
Go & Do Likewise
Becoming a neighbor to the marginalized
A few weeks ago I was riding on a public bus through the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. The ride was just like any other, yet as I looked around at my fellow passengers I suddenly realized that I was in the minority. I found myself surrounded by individuals who did not have the same color skin, were not wearing the same clothes, and who did not share the same final destination. I felt uncomfortable.
I felt uncomfortable.
On that bus ride I felt uncomfortable because I felt insular. I viewed those around me as outsiders and I felt uncomfortable because I felt like I didn’t belong.
I am a white affluent college-educated American male. I live in a comfortable apartment in a prosperous Chicago neighborhood and I work for a company that pays and treats me well. I was a red-headed child who was raised in a Christian household in the suburbs of Colorado by a strong family with a mother, father, and siblings who loved me dearly. I have lived a life marked by opportunity and grace.
My parents charged me to treat everyone equally, regardless of their demographic. While I have been raised in predominately rich white communities, I certainly did not grow up in isolation from other races and cultures. Yet, despite the upbringing and nurturing that I have been blessed with throughout my life, I still managed to find myself sitting on a bus in West Chicago feeling uncomfortable.
There are hardly times in my daily life when I ever feel uncomfortable. The comfort that I experience every day is a direct result of the homogeneous nature of my life. I spend time with like-minded people from highly similar backgrounds. I live, work, eat, pray, and play in environments of abundant comfort.
When I contemplate the segregated life that I live, it brings me back to an ancient story. It’s a story that many have heard before, and it comes from the book of Luke in the Bible. It is the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The parable of the Good Samaritan is an illustrative story told by Jesus. It is about a traveler who is stripped of his clothes, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road. At first a priest and then a Levite walk by, but both avoid the man entirely. Finally, a Samaritan happens upon the traveler. At the time, Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other, but the Samaritan provided a helping hand to the wounded man.
Jesus is portrayed telling this story in response to the question from a lawyer, “And who is my neighbor?” whom ancient teachings says should be loved. In response, Jesus tells the parable, the conclusion of which is that the neighbor figure in the parable is the individual who shows mercy to the injured man — that is, the Samaritan. Jesus concludes his lesson by instructing those listening to “Go and do likewise.”
‘Go and do likewise’
In this parable Jesus attempts to teach those listening to treat others as their neighbors. Through this lesson a clear distinction is made between the constructive result that stems from treating others like insiders and the harmful consequence that comes from treating others like outsides. In this story, the priest and the Levite make the wounded man an outsider by passing on the other side of the road and completely discounting the man. The Samaritan, on the other hand, treated the harmed man as an insider — a neighbor.
When I was riding on that bus a few weeks ago, I treated my fellow passengers as outsiders and I alienated myself from my neighbors. There are many times in my daily life when I find myself acting like the priest and the Levite in this way as I find it easy to turn other people into outsiders as I discriminate against my neighbors. I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times that I have followed in those footsteps by walking on the other side of the road.
I live my life day in and day out and only rarely am I forced to confront the reality of the demographic inequalities that exist in my country. The media and social spheres certainly shed a light on the issue, but not in the manner that Jesus instructs us to behave. Reading a moving blog post or an inspiring social media post does not constitute confronting anything. It does not create neighbors among our communities.
It becomes clear that I sometimes find myself uncomfortable when I am forced to encounter a terrible reality that I can often times avoid through a participation in my life of comfort. It is in these moments that I find myself treating others as outsiders rather than treating them with the dignity that they deserve as my neighbor.
It’s challenging to break out of this mold of contentment, it’s scary to make myself vulnerable, and it’s hard to know how to fix the problem. However until I can fully acknowledge the uncomfortable feelings that I experience when faced by inequality, I will never be able to get over myself enough to be a part of the solution. And if I’m not a part of the solution, I’m a part of the problem.
Many people of privilege have a tendency to think that we are better than prejudice and hate. We think we are above it. But in reality, we are right in the middle of it. The seeds of discrimination and animosity exist in every one of us. By accepting that fact, we can hopefully bring the dark into light.
The story that Jesus shares in the parable of the Good Samaritan provides a valuable reminder to treat all others as our neighbors. It is a call to action that is not easy. But Jesus has zero intention for us to live a life of comfort. We are called to break the mold of homogeneity and to treat our neighbors as insiders. Now, how do we go and do likewise in a world that is currently filled with hate, intolerance, and prejudice?
Well, frankly I don’t have the solution to this complex problem, but I will highlight a few easy ways that we can take concrete action that will hopefully bear positive results.
Seek out marginalized voices & perspectives
American culture tends to frequently segregate by race, sometimes intentionally but often as an unexpected consequence of our social tendencies. The best way to break free from the echo chamber effect is to proactively seek out voices that you aren’t hearing from. The second we start paying attention to people outside our comfort zone, we will begin to encounter other new voices that we will begin to truly appreciate. But we have to take that first step.
We have to make it our business to overcome any potential discomfort; we have to be intentional about educating ourselves and raising awareness so that our ignorance can diminish; and we have to make it personal.
We need to fully allow ourselves to participate in and grow from and enjoy a culture that is not our own. We need to actually see all of our fellow brothers and sisters as our neighbors.
Confront your preconceptions and don’t be fragile
When we begin by seeking out viewpoints of the marginalized, we are going to encounter some things that make us uncomfortable, but we can’t be discouraged when we face indifference.
Don’t stop listening. Don’t tune out.
We need to do a better job of leaning into our discomfort and forcing ourselves to consider other viewpoints and develop empathy for other perspectives. Although I sometimes feel like I live a diversified life, I am still so distant from the racial inequalities that mark our American culture.
All of us are programmed by a culture that embeds racism, and if we are going to be neighbors of the marginalized then we have to recognize we are all capable of hateful actions. Only by first listening can we then learn how to overcome these obstacles.
Be proactive about inclusion
No matter what position we are in or what role we play, we all have an opportunity to be more inclusive of people from other walks of life. However, the mistake that many of us make is to think that simply not discriminating is enough.
We can do more, and do better, by taking proactive measures to invite people of color, immigrants, and other marginalized people into our space by making them our neighbor in every sense of the word. By calling us to go and do likewise, Jesus has challenged us to go above and beyond in fostering a true culture of inclusion.
‘Go and do likewise.’
I have been blessed with a certain degree of power and privilege because of my skin color and because of my upbringing. The responsibility for having it is not on me; but the responsibility for what I do with it is.
