Wisdom Through Awful Grace

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.

Aeschylus

Indianapolis was my first grown-up city. Indianapolis was the first place I lived after I graduated from college. Indianapolis was the first place I rented my own apartment. I was an AmeriCorps member and high school drama teacher in Indianapolis, too.

Several blocks from where I served in AmeriCorps stands the Landmark for Peace, a memorial sculpture at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The memorial sculpture was built in the park where Robert Kennedy announced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s death to people gathered in Indianapolis that night. He had planned to deliver a campaign stump speech calling for economic justice, but that changed upon learning of King’s assassination. Robert F. Kennedy’s speech in Indianapolis spoke of the need for racial understanding and peace. He pleaded that violence not be the response to the tragedy of King’s death. Riots had erupted in several cities while Indianapolis remained peaceful.

Kennedy invoked the words of Aeschylus toward the middle of his speech. He then went on to state:

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

Those words are particularly important at this moment. There is an urgency and a need for action. People are dying. We endure a pandemic that will have long term public health and economic ramifications. Our Capital was attacked attempting to kill our leaders and stop Democracy. We must not allow hatred, racism, bigotry, and misogyny to flow from our mouths and guide our actions. We must ask where are the love and wisdom and compassion of which Kennedy spoke? When will enough pain have dropped on our hearts to stop cruelty and indifference? We have a choice. We have a choice. We have a choice.

This is a time to reflect upon the state of peace and love in our world and act accordingly. We must build the beloved community envisioned by King. Our politics must be a politics of love. This is a time to let the pain so many people feel form a river of tears to carry us from chaos to peace. We must stay human in the face of those who steal humanity. Our hearts must be graceful, soft, and strong.