Skokie Vision 24
Skokie Vision #24: I write this reflection on July 4th, my first since taking office as Trustee. This is also the day after Congress reversed over sixty years of increases in domestic spending, turning what then-President Johnson called a “War on Poverty” into what today’s White House calls “unprecedented increases for defense and border security” at the expense of these safety net programs and others adopted since to steward a clean environment.
This particular post-it fascinates me because of its ambiguity.
Who or what is being asked to “listen”? Is it the Village Board? All government bodies? Is it residents or businesses or other institutions in Skokie like houses of worship, schools, hospitals, community or civic groups? And why?
What does “our neighbors” mean? Does it mean Skokie’s neighbors like Evanston or Chicago? Is it the people of Skokie generally, as in asking Village government to listen to its residents as befits a democracy? Is it literally the people who live on our streets or down the hall or the storefront next door?
Since this was written as a vision for Skokie, I will interpret this to mean that in the Skokie we want to be, the “we” is us as residents in the most basic sense. In our ideal Skokie, we would make a point of getting to know the people next door and across the alley.
I grew up in a Queens, NY highrise development and my father always said, “One person’s floor is another person’s ceiling.” Yes, he had my brother and me thinking twice before clattering around the apartment and annoying the neighbors below.
But the deeper import is what being neighborly means.
It means respecting the other’s privacy.
It means being mindful and considerate when knowing what I do might affect you.
It means checking in on those who are most vulnerable, like older people, people with disabilities, single parents of young children, or limited English speakers and supporting them, say, with drinking water, as many of us did during the Skokie water main break in mid-February.
It means soliciting their point of view with true empathy and patience, without judgment.
No matter what side you are on when it comes to your philosophy about what the federal government is supposed to do, no one can argue with the nearly even split in Congress that passed it: 51-50 (with the Vice President casting the tie-breaker) in the Senate, and 218-214 in the House of Representatives.
This means neither side can legitimately ignore the other. The “winners” may feel that they can, but if they try to stifle people’s freedom to express (nonviolent) opposition, they are effectively moving us away from what we have long considered a hallmark of American democracy, which is equality — not for some, but all.
The White House concludes that “nondefense spending” (note the choice of words, as opposed to affirmatively characterizing this as spending for health care, education, child care, renewable energy, housing, humanitarian aid, the arts, etc.) is “best left to the States and localities to provide.” It remains to be seen if in fact any of these tax cuts will flow to states and localities.
But what I can say is that we have to be in constant communication with those around us if we are going to make sure no one dies in a gutter, is forced to move from a home due to an unaddressed disaster or deportation, loses access to higher education, says a prayer before drinking tap water, or watches newsclips of injured people in war-torn areas with shrapnel wounds from bombs made in America.
Listening to our neighbors is essential for our survival as society as diverse in every way as ours. People really do respond to people. The more we humanize the people and situations behind the statistics, the more we see ourselves, and ultimately we see our neighbors too.
Twenty-six years ago, practically to the day, I worked with religious leaders in the northern suburbs in my capacity as what was then called the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs (now Open Communities) to address hate and bigotry in our midst. This was in reaction to a shooting rampage against Blacks, Jews, and Asians on the July 4th weekend of 1999. Calling themselves Religious Leaders Acting Together for Equality (RELATE), they penned the following statement, which they reissued after 9/11. I quote part of it here:
Even in our anger, we must not begin to hate.
If fear of the Other is not addressed, then the Other becomes less than human in our eyes and an object of our hate. How do we address our apprehension and fear of those we perceive as Other, those of a different race, religion, gender, socio‑economic class, sexual orientation, or physical ability? By dwelling together in mutual regard for the common good while we celebrate the richness of the unique gifts we bring to one another.
Ultimately, the only way to begin to realize the dream of a diverse, multi‑cultural community living in peace and prosperity is to dwell together side by side. Mutual understanding and respect become possible through dwelling together in the same time and space while we share the same food, songs, stories, hopes, and fears as we look into one another's eyes. Dwelling in proximity to one another is not a panacea for attaining harmony. But only when we have the opportunity to look into one another's eyes can we know we have the same hopes and fears.
Through dwelling and sharing together, we can learn to affirm and celebrate each as a living embodiment of the one God. We can come to repent of our prejudice and discrimination, seek forgiveness and reconciliation, and bind together in a common future.
We can realize that in fact there is no Other; there is only Us.
Ultimately, we get to the “why”: why should we listen to our neighbors? I presume the listening to be active listening. When we listen, and when our minds and hearts are open too, we hear. And then we act, because “we can realize that in fact there is no Other; there is only Us.”
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