A Friend From God, A Friend For Life
The biggest thing The Salvation Army ever did for me wasn’t done in Sunday School. It wasn’t done in the chapel and it wasn’t done through their charity. The biggest thing The Salvation Army gave me was on the playground. Here’s my story.
I don’t understand the basis of racism, and the picture above is why. I can vaguely recall segregation in schools, but not in businesses. I know it happened; I just am not old enough to remember. But I do remember the television news stories; the riots, the tear gas, the National Guard blocking the school doorway. So when local schools desegregated, I was scared. It lasted for about 20 minutes. That’s how long it took to realize that the kids the adults were worried about were the same kids we played football with on Sunday’s.
The man in the picture with me (which was taken when I badly needed a haircut) is Michael Edwards. I think we were eight when we became friends. Our mom’s both worked at The Salvation Army and we spent some of our summer days there as well. I always referred to Michael’s mom Lottie as my other mom, and every time I bump into Michael at the store, he asks “How’s Mama?”. Back then, we rambled around the neighborhood. I didn’t know any better. The phrase “white privilege” gets misused sometimes, but back then it was almost always accurate. I didn’t understand racism and had never seen it. And although he never told me about it, there’s no doubt that Michael did see it. But we weren’t taught it. Our parents never told us what color we were and we never learned to tell anyone else what color they were. We had God-fearing parents who knew it didn’t matter; we were all created by an Almighty and perfect God.
I could never understand comedians who relied on race as a topic. It used to be normal for white comics to tell jokes about blacks or Jews, and I couldn’t understand why people laughed. I used to get so annoyed at Nipsy Russell for laughing at the jokes. I appreciate him being a good sport, but there’s an obvious line that shouldn’t be crossed. At least, it should be obvious. Today is no different. I see nothing funny about the Hughley’s telling racial jokes. There’s nothing funny about racism. Racists are implying that God made a mistake when he created certain people, but I serve a God who doesn’t make mistakes.
Two years ago, we went from Barack Obama to Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Both parties have done nothing but hurl insults at each other, many of them concerning skin color. Only one time have I ever heard someone acknowledge that both men love the country and want the best for us, and that brings me to the picture.
Moments after last year’s inauguration, Michael came knocking on my door. He’s an active Democrat and I’m a loud mouthed Republican. He came to congratulate me on the Republican victory. We talked about politics for a few minutes without an unkind word ever being uttered. Jesse Helms (of all people) once said of Bill Clinton appointees “You have to let an elected Democrat serve as a Democrat. He won, let him serve.” I knew that President Obama had done a good job, even though I often disagreed with him. And Michael knew that he would likely disagree with President Trump on a regular basis. But we knew the world wasn’t going to end just because one of us voted for the losing candidate. And above all, we knew that no political candidate and no comedian could even put a dent in our friendship or our respect for each other.
Yes, I really am a loud mouthed Republican, but not too loud. And I must confess that as much as I appreciated Michael’s visit on that January afternoon, I didn’t vote for Trump. I felt that a victory by him or Clinton would lead to nothing but more hatred and bitterness, even if it was unintended by them. I wanted to see an upset. I wanted to see adults finally grasp the concept that Michael and I learned at age eight, that we are all children of an infinite and perfect God, and that He doesn’t vote and He doesn’t tolerate hatred in His name.
Thank for a lifetime of friendship, Michael. God bless you, brother.
