My Beautiful Day at the DMV!

 So, yesterday, I spent almost five hours waiting for a new driver's license at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Horrible, you say?

Not so fast!

After all, the State of Texas invited to return in person to renew my permit because I had lived so long since I last renewed on line!

Beats the obvious alternative, right?

But, I have to be honest.  The first 90 minutes in that space drove me crazy.  Waiting on a terribly uncomfortable chair as a recorded voice barked out numbers in the queue.  As the announced numbers droned on, I could calculate my wait time, and my reality was not pretty!

Then, something snapped for me.

The people.

The way beyond beauty of that crowded room slapped me in the face.

Old.

Young.

Grandparents and children.

Eager teens.

Working people.

Unemployed.

Professionals.

White.

Black.

Brown.

Every human hue.

Every ethnicity.

So many nationalities, I felt like I was in the middle of Pentecost!  That's right!  If you want to experience modern day Pentecost, go spend a day in the DMV!  You'll have it right there in your face!

I watched as community formed before my eyes as we shared our common plight.  People actually started talking to one another.  Sharing.  Encouraging.  Even, laughing!

People helped each other.  People began to identify with the place, and their presence and position in it.

I saw the hope of the nation displayed in the lives assembled at random in that room.

The USA's power is found in its diversity.  Who would choose uniformity over the richness of our national mixture?

Its hope discovered in how we take care of one another.

Our peace will be unearthed together, never apart.

I say go to the DMV.

You'll find your people waiting for you there!

And who knows. Pentecost might just break out!

Community and the power of difference

Bill Bishop: "The Big Sort" from The Village Square on Vimeo.

Grown up Christmas list. . .

Facts. . .

The Dallas Business Journal published a report on the work of the Community Health Needs Assessment Task Force in this week's edition (June 1-7, 2012, page 11).

Here are some of the facts:

--26% of adults under age 65 and 26.4% of children from low-income families in North Texas lack health insurance.

--In 2011 the population in North  Texas was 4.6 million and is expected to swell to 5 million by 2016.

--From 2000 to 2010, Texas population grew 20% compared to 9.7% nationally.

--The most prevalent age group in North Texas is 35 to 54 (27.6%) followed by age 0 to 14 (20.2%).

--44% are "New Americans" born outside the US or children of the foreign born; of these 46% are undocumented.

--More than 230 languages are spoken in the North Texas area.

--In Dallas County, 29.6% of children under 18 and 15.8% of adults live below the federal poverty level.

Reactions?

Race Matters. . .

On and on it goes.

A group of Clemson University students--white students--threw a "gangsta" theme party the weekend prior to the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday.

The party invited participants to dress and behave in a manner that could politely be described as a night of parody of African American racial stereotypes. Dress and behavior poked fun at blacks who were not present for the event.

A similar party took place at Tarleton State University here in Texas. Another convened at the University of Connecticut School of Law.

On each campus the events in question set off a backlash of disgust, disappointment and hurt feelings. In addition, on each campus formal talks and forums have been organized to discuss race, racism and the nature and current condition of America's racial psyche.

To a person the students involved in the parties claim they meant no harm or disrespect. And, above all, they denied any suggestion that racism was involved.

I must admit I have a hard time with that claim.

Further, it is the ease with which the group uses this sort of disclaimer as an easily accessible, default "fall back" position, when caught in an act of blatant racism, that continues to really bug, irritate and anger me. University students with, at a minimum, no more sensitivity than this is a phenomenon that I find preposterous.

We should not be fooled.

Racism and all that goes with it is very much alive and well in this nation.