January 24, 2014
What We Risk
As those assisting in ushering
in God’s kingdom, we are called to awareness of the world around us. This
awareness is not only academic and intellectual, but also emotional, a
passionate connection to the others on this earth.
I sometimes worry that we
as college students, in our pursuit of education, begin to operate like
mindless drones, void of feeling, as we frantically cram our heads with facts.
We distance ourselves from our subjects in our haste to find evidence,
construct an argument, turn in an assignment, and forget, already dreading the
next due date.
Earlier
this week, I turned into such a drone as I researched several different terms used for
Americans of Mexican descent: Latino, Hispanic, Chicano, and Mexican-American. The
sources I found lamented the injustices this group has suffered over the
decades. Noting the theme of trials Mexican-Americans have endured, I turned to
a new topic, desperate to finish my research in the small space of time I had.
Having
stumbled across the term “illegals” in my research, I decided to search for current
articles that use this dehumanizing term for those who have entered the United
States illegally. As I browsed through heated discussions about immigration, my
drone mentality was jolted. Passion for those who face uncertain futures flooded
my senses.
I remembered why I cared
about immigration reform in the first place. Although there is no obvious
solution, people who are affected by policy matter deeply to me. Beyond facts,
beyond knowledge, beyond efficiency, regard for people should be my main
concern.
And
so in all we as stewards of the earth do, we must not lose ourselves in the strained
monotony of our daily lives. Rather, I hope we can remember why we work so
hard, why we invest in others, why we envision a better world.
Because at the end of the
day, the ability to feel, to have a heart that breaks for others- that is what truly
matters.
-Anna Lindner
Service-Learning
Center Partnerships Coordinator
