The Price Of Freedom Is Eternal Vigilance

 Desmond Tutu. Go ahead and say his name out loud. 

It's fun. To me, it's almost as fun as saying Modesto. Having said these names aloud, I feel comfortable moving on to the actual substance of the man whose name I have just been making fun of. He went to heaven this past weekend. If you're one of those who scoff at such a notion, heaven that is, perhaps you should consider the man's resume. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. Which makes sense, since Desmond was a bishop. It would have been more of a surprise if he had won a Nobel Prize for physics. Instead, he was afforded this honor for his tireless work to bring down the ugly institutionalized racism of Apartheid. It is worth noting that it would take another ten years to end South Africa's ruthless system of oppression, and through it all Bishop Tutu was there speaking his truth. "When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land." Tutu's work was always founded in non-violence, but you have to admit that those were fighting words. 

How about this one: "If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."

And talk he did. He used his pulpit to speak out against the brutal system that held sway for nearly fifty years. For most of that time, Nelson Mandela was kept silent in prison. When Mandela was finally released and became President of South Africa, he appointed Tutu to be chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which uncovered the abuses of the apartheid system. 

Desmond Tutu's search for peace and understanding did not end then. He continued to fight for human rights, including those of LGBTQ individuals. In 2013 he said, “I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this. I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say, ‘Sorry, I would much rather go to the other place.’”

So, if there is a heaven, I hope that Bishop Tutu is enjoying eternity in a peaceful rainbow afterlife. He stomped on the Terra, and made the world a better place. He will be missed.