Our Nation's "Auto-immune" disease

    I've thought a lot about auto-immune diseases over the past few years. My daughter was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis 5 1/2 years ago. My Dad was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis last year. I've been in the process of diagnosis for many years now. Damage from my auto-immune disease has kept me from doing some things I like to do like run and play tennis. Earlier this week when I attempted to ride my bike, I had to stop early because my knee hurt to much to ride.  As I sadly turned around, I thought how much racism is like an auto-immune disease. 

    First, racism and auto-immune diseases both injure their own body. Auto-immune conditions cause the body to fight against itself. Unfortunately, racism causes the same thing in the human race. While God designed a beautiful rainbow of the human race, some people fight against this diversity. If we are tearing each other down with words or actions, we are fighting against God's design and hindering growth and improvement in the entire human race.

    Also, racism and auto-immune diseases can both be hard to diagnose. Unlike strep throat, a broken arm, or many other medical conditions, auto-immune diseases can have so many different symptoms and forms that they can be very hard to diagnose. Some symptoms are extreme like when my daughter's knee was so swollen you could see it from the other side of the garage while other symptoms are harder to see or might be explained away as some other condition.  Some racism is blatant and you can't miss it- like calling someone insulting names, saying something outright racist, or hurting someone because of their race.  But more often- it's not as clear; it's assuming negative thoughts about another race, allowing your subconscious fears or thoughts to impact the way you treat people.  In my auto-immune comparison, I often had knee pain during my Army and running days. Each time my knee bothered me I went to the doctor and they told me "you have runner's knee." I didn't look any further- just assumed the doctors was right about the cause for the pain.  I followed the doctors' advice to "take some motrin, ice it, and rest for a few days." I did that and things were okay for a little bit. Until they weren't.     

    That leads me to my next point: racism and auto-immune diseases can both have flares and times of remission. When my daughter's arthritis flared, her knee would get really swollen and she would be in a lot of pain. At first, we treated the symptoms by with daily naproxen and more as needed. But the doctors realized she needed a more aggressive medicine which worked so she weaned off the medicine. But then had another flare- this time worse. The same thing happens with our bandaid approach to addressing racism. Events happen, the spotlight focuses on race relations, the symptoms die down, and people move on to something else. Prayerfully, this time we will continue to seek to understand so we can come to a better place of healing for al.  

    Racism and auto-immune diseases must both be investigated to find the details and cause of the problem in order to determine proper treatment. Identifying symptoms for auto-immune diseases can include physical exams, radiological testing, blood tests, and so on . Sometimes symptoms can not seem so bad- like my occasional mouth sores that I had not connected with any other ailment. However, once I learned mouth sores can be a symptom of some auto-immune diseases, we dug deeper. I took a blood test, and discovered that i do have the genetic marker for an auto-immune disease. Now, we're closer to identifying the condition.  In the same way, we need to be willing to dig deep, to hear each other's pain, so we can move toward restoration.

    Both racism and auto-immune diseases can take a long time for proper diagnosis. Sometimes people only focus on the problem during the flare stage. But if you don't continue to investigate, you end up just masking the symptoms while damage is being done beneath the surface. During my Army time (and afterwards), each time I had knee problems I took Army Vitamin M (Motrin), rested, while unknowingly allowing my body to slowly do long-term damage to my joints. Now the treatment that I need to repair my joints will be much more involved because I didn't continue to pursue diagnosis.  Let's not be content with surface changes that don't address underlying problems.

    Finally, God is the ultimate  Healer for both racism and auto-immune diseases. He can do a miraculous healing of anything, but usually He uses people. Doctors, surgeons, therapists, and medicine for auto-immune. And politicians, leaders, teachers, police officers, parents, each one of us for ending our systemic racism and pursing racial reconciliation. 

    I am more actively seeking a diagnosis for my auto-immune condition. I know the beginning steps for me and will work and pray to get a diagnosis and treatment. I am also pursuing my role in helping eradicate racism and pursue racial restoration and harmony.   I pray you do the same.