Connectivity, Compassion & Pope Francis

The Unstoppable Sophia Cruz

Around our earthly home;five year old Sophia Cruz epitomizes the plight of immigrant families. She turns to the one person she trusts, Pope Francis. Sophia does not understand the complexities of immigration laws, but she fully comprehends the sanctity of her family. 

Pope Francis's landmark United States visit will be remembered as a humble servant of God pleading for humanity and compassion for all people around the globe. Pope Francis will be quoted and referenced for connecting the dots among the numerous concerns of our day. The internet is a gift from God and dialogue between people of varying cultures is his message. 

Earth is our home with each living being, animal, plant, organism and particle essential for our collective good.  Gracias, Pope Francis@Pontifex.

Himno a la Alegria--Ode to Joy

Beethoven

Go Set A Watchman:Review

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I must say, Miss Harper Lee, you really had me wondering where you were taking me until I reached page 116 of your Watchman.  For some, the novel is a reflection of the 1950s in the rural South and our favorite tomboy Scout of To Kill A Mockingbird. She returns home to Alabama for a couple week vacation from her residence in New York City. Scout is Jean Louise, age 26, employed and has her baccalaureate degree. During the first 116 pages, I didn't like Jean Louise--she appeared to be a sophomoric rebel without a cause.

As the novel progresses, some readers may view Scout's awakening or reckoning as that time in life where one sees their childhood images and ideals shattered by the "stark reality" of coming of age. The South is changing and in turn her familial security blanket is tattered. 

For me the novel reminded me of the first time I witnessed de facto discrimination in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was about seven years old in the mid-1950s. On our summer vacation to my Dad's home state Maine, he took a wrong turn and we ended up hot and tired in Little Rock. We stopped for lunch and my brother saw a swimming pool next to the diner.  Yippee, we thought. My Mom grabbed our swim suits and we were off for a quick swim before getting back on the road to our motel destination.

Along the chain link fence surrounding the public pool stood a number of black children. Inside the pool were white children playing Marco Polo and screaming at the top of their lungs. I noted a sign that distinguished hours where black and white children could swim. In seconds flat, we were back in the car hot and sweaty with a valuable lesson. Actions speak louder than words. Parents prevent bigotry and racism. In our home along Seal Way we met people of many races, beliefs and color.


It was the era of "Separate-but equal" of the 1950s. This is the crux of Go Set A Watchman. In 1954 the United States Supreme Court in Brown vs The Board of Education said, separate-but-equal in education was racial discrimination. The old ways of the South and every where had to change. The question then became how to remedy the disparate treatment of Black Americans.

Harper Lee lays out the turning point in full living color, benevolent racism and bigotry. She throws in the State's Rights--Tenth Amendment in a way that lays bare the intrinsic evil of discrimination based on color.  Separate can never be equal because there is an intrinsic evil in treating people differently. Toni Morrison and Alice Walker works showed the devastating humiliation of "the old ways".

Make no mistake, Harper Lee intentionally jarred us a little with Go Set A Watchman. The story is as relevant today as it was in the 1950s. I hope you read it and leave a comment about its relevance to a current event.