PTSD spread over centuries

June 13th, 2013

Soldiers returning from war are sometimes diagnosed with PTSD. Today one of the Tour organizers Chad reminded me that the long history racial segregation and hatred in the United States has left an indelible physic shock on the mind of the nation…scarring forever the minds of both minorities and whites.  Do we have a word for entire populations that have suffered brutality for long periods of time…then and still continuing today in parts of our world. Who is going to provide healing from that? How has the history of Christianity in the United States been touched by this history? What is the history of this in my own church?

This is my second tour. This time with family…my wife  Shanti and children David, 17 and Mary 10. I am glad they are coming along. But as I wonder about the psychic cost of the racial divides…I wonder about how to tell this story to the children in a meaningful and redemptive way? The brutality, daily ignominy, and dehumanization suffered…it is hard to hide that…David is older and thoughtful…but not sure about how best to tell the story to Mary as she watches the videos, talks to activists, and navigates the museums…i suppose the end is teaching our children to live lives that are inclusive…a task that cannot be undertaken without some personal cost. And one must lead by personal example.


One Response to “PTSD spread over centuries”

  1. Melinda Burchard on June 15, 2013 11:04

    For your ten-year-old daughter, I highly recommend this book by Ruby Bridges Hall, one who broke the racial divide in school desegregation as a six-year-old, Through My Eyes (1999). Ruby does tell her story with a redemptive perspective. My own daughter became her fan at age eleven when she realized any rights she had for an accessible education with her hearing disability were rooted in the battles fought by those who first won racial rights in education. Ruby sent my daughter an autographed copy of this book, a magazine and even called my daughter on the phone. That book is available in Murray Library in the Juvenile section.

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