LIVING CONNECTIONS

 This morning seems to be a time, for me, of connections revealed.
First, thinking again of Jesus's words as to what being 'the greatest' requires: 'If any of you will be the greatest, you must become the servants of all."
Second, my mind ricochets back to the story of the Fall. What was the first couple's original sin?
Wanting to be 'like God'. Perhaps a more accurate rendition might be wanting to be like how they imagined God Is? Think about this, carefully.
In any case, they wanted to take on something for which they were by no means ready. We still aren't, but  with God's help we cope with it. But too few of us ask God's help with this; we act as if we are already gods when the evidence is all around us about how godlike we ain't. And the first sign of this is our asking Lenin's question: Kto-Kogo? Who can do what to whom, we ask, usually with a view toward being one of those who can get away with murder or, more benignly, not being one who can be harmed with impunity. Too many of my own pale cast are aggrieved at not being among those who can get away with murder. As if their masculinity depends on them being able to go out and murder anyone of darker skin tone, and/or a different faith, whenever they're having a bad day!
More and more, it looks to me as if our Original Sin may well be wanting to think ourselves better than (fill in the blank) as per LBJ's saying this to young Billy Don Moyers, as he still called himself then. LBJ's words are a bit altered here to cover a broader problem.
"If you can convince the lowest [white man] [Arab] he's better than the best [colored man] [Jew], he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him someone to look down on and he'll empty his pockets for you." And, conversely, when it becomes painfully clear that 'lower' groups can no longer be harassed or worse with impunity, there looks to be (almost?) nothing the former harassers won't do to be able to have such impunity back! Consider this carefully, along with this addition: those who seek equality, which usually includes real indigenes to a place, are willing to share. Colonists are exclusive; they never want to share power or wealth with other groups.
Those who seek to realize equality here on this continent are allies to indigenous peoples. And indigneous peoples are usually content with equality with others, unless those others seek to make themselves sole and exclusive masters. Which is how both Arabs in the Levant and peckerwoodies here want to be able to see themselves.
In the story of Cain and Abel, I believe the attitude with which Cain brought the fruits of his labor to the altar was (at least partly) as proof of how much more hard-working, and therefore how much better, he was than his brother. Which was, I suggest, why God was not pleased with Cain's offering. But like those who cling to seeing themselves better than others even to this very day, he didn't listen to God when God told him he needed to look within himself for the cause of God's displeasure. He dumped it all on Abel and consequently murdered his brother.
Anyone who has looked at a medieval chronicle may have been struck to the degree that tillers of the soil look down on pastoral peoples as lazy and less worthy than they. Cain tilled the ground; Abel was a herdsman. Need I write more?
Still, today, those who feel themselves immiserated and thereby (?) ennobled by their Hard Work and (especially?) their Hard-Earned money feel they have a right to look down on others who seek more joy in their lives. Mind you, preparation for joy can be, and usually is, hard work too, but work of a different kind. There's work that stretches the mind, heart and soul by at least semi-compelling us to care more for other living creatures and there's work which scrunches our minds and hearts. Or, maybe, it's largely how we see and do the work in front of us.
When we are brought face to face with the barbarities of 'our own people' and the evidence is pretty incontrovertible, we have work to do. Being ashamed of our paleness of skin, eyes or hair or of what our ancestors have done, does nobody any good. The question then becomes: how do we realize equality and socialize and expand democracy? We are all equally corruptible; we need to keep private power on short leash and a ceiling for how big we allow individual and family fortunes to become.
Part of this may yet be putting bullies down by hard means; let's hope they don't compel us to shoot back more effectively, but let's be ready for that possibility.