Wednesday, August 28, 2013

A Dream Worth Revisiting


I can be a slow learner at times.  I tend to be stubborn; choosing to stay with the familiar rather than accepting change.  Regardless of the evidence presented to me, if I want to reject a new idea, I will - - even if it is simply for the sake of rejection itself!  I have worked on this over the years and if I do say so myself - I am less stubborn now than I once was.  At least, that is true in some areas of my life!

                Perhaps this is why I can understand that an entire nation will find it difficult to accept widespread change to their societal structure.  I may not agree with such stubbornness but I can understand it.  Take, for example, the issue of Civil Rights.  From the founding of this nation in 1776 until the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on New Years Day in 1863 slavery was a legal institution.  It took 87 years before slaves were declared to be free persons.  But the gap between legal rights and the actualization of rights remained cavernous for the next 102 years.  While the 15th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1870, declaring that every citizen had the right to vote it was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson that the right to vote was given some practical support in an effort to ensure its fulfillment.  In those intervening 102 years state and local authorities still managed to find ways to suppress the rights of African-American citizens in spite of what the Constitution said.

                The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was one of the benefits that came into being as a result of the tumultuous '60's.  The Civil Rights movement had been unfolding for a long, long time in this country.  It found new energy and hope, however, in the mid 1950's and throughout the 1960's as courageous men and women from all walks of life stood in peaceful solidarity to demand change.  Names like Whitney Young, Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Al Raby, six-year old Ruby Bridges, Roy Wilkins, James Farmer, John Lewis, Martin Luther King, Jr, and many more gave power and direction to this much-needed cause.

                This past weekend we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  On a very hot August day in 1963 a massive demonstration of people from all across the United States came together for an unprecedented socio-political declaration.  It was a pivotal moment in the struggle for equal rights.  Initiated and spearheaded by Randolph, the march was inclusive in many ways.  Blacks, whites, men, women, politicians, movie stars, nationally recognized musicians and multiple generations became the face of this peaceful, powerful event.  Building throughout the day like a symphonic crescendo the March reached its summit with the now famous speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - - the "I Have a Dream" speech.

                I was eight years old when the March took place.  I have a vague recollection of seeing it on television, perhaps on the nightly news.  One thing I do remember clearly is that my Pastor at that time, Guy Wampler, Jr., took part in the March along with a good size contingent from our denomination, The Church of the Brethren. His participation may be embedded in my mind because of a photo that appeared in our local newspaper.  The photo revealed Pastor Wampler and others participating in the March, and remained with me through all my years.  As I recently confessed to Guy, his participation in that great event was the starting point in my own spiritual development.  I quickly recognized if my pastor could take such a determined stance for justice and the rights of the oppressed in the face of much opposition, then so could I.  Years later, as I grew spiritually and came to accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord, I saw the obvious parallel between the Civil Rights activists and the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus claimed and lived by.  For in Isaiah 61:1 - 2 we read these words.

                "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;"

Jesus read this very passage in his first recorded sermon in Luke 4:16 - 21, concluding with his own commentary "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
 

                I believe that Jesus spoke the truth.  The words of Isaiah were indeed fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  But have the followers of Jesus upheld this vision in the centuries that followed?  If so, Dr. King would never have had to share his "dream".  No, the cold reality is we have failed miserably! 

                The dream shared so eloquently by Dr. King in 1963 was rooted in the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah some 2800 years earlier.  In true prophetic fashion the March on Washington called our nation to repent and change its ways.  We did, in part.  Great and mighty strides were taken in the years that followed.  But the work remains unfinished in our day.  Fifty years after King's Speech; one hundred and fifty years after Lincoln's Proclamation; and two thousand years after Jesus' sermon in Nazareth I have to say that we have yet to bring this ideal to its full fruition. 

                The challenge is ever before us and it manifests itself in a myriad of ways.  Consider:

·         According to figures released by the Department of Labor the current Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 per hour.  This has remained unchanged since 2009, when it received a mere ten cent increase.  During that same period of time, the national Cost of Living Adjustment increased by 5.8 % (2009), 2.1 % (2012) and 1.7 % (2013).  This means that if the Minimum Wage would have kept pace with the Cost of Living it would now stand at $7.85 per hour.  Thus the poor fall economically further behind the rest of society just in the past five years alone.

