Evicted in Milwaukee

I get frustrated when I do not get done all I want to do in a day. People call, I need to call friends, people need rides, directions are wrong, the new computer does not work as planned, weeds get in the way in the garden, I forget things, time runs out and life gets messy when you at least expect it. Daily I need to realize it is not so much ‘how much you do’ but ‘how you do it’.

The quality of doing comes from reflection. As Thomas Merton and many others who saw deeply into life, taught us, we must retreat and see the bigger picture in order to act effectively in the future.

History, also, can teach us. Yet, as it seems so often true today, we ignore the lessons of history and make the same mistakes today as we did in the past.

I was notified there were three homicide prayer vigils tomorrow morning. In Milwaukee we sadly are having a record year of homicides. But if we look at the neighborhoods where the majority of homicides are occurring we will see they are in North Central Milwaukee, 85% plus African American and poor and South Central Milwaukee, 85% plus Hispanic and poor. We know from history that these areas of high concentrations of impoverished minorities encourages an environment of violence. Also we know from history how to break the cycle of racism, poverty and violence, yet we do not.

I thought today of writing city, county and state politicians ten common sense steps to end this increase in violence. But I know they do not want to hear them and do not want to make the investment in the short run that would save us, not only from senseless violence, but money in the future. Sacrificing in the short run for the common good of society in the future is not so popular. Everyone, like the digit devices they use, wants instant answers and solutions. I have called this phenomenon of needing an instant response ‘insatinity’, the need for an instant answer like a digital device can provide.

The USA commits acts of war in countries all over the world, Yemen, Syria, Pakistan, Somalia, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan. This violence and senseless killing leads to more violence and senseless killing just as it does in the areas of our city of a growing number of impoverished people.

We do not need more studies, more books, more discussion and more talk to tell us what to do. We know from history and reflection of what we must do to end violence and killing in our cities as well as in the world. We need to learn it is not the quantity of what we do but the quality of how we do it that matters.

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