The ABCs of Spike Lee’s ‘X’

I want to thank you for the excellent articles about Lee et al.

I’d like to comment on Lee’s statement that the “turn-the-other-cheek approach” doesn’t cut it with today’s youth. His statement was in reference to one of the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Bible. As a matter of semantics, this scriptural lesson is not to be confused with “101 Ways to be a Spiritual Doormat.”

I have become weary of people (Christian and non-Christian alike) who, through a lack of depth in their understanding, render the Gospel teachings irrelevant and impotent for today’s society, especially our youth. What Christ was telling us is that when a wrong is done against us, how we choose to respond is purely up to us. Empowerment of the people is rooted in personal dignity, and that dignity is ours to have and keep when we choose the moral high ground. No one can take that away from us.

Is this another way of saying two wrongs don’t make a right? Not exactly, for it is not that simple. In a society where people of the minority power are still being slapped on the cheek, to turn the other means we’ll deal with this problem in a way that attacks the root cause, be it on our knees in prayer or on our feet in protest or both.

This idea is valuable in how it points to a higher ground where Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were sure to meet had they both lived in this world a bit longer.

CHRISTINA ORTEGA

Monrovia