I don’t know much about the wars going on today, except for what I see on TV or hear on the radio or on the streets. I don’t watch TV much and I don’t listen to everything I hear. But somebody somewhere decided that we have to put an end to tyranny and oppression, so we’re fighting big wars against terrorists and dictators in more than one foreign country. With the wars come bunches of uniforms, a variety of weapons and assorted rules of engagement. A whole lot of money gets spent and a horrible bunch of death and violence gets inflicted upon the guilty and innocent alike. I guess that’s just the way it has to be; like I said, I don’t know much about wars, except that wars will never end, at least not by the hand of mankind.
Today, somebody decided that we have to put an end to homelessness and poverty; that homelessness is cruelty and poverty is oppression and that we have to fight it together. So, we have a war on homelessness with weapons and uniforms and ‘rules of engagement’. We spend a whole lot of money, and the business of homelessness and poverty continues to grow just like any other war machine. Plus, we inflict a whole bunch of horrible pain and misery on the guilty and innocent alike!
A local non-profit got a big donation of shoes to pass along to the homeless, and all of the sudden, half the homeless were wearing the uniform: ‘microsoft-blue’ sport shoes with Velcro fasteners. You could spot the homeless a mile off (about as far the shoes would last)! Rules of engagement include “No Trespass” signs in city parks, “No alcohol” rules posted near the “whiskey stage” at the church social, and “poor personal hygiene” guidelines published at the new library. Hey, if we don’t give ‘em a place to shower or socialize or recreate, we can make them disappear, right? (Like capturing a dictator will put an end to oppression!)
And just like the business of war uses a variety of weapons, the war on poverty has its own … from propaganda (raising millions to build an orphanage that never gets built), to defoliation of shaded areas (so the homeless won’t have a place to rest), to placing punji sticks under bridges for God only knows what reason?
When terror strikes close to home, everybody seems ready to go to war, as long as the war is not conducted in our own backyards! Maybe that’s the answer: finding a different backyard to play ‘war on poverty and homelessness’. If only we could find a country nearby that we could ship all of our poor and homeless to, like maybe Mexico? Hey, it’s already illegal to be homeless in many American communities, and we’re about ready to ship Mexican immigrants back to Mexico like we did in the 1930's. Maybe we could even make a trade; Prisoners for Hostages (keep the Mexicans who work in this country and send the homeless to Mexico who will otherwise always be with us)?
Hell, I don’t know. I’m just a plain chap in this war, but I know of what I speak. I work in the trenches, out of the sight and minds of people who've made this a game. I know any war is hell and most victims of war are innocent in God’s eyes; especially, victims of a war waged against the poor and the needy.
¶ 9:00 PM 3 comments
At the corner of a major intersection in Minneapolis is a large Catholic church. The church entertains thousands of visitors each week and is often bustling with the business of religion. On Sundays, the church is busy the entire day and even requires the assistance of police to direct crowds and traffic for church services.
Basement doors to the church are left open during business hours giving visitors access to church bathrooms, and a moment of shelter in inclement weather. The church serves coffee and sandwiches to visitors from a side door on an adjacent church building.
On the front lawn at the base of the church steps is a statue of a church official. Visitors to the church often meet at the base of the statue using it as a center of operations for the coming day.
The church has placed a handsome brass plaque at the foot of the statue listing rules for visitors and tourists. The rules are simple: No alcohol or drug use … No fighting … No Panhandling … No peeing outside on church grounds; just the kind of rules you'd expect to find posted on a tourist attraction.
Obviously, the plaque of rules has been targeted for a specific group of visitors; visitors with no other place to be, no bunches of people to see, and no permanent address to call home. The statue has become a sort of refuge for the homeless … a safe zone on sacred ground with important things like God and bathrooms close by.
The statue has become a place where the wearied wait away the day in relative safety. It has become a place where the tired put down bedrolls and backpacks and fannies, if only for a few minutes.
The statue has become a place where family and friends leave notes and messages for friends and family gone AWOL; it has become a place where people leave homemade cookies and clean socks for those who need socks and cookies.
I salute the church, church officials and church members who have worked hard to make our less fortunate friends feel welcomed at our Father’s house …
And the homeless will always be welcomed ... at least until setup for the church’s annual Block Party Fundraiser begins.
So, let the pilgrimage begin! Is anyone really bringing a donkey?
¶ 9:00 PM 0 comments
