An Open Letter to People of Faith on Violence in Human Society

Dear Sisters and Brothers, who acknowledge our Creator,

I write this letter to continue and deepen the conversation about the tragic violence at Sandy Hook elementary school and the overall reality of violence in our society.  I am taking this opportunity to share stories and reflections from my decade of experience ministering in the South Central and East sides of Los Angeles.  Many of these are painful memories which I normally keep to myself but in our present reality I feel compelled to share them here.  I am remembering the funerals I have done for teenage gangsters and the hands of weeping mothers that I have held.  I am also remembering my fellow minister whom I visited in the hospital after he was savagely beaten in the very sanctuary were we led prayer and worship together.  I was just barely a mile outside the perimeter of violence when the riots of 1992 tour through the city.  And I vividly remember standing on the steps of the church praying with refugees, police and national guardsmen.  I also remember stepping out of my shower to be accosted by a man who had just broken into my home.

Like many, I am also remembering the victims of other mass murders, e.g.,: Columbine high school, the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.  My memories go all the way back to the “Unabomber.”

I enter this conversation with a deep and long-standing commitment to addressing my spiritual tradition (Christianity) to our deepest human flaws.  Ancient Christianity reminds me that the source of evil and sin in our world is the human heart, i.e., the human condition; I am sure your traditions make a similar point (Mark 7:18-22).  It comes from fear, hatred, desperation and mental illness. 

There have been many practical efforts over the years which have contributed to the overall downward trend in violence in our communities (Federal Bureau of Investigation: Uniform Crime Reports).  We must draw inspiration from this as we continue with the unfinished work ahead of us; especially the rising trend of mass murders.  One very important change we must promote is the empowerment of law enforcement and the funding of mental health services.  It is vital that individuals who are mentally ill in a way that makes them dangerous to society are identified (incarcerated when necessary) and treated; before they get their hands on a gun or make a bomb. 

Crime and violence continue to be a plague in the inner cities and ghettos of our country.  I have been there and I have seen how it is driven by poverty and desperation.  But we know programs that work and I have personally seen their success.  We need to strongly promote a reinvigoration of efforts for: inner city economic development and the creation of meaningful jobs, neighborhood policing, genuinely equal educational opportunities for children in inner city schools, and gang diversion programs (I was chaplain for one of these).

I have been "there" and looked into “the eyes” of the beast of human violence.  I am personally tired of political posturing and glamorous superficial gestures at controlling violence which accomplish little or nothing.  I am committed to making a real difference across a broad spectrum of violence and throughout the depth of the human condition.  It is time for all of us who are people of faith to focus our prophetic voices on the source of violence and real long term solutions.  It is time to face the hard ugly truth and recommit to the hard work which our Creator has called us to do!

Thank you for taking the time to read my personal reflections. 

Your brother in faith

Victor Sarrazin