September 9: Blood of American Patriots, No Changing Minds, Small Acts of Kindness

Campbell was an ordinary-looking man, but he was extravagantly costumed in a uniform of his own design.  He wore a white ten-gallon hat and black cowboy boots decorated with swastikas and stars.  He was sheathed in a blue body stocking which had yellow stripes running from the armpits to his ankles.  His shoulder patch was a silhouette of Abraham Lincoln's profile on a field of pale green.  He had a broad armband which was red, with a blue swastika in a circle of white.

He was explaining this armband now in the cement-block hog barn.

Billy Pilgrim had a boiling case of heartburn, since he had been spooning malt syrup all day long at work.  The heartburn brought tears to his eyes, so that his image of Campbell was distorted by jiggling lenses of salt water.

"Blue is for the American sky," Campbell was saying.  "White is for the race that pioneered the continent, drained the swamps and cleared the forests and built the roads and bridges.  Red is for the blood of American patriots which was shed so gladly in years gone by."

Of course, Campbell's version of history is quite distorted, ignoring things like slavery and the genocide of Native Americans and contributions of immigrants (Chinese, Hispanic, Irish, Italian, Cuban, Arab, etc., etc.).  Campbell is trying to sell a version of American and world history that glorifies colonialism and oppression.  For citizens of the United States, this should sound pretty familiar.

No, I'm not going to turn this post into an anti-Trump rant.  That doesn't make any difference.  People who still support the current President of the United States will continue to support him until he's convicted of obstruction of justice or collusion with foreign governments or espionage or just plain being an asshole.  They will probably send Trump love letters as he sits in a prison cell.  There's no changing minds here.

What makes a difference is small acts of kindness and charity.  Volunteering in a homeless shelter.  Donating to food pantries.  Going into classrooms and teaching young kids about tolerance and love.  Giving my son and daughter hugs and kisses at night, telling them that they are kind and smart and beautiful.

I think that's the best way to combat hatred and bigotry.  With love.  If I show love, practice love, speak love, send love out into the world, then maybe love will overcome all that's dark and brutal in the world right now.  That's pretty much the way I understand Jesus Christ's teachings.  Jesus didn't come into the world to proclaim hate.  He talked about charity and compassion and understanding.  That's my Jesus.  That's my God.

And any person who calls himself or herself a Christian can't argue with that.  Jesus didn't look at a sick person and say, "I can't afford to heal you."  He didn't look at a beggar and say, "Go get a job."  He didn't look at a homeless person and say, "You can't stay here.  You're driving my customers away."  He didn't look at a refugee and say, "Go home."

Saint Marty is thankful today for people who preach through their practice.