·         Members of Congress receive a salary of $174,000 per year.  That rate is, naturally, higher for the Majority and Minority Leaders ($193,000) and the Speaker of the House ($223,500).  Congress sets its own salary, annually voting what their salary will be in the future.  To Their credit Congress has not given itself a pay raise during this current Recession, though from 1999 through 2009 they gave themselves a raise every year except one.  These annual increases are typically based on the federal Cost Of Living Adjustment.  For Congress, that means their salary increased from $136,700 in 1999 to $174,000 in 2009 - and increase of over 27% in ten years.  Not bad!  I would propose, if I could, new legislation that states:
"Congress may not give its members or their staff an increase in salary unless it also increases the minimum wage by two times the percent that is used to calculate their own salary increase."

·         The U. S. Census Bureau reports that approximately 11 % of Americans lived under the Poverty Threshold in 2000.  That figure rose to 15 % by 2011.

·         FactCheck.org reports that 2 % of American households earn 24.7 % of all income in this country, according to the IRS.

·         Since the Colonial days of North America the rights of Native Americans have been and continue to be suppressed.

·         The rights of the disabled are consistently overlooked or ignored.  Jobs are denied this group, supplemental funding for mere living expenses is decreasing, and yet the number of disabled is constantly increasing, resulting in even lower shares per person.

·         With the crisis in Social Security we are seeing ever-more seniors forced to live without proper food, health care and housing,

·         Increasingly we see our young people go off to college only to find themselves unable to afford the cost, unable to repay the cost, or unable to find a job in the field for which they were trained.

·         New, restrictive voter registration laws in many of our States make it increasingly difficult to enforce the 15th Amendment to the Constitution ("the right to vote shall not be denied to any citizen...").  This is complicated further by the recent shameful decision of the U. S. Supreme Court which struck down segments of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

 
                The 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is indeed cause to celebrate.  Much progress has been realized in the 237 years of the history of the United States.  At the same time, this Anniversary is a kick in the pants for us to finish what was so haughtily declared in 1776, that "all men [and women and children] are created equal...".  Yes, we have come a long way, thank God!  No, we are not yet done, God help us!  The dream prophesied by Dr. King in 1963 must be revisited before we are all called to accountability.


GDGehr 08/28/2013
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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Learning From Our Past: A Lesson For Memorial Day

My Father, George S. Gehr, is a World War II Veteran.  He was enlisted into the U. S. Army on December 12, 1942 and served until the end of the war in 1945.  Dad served in the 82nd Airborne Division - the famed "All Americans" - as a member of the 312th Glider Infantry Regiment. 

This humble, simple country boy from Ephrata Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania had no idea what he was about to get into when he left the family farm at the age of 21.  He was led to believe he would be a desk clerk State side, but it never came to pass.  After Boot Camp at Fort Dix he was sent across the Atlantic.  The rich farmlands of Lancaster County must have seemed like heaven compared to the African Desert where he was first deployed. 

As hot as the climate in Africa was, Dad's unit remained distanced from the heat of combat on the European continent until they were moved to Sicily.  There in the Italian campaign the 82nd Airborne lost 206 lives, with an additional 810 wounded and 12 missing in action.  Dad escaped unscathed.  Things were about to change dramatically, however.

Dad soon found himself in England preparing to embark in one of history's greatest conflicts.  The Allied Command, under the leadership of General Dwight Eisenhower, was carefully planning the Invasion of Normandy.  As a member of the 82nd Airborne's Glider Infantry, dad's role was to fly over the Nazi encampments, land behind enemy lines completely cut off from the rest of the Allied troops, and thus trap the German troops by attacking on two fronts.

Understand that the Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) was not exactly a textbook war strategy. Glider warfare had never before been utilized and only lasted about 5 years.  In a sense it was an early test run for what would become known as stealth weapons in modern warfare.  It involved a large cargo glider, the CG-4A, being towed by another plane, typically the Douglas C-47d, until it achieved sufficient altitude and speed so as to be cut loose and glide silently through the sky above the enemy and then crash land wherever possible.  Some 12,000 CG-4A's were used during WWII.  Those soldiers who survived the landing were then expected to enter combat with minimal support.  Unfortunately, more glidermen were injured in the landing than in the ensuing battle.  A full 12 % of these soldiers died in the crash landings alone.  It is little wonder that these were sometimes referred to as "suicide missions".   One third of these brave men never survived D-Day.

The CG-4A glider was a remarkably fragile craft.  It was constructed of a wood and metal skeletal frame covered by a canvas fabric.  It was literally a flying tent.  Dad told how they were always instructed to carefully hold onto their rifle, complete with a bayonet, so as to be sure it did not poke a hole through the canvas while in flight.  The CG-4A was capable of transporting 13 glidermen plus a pilot and co-pilot.  In its belly the glider could haul a jeep, a ¾ ton truck, or a 75mm Howitzer.  The number of potential troop passengers almost appears to be an ominous warning of these missions' doomed fate.

