“We Can’t Breathe” litany from today’s service at Tapestry UU Church in Mission Viejo, CA. As Eric Garner, a Black man, was being strangled to death by white police officers, he said eleven times the words “I can’t breathe.” So we will say eleven times the words, “We can’t breathe.” Eric Garner died on the streets but he is not forgotten, he is not alone. None of us is alone in this struggle. We are all connected in this web of racism and police violence. And so WE respond together with the words, “We can’t breathe.” Say it with me now We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because we are choking on the tears for our lost brothers and sisters. For Eric, Michael, Treyvon and a list longer than anyone dare imagine. We can’t breathe because we are choking on tears for the broken world that our children are growing up in. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because teargas and pepper spray have choked our voices in the streets. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because the history of racism and police violence weighs heavy on our chest, and it infects the air we breathe with a stench of injustice. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because when we send our sons and daughters out into the world, we hold our breath until they make it home safe. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because we have run this race so many times. We have struggled for years, decades, centuries as black and brown men have been murdered in the name of justice. We are exhausted. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because the Spirit of Life, the Breath of God is being stifled by the sin of fear and hatred. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because for some, the scales of justice have been replaced with the noose of hatred. And injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because the winds of change seem to have stopped blowing; the progress toward racial equality that once seemed inevitable now feels impossible. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because watching an innocent person choked to death takes our breath away. It is shocking, disturbing, disgusting, and it should be. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe because we are holding our breath for a dream. Holding our breath for a day when all children live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. We can’t breathe We can’t breathe. But we will stand and we will march, we will pray and we will sing, we will speak our truth and we will be heard.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 06:56:13 +0000
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