This UMNS commentary by Rev. Clayton Childers* introduces some new thoughts about an old subject, treating one another with dignity and respect. His comments are based on a book, All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies and the Politics of Dignity, by Robert W. Fuller. The author uses a new "ism" to define this issue. "Rankism" is treating people as if they don't matter, as if they were nobodies. I especially appreciated the observation that eradicating rankism will come through cultural sensitivity and change and not legislation.
*The Rev. Clayton Childers is a member of the SC Annual Conference.
2 comments:
I, too, found the article to be interesting and stimulating. It influenced my sermon yesterday that was based on the lectionary readings from James 2:1-10,14-17 and Mark 7:24-37 and the problem we suffer with what I call "us- and them-ism". So much around us promotes this kind of attitude: remembering 9/11, the focus on national security, the issue of illegal immigrants, the emphasis on better cars and bigger houses, the friendly and sometimes not so friendly debates as to whose college alma mater is better. Sadly, there is even more than a bit of rankism or snobbishness in and among churches. Will we never learn to accept the message of Christ to love God and to love others as ourselves?
This could not have come at a better time as I spent nearly an hour yesterday listening to a rant that included a reference to someone the rater considered a nobody. It was disheartening and enough to cause my fists to clench in anger and frustration. And then last night we wantched a segment about people who work in diamond mines adn how they are treated. We pray for the kingdom to come, but considering how we treat each other I have to wonder if we really want the kingdom and the changes it will call inot being.
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