These are the remarks I made at the Jan. 29 Livingston County memorial for Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse who was shot dead by ICE agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.
“How people can heal a bit”
I am Rev. Vilius Rudra Dundzila (he, his him, anti-Fascist), contract minster at Community Unitarian Universalists in Brighton. I am a child and grandchild of WWII refugees, who escaped the second Soviet Russian occupation of their Lithuanian homeland. My family knows all about fascism. I come to you from the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Michigan’s Ojibwe people, ceded to the Federal Government in the 1807 Treaty of Detroit.
We’re all heartbroken at the state-sponsored extra-judicial execution of Alex Pretti, as well as the eight other killings and 30 shootings this year alone by ICE, one of them at the abduction center in Baldwin, Michigan.
Likewise, our hearts go out to 5-year-old Liam and his family and everyone else in their shoes. They’re documented asylum seekers with no criminal history whatsoever, yet the Administration is trying to deport them with such inhumane cruelty.
Many people are struggling today with the horrors going on in our country. The administration’s divisive political rhetoric is affecting all of us. We don’t know how to handle that hatred that’s being spewed at us daily. We’re confounded by the pathological lies gushing forth. We’re deeply upset that our government is violating our fundamental human rights. Racism, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, Islamophobia, misogyny are NOT American values. It’s unsettling.
Right now, we have no guarantees that our United States will be made right and whole, that the rule of law will be restored, that the violent rhetoric and attacks on our people will stop.
It’s scary. People are scared. We’re all scared.
What can we do?
The first step is to take care of yourself.
We all know the pre-flight safety briefings, where we are told to put on our own mask first, before assisting others with their masks. That is sound advice for times like ours.
Once we have taken care of ourselves, then we can take care of others.
Start with self-care like sleep, nutrition, exercise, entertainment and R&R.
As clergy and a person of faith, I ask, what’s your spiritual practice? If you’ve let your practice fall by the wayside, now is a good time to pick it up again. If you’re steadfast in it, congratulations, and keep it up.
Spiritual practices can range from traditional prayer, scripture, meditation, chanting, dancing, yoga and tai chi to walking in the woods, cross-country skiing, or — when the season is right — horse-back riding or gardening. Maybe you like to hug trees? Or take sound baths? Double down on your spiritual practices to center yourselves.
Second, be in community with others. You are not alone. Hundreds and even thousands of communities like ours are in grief seeking justice, just like ours here in Livingston County.
My faith inspires me to create the Beloved Community. In Beloved Community, we seek a global society founded on love, justice, and equality. Poverty, racism, and violence are eliminated. Conflicts are resolved through nonviolent means, and crimes mitigated through restorative justice. In Beloved Community, we seek the flourishing of our one great human family, where everyone’s inherent worthiness is nurtured and celebrated.
And, Beloved Community treads lightly on our Mother Earth. We minimize our carbon footprint so that all beings, all species, all life on our planet home can meet their life-sustaining needs.
Finally, do something.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr reminds us: “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people.”
We can all do something. Do something that is comfortable for you.
Call, write, email, send post cards to our state and federal legislators and the White House. Weekly. Even daily in times like these. Let them hear your concerns. The more voices they hear, the harder it is for them to ignore us.
Attend protests. Maybe protests aren’t your thing. Are you a creative person? Make signs for others.
Go grocery shopping for immigrants who are afraid to go out themselves. Pass out the red “You Have Constitutional Rights” wallet cards.
When you go out, prominently wear a red whistle. You might not use it, but it’s still a public safety symbol.
Love your neighbors, as all the world’s religions teach. Put “Love your neighbor” signs on your lawns or in your windows. Find something positive to do.
Our United States is a great nation of Native Americans, descendants of enslaved Africans, as well as colonizers and immigrants with their descendants. Our country forms a beautiful rainbow of human diversity: a multi-racial, muti-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious nation created from many peoples, cultures and histories around the world. We are unique. Our diversity makes us great.
We can fix our own brokenness and repair our broken country. Let’s start by loving our neighbors. Love your neighbors.
The Rev. Vilius Rudra Dundzila
