December 7, 2003
Rev. Dr. Frank Carpenter,
D.Min.
St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church, Cincinnati, OH
Transforming Love, Source of our lives, Fountain of our Hopes, gratefully we gather this morning in the presence of one another to affirm the meaningfulness of our lives.
The winter weather and dangerous streets and paths remind us of our fragility. Vulnerable creatures we, often dragged to our doom by simple words. We give thanks hope blooms eternal in our hearts.
We join to celebrate both the individual promise of our lives, and the shared promise of human community. We build our common hope upon a foundation of human rights, upon a shared knowledge of the inherent worth and dignity of each and every human being.
We consider our common life together, about our need for both freedom and security. We contemplate the opportunity that we must live without simple answers to many questions that anguish us. We join with others in grieving the death of Nathaniel Jones last Sunday in North Avondale. We hold in our hearts his family and friends. We respect the difficult choices confronting those in authority in our city. We pray for all these as well as for ourselves.
In this quiet time, may these tragic events call us to greater participation in justice making here in Cincinnati.
Hoping for a greater respect for all human beings, let us be quiet in this peaceful moment.
[silence]
May your hopes burn brightly this day and every day of your lives. Amen.
The struggle for human rights here in Cincinnati has been going on for a long time.
During the culture wars leading up to the American Civil War, a significant flash point occurred in 1836. On the night of July 12th of that year the shop of a printer, Achilles Pugh was ransacked by a mob of twenty men. His shop was downtown at 7th and Elm. His presses were destroyed.
Pugh’s printing shop was destroyed because he printed an abolitionists newspaper, the PHILANTHROPIST. Its editor was James Birney. Birney had been a slave owner in Alabama. He was converted to abolitionism by Theodore Dwight Weld, a student at Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati. Birney moved to Cincinnati in 1835. The day following the riot, a handbill writen by a leader of the mob – Joseph Graham, owner of a large paper mill – proclaimed “ABOLITIONISTS BEWARE, The plan is mature to eradicate an evil which every citizen feels is undermining his business and property". The American Anti-Slavery Society gave Pugh some money and he was up and running again. Then again on July 30th another mob again destroyed Pugh’s shop.
The riots made national headlines. And a clear call to revere human rights soon was forth coming. A pamphlet was printed entitled THE ABOLITIONISTS and subtitled “A Letter to James G. Birney.” Its author was William Ellery Channing, minister of the Federal street church in Boston and the founder of our America Unitarianism. Channing wrote to Birney:
the violence of [the Abolitionists’] adversaries has driven them to a new position. Abolition forms an era in our history, if we consider the means by which it has been opposed. Deliberate, systematic efforts have been made not here or there, but far and wide, to wrest from its adherents that liberty of speech and the press, which our fathers asserted unto blood, and which our national and state governments are pledged to protect as our most sacred right. Its most conspicuous advocates have been hunted and stoned, its meetings scatted, its press broken up, and nothing but the patience, constancy, and intrepidity of its members has saved it from extinction. ..... They are sufferers for the liberty of thought, speech, and the press; and, in maintaining this liberty amidst insult and violence, they deserve a place among its most honored defenders. (743f)Channing went on to call for reverencing human nature. He repeated over and over the need for respect for human rights. What would William Ellery Channing say to us here in Cincinnati today? He would call for us to honor human rights.
Before suggesting what that might mean today, let’s consider what human rights meant to Channing. This way we may celebrate Human Rights Sunday.
Channing argued that a republican government secures to its citizens two important rights, the right to vote and the right of discussing with freedom the conduct of their rulers. These rights provide a peaceful means of redressing complaints. Loss of either of these rights leads to “civil commotion.” [WORKS 682] We see this whenever people’s rights have been violated. They become angry, protest and march. If rights are respected, if government listens to the concerns of the governed, a more peaceful society results. Then may we speak of a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Yet Channing thought that without the right of expressing convictions honestly, voting is meaningless. “Freedom of opinion, of speech, and of the press is our most valuable privilege, the very soul of republican institutions, the safeguard of all other rights.” This was one right he argued most strongly for; why he wrote his letter supporting Birney.
