A Day of Triumph and a Time of Tragedy

Sunday, March 21, 2010 will go down in American history as a day of triumph, and the days that have followed as a time of tragedy. It was a triumphant day as the House of Representatives passed a comprehensive health care bill that will afford access to health care to millions of Americans who have heretofore lacked access. This will have a profound impact on the poor in our cities and rural communities across the nation – the young and the old, children, women and men, black, brown, and white. It was an act of tremendous courage for those congresspersons who voted for the legislation in the face of the venomous, vicious verbal attacks and threats directed toward many. On Saturday, at the dawning of the historic vote, I was in Washington, DC and as I walked the city's streets near the Capitol, I witnessed those carrying signs espousing their support of the Tea Party and labeling President Barack Obama a “communist, socialist, Marxist, or all the above.” Again, in the tragic aftermath of the vote, in the face of the racial slurs reportedly directed toward members of congress, and of Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver, a fellow United Methodist clergyman, being spat upon, it leads us to wonder when the day will come when we are truly the “United” States of America, one nation under God. For as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us, the day must come when we will either live together as sisters and brothers, or die together as fools.