“Basket of deplorables” is an excellent and very public example of what happens when we see people not as individuals with unique histories, gifts, abilities, and viewpoints, but rather as mere substantive adjectives. We do it all the time, in describing others, and sometimes, in describing ourselves.
What are We Saying?
The poor, the homeless, the disabled, the millennials, the middle-class, the “one percent”, the gays, the Hispanics … the list goes on. We denigrate the deep, nuanced, fascinating work of art which each human is into a two-dimensional, monochromatic canvas. And by doing so, we say so much more about ourselves than about the group or person we are attempting to describe.
We are saying that we really do not know those persons, and do not really care to know them. One sees this especially in social media. We have already decided what those people are like, and we do not want to upset our agendas or pre-conceived notions to bother to find out differently. We are saying that those deplorables are not us. We see the obvious or apparent distinction and focus upon that, and not the commonalities which unites us.
Most of all, we are saying that we are afraid of those people, or afraid of who we really are if we insist upon hiding behind one of those labels. Yes, we are afraid of those people because if we do truly get to know them, our entire world order might be upset.
Why Fear the Deplorable?
We are afraid of those people because we might end up seeing a bit of our own broken selves inside of them. We are afraid of those people because we don’t want to see that, except for a few changed circumstances, or, yes, but for the grace of God, we could have been one of them, one of the deplorables.
We are afraid of those people because if we get to know them, then they are our neighbors, and we cannot ignore ways in which we can love them. We are afraid of those people because we may end up seeing God, a God we do not expect or accept, in them.
But this is exactly what, as Catholic men and women, we are supposed to do. Because each of us is uniquely made in His image, we should seek Him and serve Him in each one of us. By being made in His image, each of us represents His unique genius and creation, and, in turn, should see that uniqueness in others.
Working together, we can bring our own individual gifts, talents, and expression, granted through His grace, to synergize and solve problems in a just, dignified and utterly amazing way. Each one of us is a complex masterpiece of His creation, but we must be open to see that — to see Him in each one of us.
Look Beyond the Label
Thus, a person may have a disability, but she is more than merely a disabled. A person may have same sex attraction, but he is more than merely a gay. A person may have Hispanic ancestry, but he is more than merely a Hispanic. A person may not yet be born, but she is more than just one of the unborn.
Why did God make us? To know, love, and serve Him in this world, and be with Him in the next … and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. For it is by loving our neighbors, we love that unique slice of God which lies within each one of us. And there is nothing deplorable about that.
6 thoughts on “Seeing God in Every Deplorable Person”
https://prayerfortheprodigal.wordpress.com/2016/09/23/lazarus-next-door-__________luke-1619-31__________-26th-sunday-in-ordinary-time/
Thank you for this article Cynthia. I re-posted it on my fb page. Here is a little reflection on this Sunday’s gospel which I believe speaks also to this discussion.
Adam,
I don’t know where you live, but every person I know is a crazy and wonderful mixture of good and bad, positive and negative, selfish and caring, petty and magnanimous. No one is either/or. We are all of the above. That’s the problem with living as an imperfect human being with a free will. And that is why we are so blessed to have Jesus Christ.
“For while we were still sinner, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
Cynthia
I can list for you serial killers, serial rapists, serial pedophiles, killers in the name of religion, killers in the name of racial purity, and on and on…..these are not people who are a mixture of good and bad….they are the incarnation of evil. To deny that evil incarnate exists is to deny reality. Explain to me the goodness of a Jeffrey Dahmer …serial killer and cannibal. He was not an imperfect human but pure evil. The deplorables are not regular folk who do some good and bad things, they incarnate evil and are psychopathic … a brood of vipers. One needs to call things as they are, like Jesus did….He did not mince words He called out the haters. You can take off the rose colored glasses. Pure evil exists.
Well, let me begin by stating unequivocally that I am not a supporter of any existing candidate!
And yes, Catholics, Muslims, gays, people of color, men and women, etc. are all representative of many of the people of good will and love and are not necessarily part of Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” No good persons belongs in this basket.
But God, according to John, is Love. Love and Hate cannot co-exist in the same person. It in self would be a contradiction. The basket of deplorables are white supremicists, racists, isolationists, misogynists, homophobes, Islamophobes, etc, They are haters of difference and believers that they possess the truth. They do not love, but they hate, they are deplorables and the Love of God cannot exist in these people and neither can our silence condone this hate. Bigotry under the guise of religion, patriotism, fear is still bigotry, Hate is hate and cannot co-exist with Love. Jesus had no fear of condemning the ancient deplorables; we should not hesitate to condemn contemporary deplorables. Harken to Jesus’ words to the deplorables of his age:
1. Ye blind guides (Matt. 23:16).
2. Ye fools (Matt. 23:17).
3. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees…for ye are like whited supulchres…full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness (Matt. 23:27).
4. Ye serpents (Matt. 23:33).
5. Ye generation of vipers (Matt. 23:33).
6. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (Luke 11:44).
7. Ye are as graves which appear not (Luke 11:44).
Love and Hate cannot co-exist together,
We all fall short of the glory of God and will do so until we depart this mortal life. Although we can judge the actions of other people, we cannot judge their motivation or the state of their immortal souls, nor can we judge what their ultimate judgment will be. Too often, names and labels are used to shut down any kind of reasonable debate.
A person who hates black people; a person who believes all Muslims are terrorists; a person who believes that gays should be killed; a person who believe that women are inferior to men; a serial killer or rapist or active pedophile priest …. these are some examples of deplorables and do more than fall short of the glory of God. Yes,we can judge evil when we see it. These people are more than labels….hatred is evil….do you deny the words of Jesus in describing Scribes and Pharisees.