George was one of the lucky ones, in that sense.  Though he was injured in combat during the Normandy Invasion, he survived.  After his recovery in an Army Hospital in England, George returned to combat.  His next major assignment was the Battle of the Bulge, where he suffered his second injury and earned a return trip to the hospital.  For his efforts dad received the Purple Heart and a body that is still riddled with shrapnel.

My father entered the Army totally ignorant of how to use a gun and has never touched one since.   He was one of four brothers who served their country during World War II.  Only one, Paul, failed to return home alive.  He was killed in the Battle of Saipan in the Pacific Theatre on June 15, 1944.  Dad says that while he was in the hospital recovering from his D-Day injury he was awakened with a start one night.  Something told him in that moment that his brother Paul was dead.  Later he learned in a letter from his mother that at that exact hour Paul had in fact died in Saipan.

Today, at the age of 91, George Gehr continues to live independently in his home in Ephrata PA, just a few short miles from the stone farmhouse where he was born.  Of fourteen brothers and sisters only he and his younger sister, Kathryn, survive.  He and his wife Margaret will celebrate their sixty-fourth wedding anniversary this summer.

My father served his country with pride during this incredible time in history.  I often wonder how he felt fighting the Germans when he himself was of pure German descent.  Did his fellow soldiers know this about him?  Was his loyalty ever questioned?  All I can say is he never talked much about the war except to say that it was something he never wants to see again.  He taught me that war is wrong and that the Church of the Brethren is right in following the peaceful teachings of Jesus and biblical pacifism.  Its all part of the complexity that makes up this man whom I admire.    He is my hero, in part because he stepped way out of character to serve as a WWII gliderman for three years, risking life and limb every day even if he wasn't sure why.  As a member of the Lutheran Church (at that time in his life) he never heard of the Christian Doctrine of Nonresistance.  Nor was he aware that there was an option to enlist as a Conscientious Objector.  He simply did as he was told and he did it well.

Yet there remains the other side of my father, the side that defined him for the great majority of his life.  I am referring  to the post-war man, the one who saw the evil and the horror of war and lived to denounce it.  This is the man I know.  This is the one he chose to reveal to me.  And while I highly respect the former it is the latter that I wish to honor today.  Isn't this the true meaning of Memorial Day?  Let us not look back and tell ourselves that we are great because we have killed more people of "theirs" than "they" killed of ours.  Let us not consider ourselves superior because we won and they lost.  Good grief, today Germany and Japan are among our strongest friends.  No we need not look back to find meaning for Memorial Day in the present.  We need to look forward.  We must remember that no cause is worth the loss of human life.  There are options.  There are alternatives.  We can and must find ways to live together and work out our differences less we discover that our principles are more fragile than the canvas shell of a CG-4A glider!  Only then can we honestly say Happy Memorial Day.


So let me say it here and now: Happy Memorial Dad, Dad, and thank you for the lessons of life you instilled in me.  I pray I may somehow find the courage to live according to them.

BY George Douglas Gehr
In Honor of George Showers Gehr
May 26, 2013

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Working My Way Around The Weeds

I know it has been a while since I posted anything to this blog.  After my post entitled " 'We the People' vs. the NRA" a dear friend of mine sent me an email. After expressing appreciation for the post he warned that I "may lose some friends" over the article I had written in opposition to the NRA.

I am not sure I lost any friends, but I certainly did make some enemies!  In rapid succession I began receiving two to three comments per day.  Nearly all of them came from the same "person" - - one infamously named "Anonymous".  Well, like many names, apparently several persons shared this identity because several of the comments were written in affirmation of a previous comment, also by "Anonymous".  

It was about this time that I realized I could no longer log into my own blog account.  Then I noticed weird things were happening on my computer:  mysterious and suspicious ads began popping up on my screen;  my browser was taking unusually long to open; as I attempted to go to some of my bookmarked web pages I found myself redirected to something I had no desire to look at.  I smelled a rat!

That's when I went to the library and used a different computer to log into my blog account.  After doing so successfully I observed numerous hyper-links inserted within some of my posts.  Sure enough, I had been attacked.  While I cannot prove it I suspect by attacker was one - or more - of my new friends named "Anonymous".

I have since run several scans of my computer with two different protection software and deleted the compromised posts from my blog site.  For the most part my computer seems to be OK.  However, I still cannot log into my Peace-Ability account.  So how am I posting this message?  Let's just say there is more than one way around a weed patch!

For the record I am not discouraged by these events.  Several additional factors have prevented my from authoring more posts recently.  I spent some time in the hospital, with a very lengthy recovery time.  Once I finally returned to work I had a lot of catching up to do, and now I am entering my busiest season of the year at work.  Then too, I have been distracted by certain needs of my family.  Together these have caused me to be less than energetic about contributing fresh material to Peace-Ability.

