to take.
Malcolm’s stroke of genius, akin to other exemplars like Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, is to disarm our false selves and make us pay attention to the often painful reality of authenticity. He does this through deep humor, profound social awareness, and responsible social activism.
An example of Malcolm’s sense of humor and social awareness occurred back in his twenties when he worked in Hollywood for a major advertising agency and would eat lunch at a well–known restaurant where the biggest names in the movie industry gathered. One was Ronald Reagan’s older brother, Neil, who was an ad agency executive.
Neil was gracious and helpful to Malcolm, a young guy starting out, and always greeted Malcolm publicly in a friendly way. One noon Malcolm had lunch with a man who asked him to introduce him to Neil. Malcolm said OK but cautioned that Neil did not like to be identified as Ronald’s brother. He was very fond of Ronald but wanted to stand on his own two feet and not cash in on his brother’s celebrity. Malcolm suggested that Ronald Reagan’s name not be mentioned.
Later, they stopped at Neil’s table. Malcolm smiled at Neil, then at Malcolm’s friend and said, “I’d like you to meet Ronald Reagan.” It took Malcolm a while to understand the laughter and then join in.
Malcolm’s life is appropriate for the United States as it awakes to its first black president, a reality very few saw coming—even black elders of America. There were very few clues for these elders to think that America was ready for a black president. The host of the public radio show “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me” even remarked that it was like a Star Wars episode when he awoke on November 5, 2008, to the news that Barack Obama had been elected president. The host said it was like hearing the news that President Obi–Wan Kenobi was now leading the Galactic Empire. He joked that that it was just as unexpected to hear Obama’s name as the president of the United States as it would be to hear that Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars could be a king.
Indeed, the courage of America to elect a black man as president remains fragile. That fragility is illustrated by the story of Malcolm coming across a copy of Vogue magazine with a photograph of Michele Obama on the front cover. He doesn’t normally buy these magazines, but he did buy this one.
As he meditated on the cover, the epiphany came to him that this woman would normally represent the archetype of a house servant or maid rather than the First Lady of the White House. This book points to how exemplars like Malcolm helped a country find the courage to discover a new identity in an Obama age.
This book describes a life that has longed for and worked toward the realization of the previously unimaginable. Through the example of Malcolm’s life we discover how current political tensions remain archaic, if not medieval. He teaches us that if we are not spiritually vigilant, at the drop of a hat we, too, will burn people at the stake.
What went through the minds of mothers, what happened to the lives of children, what stabbed at the hearts of men when they were caught up in a sea of flame?
What was Auschwitz like, Jesus, when the crematoriums belched the stinking smoke from the burned bodies of people? When families were separated, the weak perished, the strong faced inhuman tortures of the spirit and the body. What was the concentration camp like, Jesus?
Tell us, Christ, that we, the living, are capable of the same cruelty, the same horror, if we turn our back on you, our brother, and our other sisters and brothers. Save us from ourselves; spare us the evil of our hearts’ good intentions, unbridled and mad. Turn us from our perversions of love, especially when these are perpetuated in your name.
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