Their grieving families and all those who loved them remind us of their kindness. The sacredness of their lives demands that we walk humbly before the God who created them, and that we love them as fervently as God loves us, as we journey toward a future without hate. A Note to the Diocese from the Suffragan Bishop I was privileged to join President Clinton in arguing for enactment of the Federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act. One of the first lessons taught in Christian Ethics is that what one believes influences who one is and what one does. When we have an opportunity to make civil law consistent with the moral imperative to respect the dignity of every human being as created in the image of God, then we simply must speak up.
Silence can do more than negligible harm.
It can make hate-filled people imagine that they have society is permission to act on their prejudices. I believe that consistent pressure from moral leaders, from newspaper columnists, indeed from all of us, and the eventual passage of national legislation are critical steps in moving unconcerned leaders and the people who elect them to change both their thinking and their acting. During the racist days of the 1960s even George Wallace was converted by the actions of people of faith, such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., new legislation was enacted, and the result was a redefinition of what was acceptable behavior toward people of other races. We can never assume that the day has arrived when we can stop climbing Jacob is ladder to a more just and compassionate society, struggling to go higher and higher with each rung. Hate is a sin and an offense against God that knocks us back down to the bottom of the ladder and lands us in places like Selma, Kosovo or Littleton.