What is the source of our rights? Channing was known as a ‘Champion of Human Dignity.’ As we saw both in our Affirmation from the U.N. this morning and in our Responsive Reading from the UUA, the inherent worth and dignity of each human being is the bedrock of human rights, the true foundation of our liberal faith, our spirituality.
In his sermon, “Likeness to God.” Channing lays out what he said distinguished all his writings, “the high estimate which they express of human nature.” [I:vi] Channing’s concept of the essential sameness of the human and the divine is his theme. Channing knows those who object to his views, that “God is an unapproachable being; that I am not warranted in ascribing to [humanity] a like nature to the divine.” [AUA Works page 292.] However, Channing reminds his hearers that the rush and roar of the ocean awakens a deep awe, evoking “a power within” in seeming response to “the omnipotence around us.”[Robinson 153] Our idea of God arises from our spiritual and moral nature infinitely enlarged. [Robinson 150] “Our own moral nature” leads us, Channing tells us, to comprehend God, through its “approving and condemning voice...”
Channing asserts that “Man’s rights belong to him as a moral being, as capable of perceiving moral distinctions,” [WORKS 697] It is because we can tell the difference between right and wrong that we have rights. The argument is simple: what difference does it make if we can tell right from wrong, and yet are prohibited from telling others? What sense is there in knowing what is right to do, if we cannot act upon our insights? Our rights deserve protection because to do otherwise would destroy our moral nature, rupture our very essence as human beings.
There are of course those who believe we cannot know the difference between right or wrong. Those who believe that human beings are tainted with original sin, and only the few, the elect can tell right from wrong. This is to write into concrete a momentary truth.
We all have known times when we couldn’t tell right from wrong, or at least in retrospect realize we couldn’t. We can’t tell right from wrong when we are asleep. Often times when we are sick our judgment is impaired. Sometimes we have gotten drunk and our judgment was surely not the best. But does that mean we are never able to tell right from wrong? Does that mean we are to be deprived of our basic human rights? Does that mean we loose the right to life and may be executed by the state? If we can be eternally condemned for momentary lapses, who is so pure that they may sit in judgment upon us?
Does a temporary lapse in being able to tell the difference between right and wrong make one a monster? Such it seems to me is one of the questions we need to consider in the bludgeoning death last Sunday of the 41 year old Northside resident, Nathaniel Jones. Jones’s behavior at a North Avondale White Castle was bizarre. ‘911’ was called and the EMS showed up. A later autopsy has shown that among other things he had PCP in his system.
PCP, Phencyclidine, was developed in the 1950s as an anesthetic, but its medical use was discontinued in 1965. Known as "angel dust," "wack" and "rocket fuel," this now-illegal drug is a white powder (sometimes dyed to other colors) that can be dissolved in water or alcohol or sprinkled on anything from cigarettes to mint leaves to marijuana. PCP is addictive and is notorious for triggering delusions and violent behavior among users. It also can cause sharp spikes in blood pressure and pulse rates along with nausea and loss of balance. At high doses, PCP can cause seizures and death.
PCP use is not common in Cincinnati according to the Enquirer. Perhaps that accounts for the lack of familiarity of people of how to deal with those on the drug. When people are on PCP they are delusional. To expect them to respond rationally to a reasonable command from authorities shows little experience in these matters. Better means need to be found to work with people who it is feared are under the influence of dangerous drugs. The question which will continue to hang over all the many questions which need answering is, would this have happened if Nathaniel Jones were white?
Instead of attempting to understand what was going on, the dead man has continued to suffer abuse. He was morbidly obese. Those familiar with the condition know that other health problems are also involved. Yet Nathaniel Jones’ human rights continued to be denied even in his death. Authorities describe him as a “weapon.” Making a sick man into a monster does not reverence human nature, and neither does it further the peace of the community. William Ellery Channing’s call for human rights in Cincinnati is as timely today as it was in the times of the riots of 1836.
One of Channing’s most influential works was entitled SLAVERY. Slavery, Channing argued, violated human rights. It demanded an examination of “the foundation, nature, and extent of human rights.” [http://www3.edgenet.net/fcarpenter/slavery.html] Channing was at pains to show that we have our rights by our moral nature, and “not the gifts of society.” Whoever uses his own powers without invading others’ powers has a “sacred, indefeasible right to be unassailed, unobstructed, unharmed by all with whom he may be connected.” [AUA 698b] Some other rights which flow from this fundamental right include a right to be respected, to be exempt from coercion, a right to the results of his labor, and a “right to be regarded as a member of the community to which he belongs.”
