American Airlines, dislocated employees and their families are devastated about an uncertain future and having their livelihoods threatened. While at the same time, thousands of cheering fans and spectators find their way, mostly via air travel, to the Super Bowl game and all of it’s lavish parties, half-time performances, and over-priced memorabilia. Can this be the network of mutuality Dr. King speaks about?
In the US, we boast of being a great nation, but yet there is strong disconnect between the haves—those who live in extravagance, abundance, lavishness and consumption on an almost obscene scale; and the have-nots—those who have little or nothing and want for more necessity than desire. Perhaps we don’t realize in the midst of this widening gap, poor people like nice things too, but often live lives without the basic resources for existence. If we want to comfort ourselves with the motto: “In God We Trust,” in a nation that has been rescued from economic collapse, it seems the very least we can do in gratitude to God, is to work toward a more just society by caring for the most vulnerable among us. I become very concerned, and with good reason, when I hear Republican Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney, say, “I’m not concerned about the very poor we have a safety net there…” I say to Mr. Romney, it is the least of these that we ought to be most concerned. If we are not concerned about them, we are just playing the game that allows the rich to keep getting richer and the poor to become more disenfranchised.
In just a few short days, we will sing America’s Anthem,“The Star Spangled Banner,” and with the flag waving and our hands pressed against our hearts, Super Bowl XLVI, will kickoff. As the first whistle blows, may it also be an invitation for us to remember, with beer in one hand and remote in the other, the most important goal we must score in the land of the free and the home of the brave, to excogitate opportunities for all of us to thrive together weaving ourselves into a single pattern of destiny where each thread enhances the beauty and texture of the other creating a seamless garment.
I cannot deny that the chasm between haves and have-nots is huge and growing wider as time goes on. Yes, we can be critical of those with means. But is there a way to improve the human condition? Why not challenge the NFL and its advertisers to contribute a small fraction of their profits to the underprivileged? You mention "In God We Trust", but what does that mean really? What about God? What Godly lessons can be rendered here that would encourage love, grace and charity ... true charity from which many may benefit? Food for thought. Blessings,Dawn
ReplyDeleteSouleman, I think your post points to excessive greed as much or more than the 'fabric of mutuality' Dr. King spoke of. If you had chosen to go in a slightly different direction, there are dozens of excellent OT quotes you could have used to make your point about excess in the face of deprivation. or about the ridiculous sport of Superbowl commercials and the billions spent on mindless consumerism. but I think it's a great use of current news and contrast.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the way in which you hold the AA layoffs and the SuperBowl in tension with one another. I would not have thought to do so. It demonstrates your (and Dr. King’s) point of the inescapable network of mutuality. I feel the connection.
ReplyDeleteTo Dawn's point of challenging the NFL: I feel a palpable sense of helplessness in the face of the Goliath of the professional sporting industry. Perhaps I need to wander down to the wadi and see if I can find some smooth stones to throw.
As you have been encouraged to begin blogging I for one am looking forward to reading :) I enjoy the way in which you have brought together some very important current issues all themes which also speak to American Religion- consumerism, capitalism, patriotism and of course football (or distraction-ism). I also think the factors and ever widening gap has created a new class of used to haves which is also beginning to break the net Romney says the very poor supposedly have.
ReplyDeleteI think it is funny how you have linked the AA layoffs to the Superbowl given that AA was a major sponsor of the Superbowl until they filed bankruptcy this past summer and had to stop their support of the game. It is perfectly reasonable to think that despite their pulling out of the event, the CEO's were at the game in private boxes and eating much more fancier fare than hot-dogs and burgers. Speak the truth Souleman and keep it real!
ReplyDeleteYour blog was illuminating and inspiring for me. I liked the Biblical references because it shows how deeply embedded in us the impulse to find the idyllic "golden age" in the past is. I grew up in the Deep South in the 1950s and my memories and my reflection on that time have helped, I hope, make me less susceptible to that impulse. Over time I have come to more fully understand the suffering the white supremacist regime inflicted on black people and my participation, both willed and involuntary, in it. But only recently have I begun to appreciate the damage that living in that kind of environment does, even to the privileged. Swimming in a toxic sea of injustice suffocates your soul. I'm afraid we don't realize how poisonous our contemporary environment is, and how much it can affect us without many different kinds of spiritual disciplines (like your blog) to resist it. Faith communities can serve us by helping to fortify us against the corrosion of the soul that comes with living amid pervasive, persistent injustice.
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