I find it ironic that this year is “twenty-twenty”. Like the “perfect” eyesight. Because we are so far from perfect with our sight- both individually and collectively as a society. If anything, this year has showcased how myopic we are. We are only concerned about ourselves and our immediate needs. We are blind to what is happening to those around us. I must admit that I am. I live less than ten miles from some of the most troubled areas in the country. Yet to see the community in which I live, you would never know that.

While I do not have any understanding of the trials and tribulations that my brown and black skin brothers and sisters experience, I can still stand with them. I do not have to act with blinders on to the injustice that is happening around us.

On Sunday, while riding our bicycles down into the city my husband and I stumbled upon a peaceful protest. The organizers asked all the participants to say out loud the names of those individuals who have suffered under injustice. We then stood with our hands up on our heads for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Powerful stuff.

20/20. When we do not see as well, they say other senses take over like our hearing or sense of smell. While we are blind to happenings, we cannot also be deaf to the voices who are calling for justice.

In some ways the true issue is being drowned out by those focusing on the looting (and I am certainly NOT advocating destruction of property or stealing) and those “messing their nests”. As I have noted before, I still recall the frustration I have experienced with either telephone or cable customer service. The feeling that no one is listening to you, responding to you even noticing you, much less the frustration of being ineffective for change is enough to enrage anyone. And that is just the feeling I get after a mere phone call with Xfinity. I cannot even fathom what that must feel like after years upon years upon years of deaf ears.

Such a complicated issue. Racism, privilege, injustice are all sins of this world. Sins that affect everyone. Sins that we do not see initially.

When one is myopic (as I am), one needs corrective lenses to see correctly. (Preferably, not rose colored ones either.)

When I first had difficulty seeing, the letters on the school chalkboard were fuzzy. I could make do for a while- figuring out words by context but when I couldn’t see the French chalkboard- that was a different story. There couldn’t be any guess work, speculation or context clues because I didn’t know French. I had no point of reference and had to admit that I needed to see an eye doctor.

Upon going to the doctor’s office, I had to go through a series of tests to determine the extent of my sight loss and the correct corrective lens. I had to learn how to use and care for my contacts (and to some extent my glasses) And in receiving glasses or contacts, I must wear them if I want to be able to see clearly.

As a nation and as an individual, I think we all need a good check-up. To admit that we are not seeing correctly and that we need some assistance. For many of us, we do not have any context clues to help us- this is an area to which we have no point of reference. For others, we may have been muddling on for so long that we do not even realize how limited and shortsighted our vision has become.

I heard a suggestion from Robin Diangelo, the author of White Fragility who said one way to understand and “see” our brown and black brothers and sisters is to listen to them- to read their books, listen to their podcasts and keep an open mind as we gather information. I found the following website that offers loads of resources to read, listen and learn. Click here for a 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge.

I am intrigued to know more. I realize that I have no point of reference about this issue. I am totally myopic and in need of corrective lenses. Or at the very least, more information about my blindspots.

What about you? How do you feel about the latest incidences? Have you noticed something you hadn’t before?

How is your eyesight? 20/20?

Confession time: I do my best work in my pajamas.

Before you wonder what I do, let me explain. As soon as I rise, I am one of those annoying people who are ready to go for the day. I dive in and do whatever tasks are needed. For me, it is if I am getting a jump start on the day. I can quickly get those tasks over with and then be ready to move on to something less arduous for the remainder of my day. I am still in my pajamas, without breakfast, brushing teeth, no contacts in, no morning ablutions. Just out of bed and ready to go. .

So, the other day, per my usual morning ritual, I was outside in my pajamas painting some molding that was needed for completing our screened porch project. Without my contacts in I cannot see too much in the distance. I saw the form of our neighbor on his deck but didn’t worry that he might see me in my night clothes. I realized that without my contacts in, I figured if I cannot see him, he could not see me. Like children when playing hide and seek. Little kids have the tendency that if they shield their eyes, no one else will see them.

Got me thinking…

Do I respond to things only when I see it? Do I have to see to know that someone or something is there? Do I act as if things aren’t there just because I cannot see or witness it?

I think about injustice and treatment of others. I am especially bothered by the racial profiling of non-whites, especially African Americans in our town. I have a friend who has had to have “the talk” with his son. Not THE talk about sex and responsibility but the talk about staying alive and safe when the son will get stopped from law enforcement. Not because the son is doing anything wrong But because he might be walking down the street minding his own business.

It made me so sad that a parent would have to have that conversation and that it is not an if it happens but a when it happens scenario. That was one discussion that we did not have to have with our sons. Sure, I worried when they were teenagers and would go out at night with their friends. I worried that they would be safe while driving or that they would make wise choices about the activities they did with their friends. But I never worried that they would be stopped and frisked by police for no apparent reason. They were always taught that the police were the ones that would help you in times of trouble, not be the ones who would cause trouble for you.

I think of other injustices that I do not see but still occur: slave trafficking, child abuse and neglect, elder abuse and neglect., addictions, prostitution, the list can go on and on… Just the general meanness of one to another.

Am I like the emperor of the Emperor’s New Clothes? Like the emperor I think everything is honky dory but others would point out, “Not so.. There is a problem. Things are not what you think they are..” Am I more than physically blinded, but culturally and spiritually blinded to reality?

What does it take to see well? To see not only those things close to us but those surrounding us?

For me, I need to use corrective lenses. Just because I can only see the first two lines in the eye chart doesn’t mean that the other smaller lines aren’t there. For me to be fully functional, I need physical help in the form of contact lenses or glasses. In situations that occur around me that I am unaware, I need help by gathering more information. By listening, reading, or keeping my eyes, ears and mind open.

I think of the hymn: Open my eyes Lord. Help me to see. Help me to hear. Help me to love.

What about you? Do you go through life with blinders on? Are some things blurry in your life? What do you see or don’t see? Do you see close up? Distance? Or not well at all? How can you get correction?

The thing is, when I work in my pajamas whether I see them or not, others will see me. Just because I can see clearly things closest too me, doesn’t make the distance go away. I am the ignorant one who thinks that isn’t so.