While frolicking around on the front lawn, Senator Trent Lott, Republican, and incoming Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, has stepped in a pile of poop. And after several days, the stink is still there, and perhaps it may well linger for weeks, if not months. So be it. Such are the laws of nature.

     The reader might wonder, if he or she does not already know, what is all this to-doo-doo about?

     At the 100 year birthday celebration for Senator Strom Thurmond, Republican from South Carolina, Senator Lott was giving a little speech in honor of the birthday boy, and as such speeches go, they sort of push the positive end of the envelope out into the region of fantasy, while completely, and absolutely, and shall we say consciously and willfully ignoring any and all negative characteristics of the person in question. This is as it should be. Such are the laws of human sociability, especially those that govern birthday parties. Among other things, this is what Senator Lott said of the 100 year old Senator Thurmond:

"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years."

     Oops. Well, some people say that this statement is no big deal. But, to tell you the truth, the more closely you look at it, the more amazing it gets. In other words, the spirit of truth will eventually require everyone to arrive at the point where they are shaking their heads in disbelief, and muttering to themselves, "Can you believe the guy actually said that?"

     In fact, this was a huge mistake on the part of Senator Lott. There's simply no getting around it. Senator Strom Thurmond had run for the office of U.S. President in 1948 at the top of the ticket of the Dixiecrat Party, and from all accounts, and I think this has been thoroughly enough vetted, that the only reason he was running for President was to take that party's segregationist polices into the White House, where they could be endowed with the fragrance of federal power. For those who have a clear memory of the totalitarian boot of segregation, and the pain and anguish that people suffered under the immense pressure of its sharp heel, this statement marked the reappearance of that boot on the public stage, and in a favorable light. Most Republicans are still shaking their heads in disbelief.

     When Lott made this statement, many people believed, and they jumped to this conclusion immediately, that this statement revealed that Senator Trent Lott was a racist at heart. And because a racist has no business being in a top leadership position in the U.S. Senate, a proposition that nearly everyone would agree with, calls for Lott's resignation, at least from some quarters, was immediate.

     The question is, is Senator Trent Lott a racist at heart?

     Well, there is one thing that we can say about him for certain.

     Senator Trent Lott was born in Mississippi in 1941, and that's where he grew up, and that's where he was educated. In 1941, Mississippi was fully in the grips of the segregationist agenda, and stayed that way into the mid 1960's. When Strom Thurmond ran for President in 1948, the future Senator Lott was just seven years old. As Lott entered the decade of the 1950's, he was nine years old. He exited the decade of the 1950's at the age of 19. That means that Trent Lott did most of his growing up between 1941 and 1960 in a culture where segregation was a part of life. And we now know, that in his college years, that he stepped forward as a student leader to keep segregation alive within his college fraternity.

     If you don't mind the pun, I would say that this explains a lot.

     I was listening to viewer call-ins on this subject on the C-Span Washington Journal the other morning, and some Americans of African descent, who were actually living in Mississippi in those days, called in, and from their testimony, you could get an idea of the bitterness and the resentment that they still hold as a result of what could be no less than the most inhuman treatment that they and their families suffered. And Trent Lott lived in the very midst of this inhumanity in his most formative years. And as noted, in his college years, he even made the effort to perpetuate it.

     Now, here is the central point. Being so close to the reality of segregation, especially after being put into the position of having to repudiate his own segregationist background as part of the process of achieving power in the Republican Party, you would think that if anyone would be sensitive to the pain and the suffering that was inflicted on Americans of African descent in the segregationist south, that Senator Trent Lott would be the one with that sensitivity. That would make sense.

     But, in fact, to say what he said about someone whose 1948 Presidential campaign was all about perpetuating segregation, well, this shows the most gross insensitivity and blindness to the pain inflicted upon Americans of African descent during those years.

     This is an important point. Personally, at first, I did not appreciate how much of a blind spot this actually represented. I listened to the pro's and the con's related to this event over a few days, and I could tell that he certainly made a big mistake, but I did not understand the dimensions of that mistake, until I could actually feel the pain, and the anger, and the resentment, and the bitterness, of those who actually suffered under the segregationist policies. And that came about only by listening to people who were actually there at the time (via C-Span). The important point here, as that Trent Lott was there. He lived among these people. For myself, having never lived there, I got the point after listening to one or two stories. I would assume that he must have heard hundreds of such stories over the course of his life.

