Letter to the Editor
Dear whoever left a note near the Martin Luther King, Jr. display in the chapel and /or also destroyed part of the display,
This is just conjecture on my part but I am assuming that you did not attend the celebration Jan. 19. It is also conjecture on my part that you do not understand what the celebration was about. It appears that you may have thought the celebration was about one man or one issue.
The celebration did honor a man, a very great man, but it was much more than that. The celebration was also about his legacy and how we as a people in the United States are still growing into our credo that “All (people) are created equal.” King’s mission was not just about the inclusion of one type of people into American society. His legacy is about including all people into American society. Before he was cut down, he and others were planning a Poor People’s March. It did not matter what color the poor were. Poor was poor. There were to be people of color from the city ghettos and poor rural whites marching together. Another of his legacies was to ask questions about war. He saw how the poor disproportionately bear the brunt of war by sacrificing their children and seeing programs they rely on cut to pay for weaponry. King’s message, “Let’s treat each other like brothers and sisters,” was very dangerous and threatening to some and music to the ears of others. As we as an American people have grown, we see what other people have always known about themselves that some in our country are still “dis-included” from mainstream opportunities.
It has been my experience that when people react negatively to art or displays or ideas it is because something inside of them feels threatened. Perhaps they feel “dis-included” themselves in some way. Maybe they are afraid that others will get an “unjust” advantage over them or even that people will say that they need to feel somehow guilty about the plight of other people. The reality is that we do not need to feel defensive when we discover points within ourselves that require growth and change. We will always be growing, developing, changing and transforming until our dying day- if we let ourselves. As a young friar in my first ministerial posting over 20 years ago, I noticed that the older friars who were most happy were the ones who never stopped growing, learning and stretching their love to include all people. The more open they were the bigger, more interesting and more effective their lives became. I don’t know about you, but I want to be like these wise older men.
St. Bonaventure University is a place of learning and growth. In a university we are often challenged to look at personal beliefs and this can be uncomfortable. Some of our beliefs will be validated in a university, other beliefs will mature and others will be left behind. As I see it everything about the Martin Luther King celebration, before, during and after can be educative. Hearing the words at the service helped me to see how much more my own assumptions and love can be stretched. Not because I am somehow bad, but because I am human and on a journey and still growing and coming to understand. The negative reactions to a Martin Luther King display are also educative to me. It helps me to know that there are still people out there who feel left out in some way and are hurting. Part of my job is to reach out to all people who are hurting. Blaming anyone is counter productive. The name of the game is cooperation to make things better for everyone. When the lives of some people get better, the lives of everyone get better.
Love,
Br. Kevin Kriso, O.F.M.
Mt. Irenaeus
