The Secret to Healing the World

we

are a house divided

black white

four against

democrat republican

pick your side but stay

in your lane

there used to be a time when we

couldn’t even sit in this room together

some would argue we still can’t

we seem to be farther apart

than ever before in recent months

we’ve been hit with a health crisis

followed by a heart crisis and those

sequence of events have pushed us even

farther apart

mask no mask

us them

black lives matter

all lives matter

during this time have you found yourself

saying things like i’ll just stay

in my bubble this

has nothing to do with me

this is not my problem well

bubbles burst and world problems

definitely have a way of expanding

i am a we are the world kumbaya girl

remember coca-cola’s fame song i like to

teach the world to sing

in perfect harmony

i’m the personification of that

even though i drink pepsi

i like people to get along it’s easy

it’s not messy

it’s not complicated i like you

you like me what’s so hard

about that but even

as a kumbaya girl i found

myself divided

choosing a side a few years ago

my neighbor flagged me down as i came

home from work

he was waiting for me on the grassy

knoll of our cul-de-sac

now up until this point he and i had

never

shared more than a polite wave or a

pefunctory head nod

i didn’t even know this man’s name

but on any given day you could find him

outside working on his house or his car

in his perpetual jeans and gray tank top

complete with the matching sweat stains

but on this day he motions for me to

come closer

i’m not trying to be funny

i’m not trying to be funny he repeats

i’m gonna put a battle flag in my yard

say what now oh

he means a confederate flag

at this time there were growing calls

for confederate monuments to come down

because a white guy had just killed nine

black people in a south carolina church

i’m just doing this because the

government says that i can’t

he defends my neighbor

he said a few more things but what i

heard

was

it’s your property do whatever you want

but thanks for telling me

my husband and i are the only black

family

in the cul-de-sac and while i really

did believe that he could do whatever he

wanted

on his property the next day

when i got up opened my door

and saw that flag flying in full grande

across from my house

he had just made it personal and i chose

a side

i chose black i chose

angry and i chose

those people

there are stories all around us of

people

who are divided but not separated

whether stories of race like civil

rights activists

ann atwater and kkk leader cp ellis

or even musician daryl davis have you

heard of this guy

he actually converts kkk leaders out of

racism

these are people who’ve gotten over

their deep racial divides

to make lasting change for us

and what about the stories of class and

social economics

like journalists steve lopez and

nathaniel ayers

a homeless musician they met on an la

street and their lives have been

intertwined for decades

where steve uses his influence

to help nathaniel with his mental

illness and homelessness

and there are stories of injustice with

wnba star

maya moore and wrongfully convicted

jeremy irons they met during a prison

ministry

and she spent years of her life

fighting to overturn his

conviction

these are just a few tales of

friendships

and alliances that just don’t

make any sense

but each one of these people did

something different

they witnessed they took the time

to get beyond labels titles

and notions they

made it personal and in that process

they became advocates champions

allies

but as human beings though

we like our positions we like

our divides and while our position

can be harder to move our point of view

can be influenced swayed even

a few months later my neighbor flagged

me down again

waiting for me on the grassy knoll of

our cul-de-sac

do you eat eggs yes

i eat eggs he hands me a carton

from my hands i have too many

and with that gesture our polite waves

and perfunctory head nods became

conversation and my neighbor

became dave and yes

in case you’re wondering dave and i have

had the conversations

about slavery trump obama

and 30 years worth of good

neighborhood gossip y’all dave has all

the tea

the world tells us that we should hate

each other

but we don’t we’re different

we come from different worlds we see the

world through different experiences

but we can and we do

live in peace together

but y’all ain’t naive

dave and i we ain’t never gonna run

in the same circles nor vote the same

interest

we really don’t need to understand each

other

that is not a requirement for life on

the planet

but i do believe the most

sincere and vulnerable thing

that we ask of each other as human

beings

is will you be a witness

to my life

when we witness the lives of others we

break down

barriers to start building a bridge

we actually support educate

and encourage each other for who we

are not who we are told

the other should be

and the goal of this bridge is not to

get to the other side necessarily

that would be nearly impossible the goal

is to get to a place of respect

where we can demolish old beliefs

and build anew

when we share our stories and give

voice to our experiences we carry

each other within us our knowledge

expands

but our worlds get smaller

because our eyes truly can’t see

what our brain doesn’t know and when we

witness each other we color in those

stereotypes

and characteristics to give depth

and dimension and it is

only then when the very foundation

of our position starts to shift

so pick a side better yet

pick a middle where red

and blue become purple and black

and white become one

think of all the things that we can do

together when we make it personal

because within the context of our lives

our hashtags and our mantras

we are simply pleading with each other

see me because i

matter i

matter you

matter

and a life that is not seen

is a life that is not value

help alleviate another person’s anguish

by simply acknowledging

their proof of life their proof

of existence to heal

the world we must

become a witness and we can start that

today i’d like you to turn

to your neighbor and if you’re watching

this online just say the words out loud

but ask this very simple question

will you be a witness to my life

[Laughter]

and now a house divided

is blended and it’s okay

if it’s messy it’s okay if it’s

complicated

because when you become a witness

you do so with the understanding that

one day we will all be together

on the bridge in the throes of change

not divided not one-sided

just together dedicated

to keeping this bridge open for

generations to come

because it really is true

we’ll make a better day

just you and me

that’s the song that i hear

let the world sing today

thank you