My daughter Hannah is such a great little advocate.
Her 5th grade teacher told me that if she ever needed someone to stand on her
side and be her voice, that she would choose Hannah. I love how her heart aches
for the least of these. She might just relate to them.
I sometimes think of her as my little progressive Christian and it makes
me smile. I am sure that one day she will find herself a nice
conservative, bible literalist and will refuse to hold his hand until they are
married. And it will drive me insane.
I see how huge heart her is and it makes me honored to know her. I say all
this because I talk to her about things and sometimes I wonder if maybe I
shouldn’t. Now, I am not talking about the business meetings of the church or
telling her annoying habits of her father (she wouldn't care, nor notice). That is not what I mean.
Yesterday, the State of Georgia executed a man. Guilty or not, we may
never know. But I asked Hannah on Monday if they were talking about it at
school and she said no. So, I told her the story of Troy Davis. And of course,
I ended the story with my theological reasons for being against the death
penalty. I know that my words will impact how she views this topic. Which is
why I wonder if I should share them at times like these.
I ask myself:
What is the value of discovering the realities of life on your own?
How is my sharing with her why I believe that any act that dishonors the
sanctity of life is wrong different from someone who believes that one race,
one gender or one sexual orientation is the only way to be or else you are
inferior or an abomination? Isn’t it hypocrisy for me to think that it is okay
for me to teach my children what I believe and then roll my eyes in disgust
when someone else does the same thing?
I feel that I was allowed to discover and pursue issues on my own as I
matured. My mom made room for to do so. That is hard to do.
Last night, while the Supreme Court had possession of the case and the
fate of Troy Davis I talked to Hannah again. I reminded her of what I had said
on Monday night—about how death penalty cases are often political, they often
only affect non-whites and how they are about retaliation and not
rehabilitation and redemption. But then I told her about the crime—about how an
off duty police officer was killed trying to help a homeless man who was
beaten. She asked me questions, voiced her outrage about the beating of a
homeless man—you shouldn’t do that she cried.
And then I talked to her about how the family of that officer was trying
to get to some relief to their pain and suffering by having the man who killed
their loved one punished to the fullest extent of the law. She understood that
side, too.
My prayers are with both families today.
We live in a complex world and I think that we owe it to our children
and each other to honor that. As parents, it’s our job to teach and lead our
children and give them what they will need to be competent adults. That means presenting more than just our
favored opinions. We owe it to each other to be more open about the possibilities.