     So, either he knew exactly what he was doing, and consciously poked a finger into the eye of the black community again, which would indicate the presence of a streak of cruelty in his character, or he resides in a cocoon of insensitivity that is thick with the callouses of false programming.

     Now, I am happy to say, that there isn't a person on earth who would ever contend that Senator Trent Lott is a cruel person. If he was, especially in this racist way, he would have the reputation of being a racist, and if he had that reputation, he would have never been elected to the Majority Leader post in the U.S. Senate. Remember David Duke? There's a racist. And a proud one. How far did he get in the Republican Party? He got nowhere.

     Therefore, the only reasonable explanation for this statement by Trent Lott, is this cocoon of insensitivity, that I just mentioned, that is thick with the callouses of false programming traceable to his childhood.

     In this respect, we can see, that as a part of the southern white culture of that day, that children were trained up with that insensitivity. I don't think you can deny that. I think you must factor this into the equation. To many white southerners, that insensitivity, was a virtue. That's actually true. In the upper crust of culture, they wore it as a badge of honor. Just as their forefathers wore the pro-slavery mindset as a badge of honor. And children learn what their parents teach them. And so, we can understand, and we can give the guy, not a pass, but a break, because of this.

     And one other thing. To be fair to Lott, when it comes to presidential campaigns, nothing about presidential campaigns since then, has been about segregation. Presidential campaigns are about a lot of different things, and segregation is not one of them. If you take the issue of segregation out of the equation, and simply understand that Lott was stroking Thurmond's presidential ambitions generally, then you can understand how the initial statement could have been made, though only inside that cocoon of insensitivity.

     The primary question is now, how is Senator Lott dealing with the situation?

     Has the man dug in his heals, and defended his original statement? Has he taken on a superior attitude, and put down the people who are criticizing him? Has he tried to dodge the issue? Has he been deceptive, or has he prevaricated on the issue in any way? Has this person given any sign or indication that he is in a state of denial?

     The answer to these questions, in every case, is no. He has been honest, straightforward, and repentant. He admits to the presence of the character flaw, and he admits that he needs to make improvements in this area. He has apologized profusely for this insensitivity. And he has promised to take real and tangible steps to reach out to the African American community.

     Senator Lott made an extensive statement on this issue on Friday, December 13, 2002, at a press conference in Pascagoula, Mississippi. This is how he feels about segregation:

"Segregation is a stain on our Nation's soul. There's no other way to describe it. It represents one of the lowest moments in our Nation's history, and we can never forget that." (read full transcript)

     I would encourage people to read the full transcript of his remarks. I think you will come away with the sense that here is a genuinely repentant and good hearted individual.

     Though, I would observe, that a prominent Republican, going through what amounts to a public session of sensitivity training, is not a bad thing for the Republican Party, but a good thing.

     In my judgment, this is exactly the kind of response that warrants complete forgiveness. I believe this is a perfect example of how a public figure ought to respond to a public mistake. And he ought to be rewarded for this, and not further pilloried.

     We have seen examples of public officials who are not forthcoming when it comes to admitting and apologizing for their mistakes. I am sorry to say, that more often than not, we see cover-up, denial, and sidestepping as the standard response. And what is the truism that comes out of every such public debacle? It's that the initial crime or misdemeanor is never enough to destroy a person's career. It's the coverup that follows. We all know that people make mistakes. That fact is not reflection on character. What reflects on character is what a person does when he actually makes a mistake. Even if a person can hang onto office after a coverup, his reputation is destroyed. Well, Trent Lott has learned from the mistakes of others. In his response, there has been no effort to coverup, deny, or sidestep. He is meeting this head on with an honest, repentant and apologetic attitude, an example that ought to be honored.

     And because of this, God our Father sets before Senator Lott, a great opportunity to turn a great weakness, into a great strength. He has the whole African American community listening. I mean, they are hanging on his every word. If he can succeed in bringing forth fully that spirit within his own heart that is genuinely repentant, and respectful of the African American community in general, he has the opportunity to win many African Americans over to his side, and in this I am thinking about the possibility of getting pro-life African Americans to actually vote for pro-life candidates for once in their lives.

