One of the first things I saw on the internet this morning was a piece, attributed to Bill Cosby, entitled "I'm 83, and I'm Tired." Before I finished the first paragraph I thought "there is no way this was written by Bill Cosby", and a two-minute internet search proved I was correct. It was a pompous, malicious, racist, hate-filled rant that glorified greed and vilified the poor, Muslims and others. In some ways it reminded me of Ayn Rand. Frankly, it made me sick. I went to church seething.
One of the readings at church was James 1:17-27. Here is the last sentence:
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
In her sermon my priest pointed out that the widows and orphans stand for all those on the margins of society, the poor, the stranger, those in any kind of need.
The gospel reading for today was Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. The reading ends with this:
Then he [Jesus] called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
Our priest commented that if it were her list, she would add "silence." A very good point! So here goes...
I'm 64 years old, and I am tired, too.
I'm tired of the ridiculous fantasy of the rugged individual, the self-made man or woman. There is no such thing, unless there happens to be a person who crawled from under a rock on some desert island and never once laid eyes on another human being. And even then, that person did not make the island or the rock; they are both a part of God's creation.
I am tired of morality being used only in terms of sexual behavior, and I am tired of being surrounded by the worship of money and power.
I am 64 years old, an only child. My parents divorced when I was a baby, and my mother worked hard just to get by. I attended public schools; thank God my mother could not afford to send me to some elitist private school where I would be insulated from the real world. I had my first job when I was 14 years old, worked my way through a state college and got a relatively good paying job. I have everything I need and many of the things I want. And I realize I could not have done any of this without having been born with at least above average intelligence and without my community...in all it's forms...family, church, friends, and yes...gasp!!!...the government. I had no control over any of the factors. I learned, thanks to that community, that my success, such that it is carries with it a responsibility to the community.
I'm tired of hearing about how the poor in our society have some sort of sense of entitlement. I'm 64 years old and am tired of hearing folks like me and those who are even better off than I am whine about being oppressed, over taxed and threatened. Most of my working life was spent in a job that required me to delve deeply into the finances of folks from the entire socio-ecnomic spectrum, from the poorest to the most wealthy. In my experience, with a few exceptions, that sense of entitlement grows larger and larger as the balance in the checkbook increases.
I'm 64 years old and am tired of seeing folks on the margins in our society being blamed for all their, and our, problems.
I'm tired of racism and bigotry in all it's forms. I'm tired of people assuming that because I am a 64 year old white male from the south I find their racist, sexist, bigoted jokes and comments funny.
I'm tired of hearing this country was founded on Christian principles, and I have three questions for those who make the claim, But those are for another day.
I'm tired of seeing the Bible used to bludgeon my friends in the LGBT community.
I'm 64 years old, and I am tired of hearing how we should post the Ten Commandments at the courthouse, but not one person suggesting we post the Beatitudes.
I'm 64 years old, and I am tired of seeing willful ignorance glorified and intelligence vilified. And I am tired of hearing, "I respect him because he stands up for what he believes." "He" can believe the world is flat, that the sun orbits the earth or that a woman cannot get pregnant fom being raped if "he" chooses to believe that. But I do not respect his standing up for his beliefs when they have no basis in reality.
I'm tired of hearing table blessings ending with, "and keep us mindful of the needs of others," prayed by people who have no idea about the needs of others because they simply don't care about the others. The holiday season will be here soon, and I am tired of seeing people give a few dollars or food or toys to some charity for those "less fortunate" at Thanksgiving and Christmas then ignore those "less fortunate" the other 363 days of the year.
I could go on and on.
Yes, I'm 64 years old, and I'm tired. And I'm angry, too, but I do feel better thanks to the good people in my life who teach, bless and uplift me.