There is no lack of material to write about, however.  The cowardly actions of the United States Senate this past week, that led to the defeat of the Manchin-Toomey Bill, proves how dysfunctional Congress has become.  How else could one explain 46 Senators denying what 90% of Americans want?  The Boston Marathon Bombings deserve attention as well.  I would love to lift up the fact that April is Autism Awareness Month.  A good friend of mine, Dave Ihde, is diagnosed with ALS.  He has become a great advocate for ALS research and I am pleased to support him and encourage others to join his efforts.  You can read more by going to his facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dave.ihde.  There you can put your money where your heart is by pledging your financial support  for the 2013 Hershey Walk to Defeat ALS on June 1.  He has already surpassed his goal of raising $1,500.  Would you help me to double that goal by making your pledge today?

The mission of Peace-Ability has always been to promote the efforts of peace and justice in today's world together with advocating for the rights and awareness of persons with disabilities.  I remain committed to these principles, whether I am posting articles and commentaries on the web or not.  

One final note.  Due to the abuse of the comments section by "Anonymous" I am no longer accepting comment posts by anyone unwilling to identify themselves and behave in a civil, respectful manner.

God's Peace be with you, dear friends, and remember to always look for a person's abilities rather than their disabilities!


gdgehr
April 19, 2013

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Kudos To Governor Corbett


I have found renewed faith in the work of advocacy. 

About a year ago Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announced he was slashing 10 % from the State Budget for services to persons with disabilities.  Many individuals and organizations, including me, rose up in protest.  Some of us staged a demonstration in the Capital rotunda in Harrisburg.  Many of us wrote personal letters to our State Senators and Representatives, as well as to the Governor himself.  It seemed like a hopeless cause but we pressed on relentlessly.

To my joyful surprise our efforts paid off.  Governor Corbett recently announced that he was going to increase the budget for funding programs for persons with disabilities by reallocating $20 million to aid those with intellectual disabilities.  This is a major victory in the ongoing battle for appropriate services to families affected by diagnoses such as Down Syndrome, autism, Fragile X Syndrome, mental retardation and more.

Currently there are more than 15,000 Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities on the waiting list for services.  That's 15,000 adult persons severely handicapped and unable to care for themselves and meet their needs.  This does not include those under the age of 21.  These 15,000 adults have nowhere to go; no place to live; no one to supervise their medications; no means of transportation.  They are completely dependent upon loving family members who are willing to sacrifice their time, money and resources to keep their loved ones alive and safe.  Of these 15,000 persons, 300 are on the emergency waiting list.  This means their situations are especially severe.  Perhaps they have no family members to provide for them.  Or they may be prone to violence towards themselves or others.   In more than a few cases these persons are so severely disabled that they cannot do anything for themselves, such as feeding themselves, or toileting, or other basic functions.  Yet they are denied services because of financial priorities that have determined that they are not important enough to be provided some basic dignity in life.  This is nothing short of a social sin.

Until his announcement on Wednesday, January 23, Governor Corbett has been among the guilty parties that have turned a deaf ear to the disabled community.  I have publicly criticized the Governor for his inattention to this serious concern.  Now, I will give credit where credit is due.  Kudos to Mr. Corbett for finally listening to the voice of Pennsylvania's citizens.  The $20 million dollars he is proposing is short of meeting the need, but is a strong step in the right direction.  The Governor estimates that this new money will help to get 1,200 people off the waiting list and into the services they need.  That would include all those who are on the emergency waiting list, plus another 900 as well.

Corbett said that after visiting with advocacy groups and talking to persons with disabilities and their caregivers about the struggles, the stress and the daily problems they endure, "to say that I was moved...would be an understatement."

This is what it takes.  Personal stories; real life scenarios; direct contact with those who are in need and those who can help do something about it.  Why did it take this long?  The answer lies, in part, at the desk of the Governor.  Corbett has repeatedly refused to meet with the advocates and caregivers.  Until recently.  We finally gained an audience with the man who proposes the State budget and, predictably, he was moved.

This is not the end of the struggle, however.  Even with this generous proposal there remains 13,800 adult citizens on the waiting list for services.  If Corbett's figures are correct and $20 million dollars will meet the needs of 1,200 people, then is follows that an additional $250 million dollars will be required to meet the needs of those still left in limbo.  Their lives and their situations are just as real and important as the 1,200 who can look forward to gaining help.  We must not rest until there is NO waiting list and all citizens with disabilities can find peace by having their needs met fully.  After all, isn't that what everyone desires?
 
 
GDGehr
January 29, 2013
comments welcomed