2020: The Path to Wholeness
The rare repetitive nature of the numbers was intriguing enough so we would welcome openly the unfolding of the days. While proving to be unimaginably difficult, 2020 is occurring neither in isolation nor by happenstance. The seeds bearing yield today, whether blessings or challenges, were planted yesterday, yesteryear. For Catholics and other people of good will, the experiences of 2020 teach as they invite us – compel us – to contemplate our present and past so we may discern more compassionate and mindful ways of moving towards wholeness.
Many recognize 2020 as a year of dual daunting realities resulting from a confluence of factors neglected far too long now demanding attention. The newer is shaped by the novel virus Covid-19. At the time of this writing, more than 8,000,000 cases have been diagnosed in the United States as unknown numbers of people are transmitting the virus while asymptomatic. Tragically and inexcusably, more than 220,000 Americans have died in the pandemic. With capable and trusted public healthcare systems, it is beyond baffling that our nation should have 20 percent of all deaths with only four percent of the global population.
The second reality has been forming for centuries and is exacerbated by the first. The dominant group in the United States of America has never fully addressed the influence of the flawed construct of race on the nation’s culture and identity, let alone on the lives of those in other groups. Having never developed the capacity to recognize the unjust complexities of life for their neighbors on the margins, they cling tightly to the myth of white body supremacy. Consequently, not recognizing the oppression of their privilege, few are free to truly encounter those dwelling on the margins of society.
When the integration of bodies is mandated, the integration of hearts and minds is neither facilitated nor encouraged. A threat to the status quo, the inevitable questions surfacing from centuries of lies are dissuaded. The unacknowledged privilege dismisses the discomfort that may be transformative. Meanwhile, the 400-year-old practice inspires the living yet mournful litany for people with Black bodies killed by law enforcement with impunity – George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others.
The aforementioned complexities are apparent also in the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 and other diseases on the lives of Black and Brown Americans. These disparities are not isolated figures. Each shows how the nation has been built and maintained through disturbing practices and policies that deny the full humanity and equal dignity of those on the margins who merely seek “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It is my fervent hope that those who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ will ponder and question the disparities and injustices revealed as they discern the path to wholeness.