In the wake of the Orlando massacre as well as the tragedies in Baton Rouge, Minnesota and Dallas, there have been no lack of prayers, there has been talk of hope, and there have been countless moments of silence. But we're afraid that, as usual, the moments of silence will extend into weeks and months of silence without action.
People of faith and public officials alike often forget that the power of prayer comes from a duality of thought and action. We must pray as though God is listening, but act as though God cannot hear us.
We must pray for a better tomorrow, for an end to violence, bias and hatred. But the responsibility falls to us to create the world we pray for through our own words and deeds.
After these recent tragic events resulting in the deaths of dozens of innocent people, it is understandable that emotions cloud our better judgment. However, we must reframe the conversation from one focused on hate and fear to one focused on love and tolerance.
History teaches us the dangers of stereotyping and scapegoating.
During World War II our state was home to two internment camps for some of the nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans who were forced from their homes and subjected to harsh treatment because of prejudice, bigotry and a failure of political leadership. It's a mark of shame on our identity as Arkansans, and we have a duty to ensure we never fall into the same traps again.
Will we ignore our history? Will we allow fearmongering and xenophobia to define our future?
We can either move backward toward a time when hate and irrationality ruled our reactions to current events, or we can stand up, speak out and insist that our leaders do the same.
All Americans, and indeed all people, should be able to live their lives without fear of being targeted for their sexual preference, their faith, their gender identity, or the color of their skin.
We must not respond to tragedy by propagating anti-Muslim bigotry and harmful stereotypes. We must not assign blame to an entire group based on the actions of one person claiming extremist ideology or religious beliefs as motivation. We may never know the true motivations of those who open fire in spaces where innocent people are celebrating life and exercising their freedoms, but no matter the justification, the responsibility lies with the killer alone.
The time has come to revisit the all-too-rapid spread of military-style weapons among our citizenry. Without arguing the nuances of the Second Amendment, we must come to some understanding of the connection of this proliferation of weapons and the new level of violence. There must be some common ground. We cannot on the one hand continue to hide behind the Second Amendment and on the other hand bemoan the number of weapons.
We must fight hate with love and fear with hope; but we must also act in a way that will create positive changes in an uncertain world.
Rev. Stephen Copley is chair of Faith Voices Arkansas and a United Methodist pastor. Rabbi Gene Levy served as rabbi of Congregation B'nai Israel from 1987-2011 and serves on the board of Faith Voices Arkansas.
Editorial on 07/24/2016