I live in the Woodland Heights in Houston. We used to have a little neighborhood celebration we called Lights in the Heights. It wasn't really about decorations and lights though. Folks would host parties, local churches would put choirs in people's yards, folk musicians would play on porches, and story tellers would sit on porch swings and spin their yarns.
Today it's a big deal. Streets are closed to traffic. People from well beyond our neighborhood come to see the decorations. You can't hear the choirs anymore.
I feel called
As we're on the parade route this year (oh, did I mention the parade?), we were talking about what we'd do this year. My first response was to leave town for the weekend. A raised eyebrow said no, so I suggested we do the usual roofline lights and add either a big peace sign on the roof or two peace signs, one in each front window. That got the nod. Simple. Seasonal. With a message.
I woke up this morning with a thought. My sig line here says "We kidnap. We Torture. It's our policy. Embrace it or end it." The thought was that I should put that in a yard sign or banner. So many people come through the neighborhood for this festival and I felt called to testify.
My very next thought was--what if it caused confrontation or vandalism?
The thought after that was--if that's my fear, I have to do it. If we are that far gone that something once inarguable could today be cause for angry shouts and thrown eggs, then I have to do something. My mind reels when I contemplate that in this country we have a "pro" side to the torture argument. We have fallen far indeed.
So as of now, my thought is to put up a banner saying "We Torture. It's Our Policy. What Would Jesus Do?" I might put little flags or bunting around the first two statements and crosses around the question.
What do you think?
What is your Christmas wish? (I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet...)