THE POWER OF GOODNESS
How goodness triumphs coercion or persecution….
In recent years, the horrid practices of many church-sponsored schools in the United States and Canada that coerced Native American students into shedding their languages, their culture and their religions have been exposed.
I think some of the American and Canadian priests and nuns and teachers and administrators running these institutions, however, did not believe they were cruelly tormenting the Native students. They believed themselves to be good-hearted Christians. They sincerely believed the children would profit by discarding their Native tongues and learning English. And that these youngsters would gain from adopting white cultural values and becoming Catholic or Protestant and being dark-skinned citizens of the US or Canada. They believed they were doing God’s work.
Unfortunately, however, they also believed it was necessary to use force toaccomplish their goals. As a result, they behaved in cruel and abhorrent ways like whipping the children for speaking their own languages or forcing them to remain at the schools when the children hated being there and wanted to be at home with their families.
I think of that often today when I’m out shopping and my sales clerk is a Navajo or Pueblo Indian or I go to the local Urgent Care clinic and the Nurse-Practitioner is Native. As I live in an area with a high Native population, this occurrence isn’t rare, it’s frequent. It makes me realize that these young Natives who grew up with their families, speaking their own language and practicing their own religion have been drawn into the dominant American culture because they’re interested in earning money or they’re interested in serving the community or they’ve always wanted to pursue a career in engineering or photography or teaching. In other words, they have the same personal reasons as any young person who lives here. They’re not being coerced, they’re joining the mainstream out of choice, their choice. And that makes all the difference.
I’m going to tread on an equally sensitive area when I bring up another example. During WWII when Jews were being persecuted and murdered by the Nazis, some children were fortunate enough to be sheltered by righteous Christians. Priests in Catholic monasteries took in some youngsters. Several hundred others were hidden in a Protestant Huguenot village in the south of France. (Note: not all Christian institutions, including the Pope and Vatican, were this hospitable, just the opposite.)
For the most part, these children were not compelled or even encouraged to adopt Christianity. When the war ended, most did not convert (they returned to family members) but some did. They converted because of the kindness, gentleness, generosity and compassion they personally experienced. They converted because they were attracted to the goodness of the individuals who risked their lives to take them in.
I grew up in a non-observant Jewish household and many of my parents’ friends were Protestant or Catholic. So I got to experience many varieties of Christianity. I have to say that those individuals who behaved in a truly “Christian” manner; those who truly exemplified the expression “Love their neighbor as thyself” were rare. And they were extraordinarily fine individuals. I often wonder if, over the centuries, there had been more of these individuals and fewer of the multitudes condemning any non-Christian to hell and damnation and then burning them or stoning them or drowning them or gassing them for their disbelief, then I believe more people around the world might have been attracted to the Christian faith.
I think of this at Christmas time because the spirit of warmth and fellowship and open-heartedness and generosity is so strong and pervasive, it’s hard not to want the whole world to share in this feast of love, compassion and goodness. And yet, sadly enough, a few days after the holiday we return to the hatred and anger and divisiveness that has caused and continues to cause so many tragedies in the world today. If only we could all embrace the spirit of “love thy neighbor as thyself” not just during the holidays but always….