As we consider human rights this day, let’s turn to think of a remark by another Unitarian. Roger Baldwin was the founder of the ACLU and a member of the Unitarian church in Wellesley, Massachusetts. At one point Baldwin said the one thing most important to know about human rights. He said, “They have rights who dare defend them.”
“They have rights who dare defend them.”
And it is to this we turn for a moment. What does it mean to defend our human rights here in Cincinnati, Ohio, this late fall of 2003?
Since 2001 a process has been in place to improve community and police relationships. It was by and large a response to the riots over the death to Timothy Thomas. What has come to be known as the Collaborative Process has involved the plaintiffs bringing charges of racism, the police, the city and the national government. Through a long process involving many community members, some goals and objectives were set. I read from the Partnering Plan:
The primary goal is to enable the community to assume a leadership role in community based problem solving in partnership with the police. These roles will achieve community compliance with the Five Collaborative Goals:
1. Police officers and community members will become proactive partners in community problem solving.
2. Build relationships of respect, cooperation and trust within and between police and communities.
3. Improve education, oversight, monitoring, hiring practices and accountability of CPD.
4. Create methods to establish the public’s understanding of police policies and procedures and recognition of exceptional service in an effort to foster greater support for the police. [http://www.ariagroup.com/weekly_PartneringPlan.html]
Important efforts to implement these goals are about to take place. On one hand, it is upsetting, especially to the family and friends of Nathaniel Jones, that so much work has yet to be done. Yet it will be a significant monument to him if his death reminds our entire community that the time has come to implement the recommendations of the Collaborative Process. Within a month or two it is hoped that the Community Police Partnering Center will have a director and be up and running. As I mentioned in our reading, there will be another new organization, Friends of the Collaborative, who will be practical institutional supporters. St. John’s should look into this.
Most of all, as we consider Channing on human rights and Baldwin’s remark, each of us should reflect upon her role in her community. The process outlined for the Partnering Center calls for neighborhood organizations to address problem areas. This is Community Problem Oriented Policing (CPOP). If you wish to do something about the death of Nathaniel Jones, ask what you can do for your neighborhood. How you can be involved improving the quality of life for your neighbors? Get involved, defend your rights! Defend the rights of your neighbors, black and white, gay and straight! The choir Anthem this morning was an Advent one. Advent is a time of waiting, of anticipation. The choir urged us to “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning.” This applies directly to us as we anticipate the realization of human rights here in Cincinnati: our waiting is not to be passive but an active one, keeping our lamps burning brightly.
I cannot end without further remarks on an application of human rights. This is the holiday season. Hanukkah, Christmas, the winter solstice. It is all too easy to think that what we need to do is get out our dreidls and Christmas tree ornaments.
I would urge you to consider, on this Human Rights Sunday, the holidays are more than spiritual comfort food. The stories of Hanukkah and Christmas are about human rights. Consider that Hanukkah is a remembrance of the Greeks depriving the Hebrews the right to worship as they wanted in the Temple in Jerusalem. Freedom of worship is a human right. That is Hanukkah. Turning to the birth of Jesus, shall we think it has nothing to do with human rights? Why then does it begin with telling us the name of the Roman emperor: “in the days of Caesar Augustus!” In the days of Caesar Augustus, the Jews of Palestine were up against an imperial wailing wall.
Do you doubt my words? What then is the death of the innocents doing in the story of the birth of Jesus? Recall that wise men warned Joseph and Mary to flee Bethlehem for Herod had ordered the death of all infants less than two years of age. This is genocide, a crime against humanity. This is not reverencing human rights.
As we sing our closing hymn this morning, “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” let us keep in mind that it is a freedom song, just as were the spirituals slaves sang in the cotton fields. Many holiday songs are coded messages about freedom, justice and poverty. However romantic the shepherds watching there sheep above the little village of Bethlehem may be, it is hard to imagine them on shopping at the local mall.
Human rights, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and always. Here in Cincinnati, and far and wide! Those have rights who dare defend them!