So Thomas continues his teaching at St Bonaventures. He continues to wrestle with his desire to enter the Trappist monastery. He hear Barroness de Hueck speak about the appalling conditions in Harlem and he goes and works there for a week. [ This is back in 1941] He sees the residents there trapped in squalor yet trying to get ahead anyway they know how. He writes: Apologize for the use of the word "Negro" this was written in 1946.
The most terrible thing about it all is that there is not a Negro in the whole place who does not realize, somewhere in the depths of his nature that the culture of the white men is not worth the dirt in Harlem's gutters. They sense that the whole thing is rotten, that it is a fake, that it is spurious, empty, a shadow of nothingness. And yet they they are condemned to reach out for it, and to seem to desire it, and to pretend they like it, as if the whole thing were some kind of bitter cosmic conspiracy:... pg 346
As I meditated on this I thought about our culture in the US. It doesn't value the poor, handicapped or the elderly. It values those that add "value" to the bottom line. As much as I like to think racism doesn't exist in the US, it does. I have friends who have experienced it first hand.
And yet the lure of our society is strong. I went on several "winning hearts and minds" missions overseas with the military and what did the people want to talk to me about America besides their health? Freedom, Justice and God you say? Nope, movies, music, surfing and computer games. Our society looks nice and shiny on the outside but scratch the surface and there are a lot of problems that need fixing.
My prayer today Lord, I am but one small piece of our country, our society. Please help the US return to You, help our society return to You. Help me be part of the solutions to these problems by listening to Your voice, not societie's and standing up for what is right. Amen
Pax
Joe
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