I Can’t Breathe…My Voice for Change
I Can’t Breathe! Perhaps there are not three scarier words in the English language. My profession is largely based off those three words. Many patients come to mind…the 70 year old patient cancer patient whose lungs are full of fluid…the 11 month old who swallowed a stick…the 35 year old suffering from Coronavirus. All recent memories. All emergencies. My mind shifts this week to George Floyd. A tragedy. A medical emergency. A social emergency. For the first time I speak out. I Can’t Breathe…My Voice for Change.
Peace, Be Still
4:58am I hear crying in the room next door. Bailey is awake. Uncharacteristically I get up to give her a bottle. She falls back asleep and I put her back in her crib. Immediately she starts crying again. After multiple failed attempts I hold her in the rocking chair. She falls asleep while we rock. Unfortunately I’m wide awake.
I don’t have my phone. What am I going to do for the next hour and a half while she sleeps? I try to figure out an escape so I can get my phone. I look up and see the painting of Jesus we have looking over her bed. Immediately I hear the words in my head “Peace, Be Still”
90 minutes of Peace
For 90 minutes I rocked with Bailey. The only words ringing in my ears were “Peace, Be Still”. The world is in commotion. My own world is in constant movement. For 90 minutes rocking with my baby girl my world was still. I think about George Floyd.
Maybe the solution to many of our problems lies less in the angry and competing voices of Twitter and Facebook. For at least 90 minutes the answer for me was in Jesus, my baby girl, and in three powerful words “Peace, Be Still.”
One Sided Coin
For many years I have witnessed these stories. I have held my tongue waiting to hear both sides of the story. There are always two sides of a coin I tell myself. Maybe for me there is. I’m a white male. For my African American brothers and sisters the coin always seems to be one sided. Shooting someone who is fleeing or choking someone to death who is shouting “I Can’t Breathe” is not two sided. With every coin toss they have lost. They don’t have a chance to win. The disgusting reality is that racism exists and it permeates our culture.
I have not been a voice in the discussion. Maybe my voice for change doesn’t matter anyhow. At some point in life however you have to have a voice. Sitting in the stands and not rooting is no way to support a cause. The one sided coin of racism has been flipped way too many times. We see it over and over. Something has to be done. Racism is ugly, disgusting, and should be intolerable in our society.
Riots
I remember the riots in LA after the Rodney King verdict as a little kid. I was 9 years old and didn’t understand what was going on. Last night I watched the violence and riots exploding all over the USA. Minneapolis, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Grand Rapids…I’ve been to all of those cities. I’ve lived for years in several of them. It is heartbreaking to witness. I fully believe that most of the true supporters of change are not rioting. For the first time in life however I understand why it’s happening.
In a LA times article this morning Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said what we are seeing is people “pushed to the edge, not because they want bars and nail salons open, but because they want to live. To breathe.”
Voices of Change
Multiple times I tried to watch the video of George Floyd. “I Can’t Breathe” hurt me too much and I had to turn it off. I have been impressed by the leadership and thoughts that many have shown on Twitter regarding this.
Helping The Cause
In reality I don’t know how to change society. Most of the time I struggle knowing how to change myself. Christ’s words come to mind in Matthew 22:36-39
If we all did this then life would be much better for everyone.
I didn’t know how to help.
This story from Zay Jones, a receiver in the NFL, is a solution.
I have been hit with some harsh realities this week about life. “I can’t breathe” is something I hear every day in the ER. Hopefully I never have to hear it on social media again. Finally, I have joined the cause for my African American brothers and sisters. In reality this is a cause for everyone in America. For once in life I am not sure that the solution lies in golf.
About Me
I am a husband, father, ER doctor, and an avid golfer. With a handicap of 2.8 I have a fairly legitimate claim to be among the Top 100 Physician Golfers in the United States. You can read more about my story on my about page. Feel free to contact me or follow my sites on social media.
