{"id":5352,"date":"2015-10-15T06:14:05","date_gmt":"2015-10-15T10:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=5352"},"modified":"2015-10-15T06:27:05","modified_gmt":"2015-10-15T10:27:05","slug":"do-all-lives-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=5352","title":{"rendered":"do all lives matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BandW\"<\/a>One question struck me arguably most during this week\u2019s debate: \u201cDo black lives matter? OR<\/strong>\u2026 do all lives matter?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

We have had some excellent conversations regarding the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the sensitivity of the issue, and the difficulty of those from varied vantage points seeing any other side. I have grown and learned much in these discussions about this challenging, controversial issue.<\/p>\n

I have also sincerely appreciated those who have respectfully proclaimed the validity of the #BlackLivesMatter movement because for so long \u2014 and sometimes still \u2014 persons of diverse creed and color have felt that their lives did not<\/em> matter\u2026 or\u2026 that their lives somehow mattered less<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Friends, no life matters less than another\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Amen. Agreed. We are all created equal. We are created with diverse skills and unique gifting, but we each have certain, unalienable rights. And while the Intramuralist previously\u00a0expressed discomfort at the inability to propose that other lives actually also matter, I empathetically understand the respectfully-articulated passion of the person who feels there is valid reason to at this time, in this season, promote the value of only black lives.<\/p>\n

What struck me about the question in Tuesday night\u2019s debate, no less, was not whether or not at this time, in this season, it\u2019s appropriate to promote the mattering of only one kind of life; what struck me was the word \u201cor.\u201d<\/strong> I was astounded that the two \u201ctypes\u201d of life were juxtaposed squarely against one another. A candidate could only answer one.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDo black lives matter? OR<\/strong>\u2026 do all lives matter?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In other words \u2014 what I heard \u2014 perhaps wrongly \u2014 is that only one can be true.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Follow me here\u2026 I\u2019m concerned\u2026<\/p>\n

I learned much last August from the respectful dialogue surrounding a post after the innocent policeman was shot and killed in Houston, Texas simply while pumping gas; we published the quote from his county sheriff, in which the officer said in response, \u201cWe\u2019ve heard black lives matter; all lives matter. Well, cops\u2019 lives matter, too.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What I heard in response then from several respectful dissenters \u2014 who I believe stated their opinions incredibly, logically and compassionately well \u2014 was that “of course<\/strong> all lives matter”\u2026 “of course<\/strong> cops\u2019 lives matter.”<\/em> And that just because persons are passionately proclaiming “black lives matter,” that does not mean that other lives do not.<\/p>\n

But for the first time Tuesday night, I didn\u2019t hear any \u201cof course.\u201d I didn’t hear an \u201cor.\u201d I heard \u201cwe can only\u00a0pick one<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Friends, if our society has digressed to a point where we must omit the \u201cof course\u201d \u2014 where we have to choose which lives matter and which lives don\u2019t \u2014 my strong sense is that we are treading on nothing less than treacherous waters.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear; the #BlackLivesMatter movement has validity. Black lives matter and that\u2019s ok to be shouted from the rooftops. I also have no problem with similar shouts of significance proclaimed by others who perceive unfairness and\/or oppression\u2026 the police\u2026 Christians\u2026 the disabled\u2026 the unborn\u2026 the elderly. Each has a right to passionately, respectfully, and nonviolently proclaim their uniqueness \u2014 in addition to their unmistakable worth, endowed by our Creator.<\/p>\n

The problem arises when we are encouraged to pick\u00a0only one.<\/p>\n

There is no such thing as only one life mattering. There is no such thing as one life mattering more than another. There is no such thing as the \u201cor.\u201d There is<\/strong><\/em> such a time to shout the meaning of one life. But\u00a0when we pit lives against one another, trumping one over the other, making people choose\u00a0\u2014 we are advocating for oppression comparable to what we cry out against.<\/p>\n

Of course, all lives matter. None of us should have to deny that.<\/p>\n

Respectfully\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One question struck me arguably most during this week\u2019s debate: \u201cDo black lives matter? OR\u2026 do all lives matter?\u201d We have had some excellent conversations regarding the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the sensitivity of the issue, and the difficulty of those from varied vantage points seeing any other side. I have grown and learned much in these … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “do all lives matter?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[532,533],"class_list":["post-5352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-issue","tag-blacklivesmatter","tag-democratic-debate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5352"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5360,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5352\/revisions\/5360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}