April 21, 2013: #42

#42 ~ the legendary Jackie Robinson

We saw the movie "42", today. It is one I would highly recommend. Take your kids. It defines heroism and courage. And not just from our baseball hero, Jackie Robinson, but from the many others who took a bold stand against prejudice during an "anti-black" era.

Watching Jackie turn the other cheek as he was tormented was difficult to accept. Knowing this to be the era of my grandparents, I was shocked that such unfair treatment of humans happened in a lifetime not far from my own.

As I watched this oppression from the forties, I wondered how my generation will feel looking back at our country's nonacceptance of homosexuality. I bet we won't feel very proud. Will our children's children wonder how we chose to respond?

Few of us ultimately have influence on laws or public perception on civil rights; as was the case with rules on where African-American people were allowed to sit, sleep, or eat in the forties. But each one of us is given free will by God on how we choose to treat and accept others. As shown in the movie, intolerance for unkind and unjust behavior carries a lot of weight.

Judging humans based on a premise of superiority goes against every grain in my being. I applaud and admire those who take a bold stance to help the oppressed. This was the case for Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey. Watch the movie. It's definitely worth your time.