The Challenge of The Express

As Sister Sarah Cathleen mentioned, she and I went to see The Express this past Saturday. Unlike Sister Sarah, I am not a football fan, but I absolutely loved this movie. While it was inspiring to see a young man overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, I was also challenged by the behavior of the "fans" attending some of the games in which Syracuse played in 1959-1960 or so. I became very distressed by the racism and the absolute hatred conveyed by some of the fans of the opposing teams as well as the judgment of Ernie Davis and the other players through preconceived notions. At one point I thought, "I could never say or do what those people did and said to those players." The thought that followed was, "How do you know? Would you have followed along with what was popular instead of what was right or just? Would you have let fear rule you? How can you say that you wouldn't do that?" I would like to think that I wouldn't, and yet I don't know how I would have responded if I had been raised in that culture and time instead of the one in which I was raised.
At this time, The Express calls me to examine the ways in which I still let judgment and injustice into my life and to decide who or what I am following: the way of Christ or the boulevard of popular opinion.