     Now, against the backdrop of his genuinely repentant behavior, those who continue to pillory him, are breaking the golden rule with every stone they throw. If you could ask every one of these stone throwers, if this is the way they would want to be treated when one of their character flaws is publically exposed, and they too are genuinely repentant in regards to it, in every case, they would say that they would expect to be forgiven, and expect to continue on in their career, and with even greater respect because of their humility. Though there will be some, even after affirming the value of the golden rule when it comes to themselves, will still bend over, pick up another stone, and hurl it at Senator Trent Lott. God Bless them.

     Let the golden rule, then, rule this affair, and let's move quickly towards the common ground of resolution.

     But, we should remember, that in Senator's Lott's effort to show a new level of sensitivity to the African American community, he should not be drawn into a position of pandering to the mindset of victimization which hangs over that culture like a cloud of smog hangs over Los Angeles. I would say to them, that the road to renewal, will always be the road of forgiveness. It is only in the paradise of forgiveness that God blesses the soul with abundant treasures of wealth and opportunity.

     But the leadership of the African American community, generally speaking, preaches a different message. They preach that the road into the promised land must be paved with the gold of reparations born out of the continued fires of anger, bitterness and resentment. And Senator Trent Lott will be required by these leaders to kneel before this altar as a sign of his new found sensitivity to the needs of the African American community. He will be hard pressed to remain standing before this demand.

     So, from the onset, he faces a real dilemma. On the one hand, he will need to exhibit real and genuine sensitivity, but on the other hand, he will not want to contribute to the mindset of victimization that is too prevalent within the African American community today.

     The only way out of the mindset of victimization for the African American community, given their history, is to come into an understanding of the Teachings of the Real Ascended Masters. And I would dare say that the same would apply to the Palestinians as well. Through these Teachings, they will come to understand that everything that happens to a racial group is a result of that groups karma. The fact that the nations of Africa generally live in the morass of poverty, is a karmic condition traceable to a far more ancient repudiation of the Divine Path that God sets before all of his Children. The members of this race, with notable exceptions, have collectively repudiated that path, and they are now suffering the consequences.

     The fact that some members of this race were taken in slavery to America, represents a very interesting irony. It represents a mixture of both very negative karma, and very good karma. Negative in regards to all of the suffering associated with slavery itself. But, all of this suffering, this people had already inflicted on others in the dim past. They were simply reaping what they had sown. But in the act of being taken to America, even in chains, this represents the good karma associated with their long forgotten divinity, when they lived in the Kingdom of God, and served within that kingdom as genuine sons and daughters. In being brought to America, they are given the opportunity to reap all of the benefits associated with the divine sponsorship of America. They know levels of opportunity and prosperity that their brothers and sisters in Africa will not know, perhaps, for a very long time.

     But most importantly, they are given the opportunity to find the Teachings of the Ascended Masters, and by walking the Path of Initiation, to reclaim their divine estate.

     You see, that is where freedom is really at. Every Child of God, and this includes men and woman of all races and all cultures on earth, has a threefold flame anchored in their hearts. This is the presence of the love, wisdom, and power of God our Father. By bringing the outer identity back into congruency with all the divine principles which radiate in great abundance from that heart flame, the soul anchors the very presence of heaven, and all of heaven's abundance, right within its own temple.

     African Americans must forgive those who perpetrated great crimes upon them in the practice of slavery, and the practice of segregation, and even in the ongoing indulgence of racist sentiments by some. They must see this as the return of their own karma, from an ancient time, crimes for which they would like to be forgiven as well. Though, as you can see, not all crimes can be forgiven. Some crimes must come back upon people to teach them a lesson. And it will be no different for those who inflicted the actual crimes of slavery upon them. Those acts accrued a horrendous karmic debt as well, much of it paid off I think by those who gave their lives in the course of the American Civil War. The portion of that karma that was not paid off by those who fought to free the slaves, let God be the judge of that. Now is the time for African Americans to move on.

     African Americans must move into the future on a golden carpet of divine understanding, which becomes a carpet of forgiveness, which becomes a carpet of spiritual achievement. African Americans must take to heart the message of the threefold flame of the heart, that true freedom will only come to them, to anyone, when they have returned to that place of perfect harmony with that flame.

     All of the mind, all of the feelings, and all of the memories, must be brought into alignment with all the divine principles that radiate forth from the divine love, the divine wisdom, and the divine power, that is anchored by the One God, our mutual Father, in their hearts, and in all of our hearts. This is the path to perfect peace and harmony among all peoples and all races.

 
 

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