Surprised in Berkeley
I was not sure what to expect when we pulled up at my son¹s new apartment in what is in my mind the liberal capital of the world, Berkeley California. My middle son Dave and his wife are both starting graduate school there this fall and after an awesome, yet long 3000 mile road trip we drove through the quiet neighborhood just north of campus that will be their home for the next two years. There might be a more socially and politically liberal city in the United States, but I have no idea where that might be. I think your chance of finding a Republican in Berkeley is about as likely as finding Bigfoot here in Burlington. I saw some of what I expected, but in one way I was totally surprised. When we don¹t know much about a place or a group of people, we often generalize and fill in our ignorance with assumptions and generalities. We hear one or two comments from someone we know and then paint the entire area or people group with that broad brush. Often these assumptions are false or are far too broad to cover everyone there. This then opens the door for ugly prejudice to raise its head in our lives. One of the beautiful things about Jesus is that he looked past the outside appearance and reputation of people and looked at the heart. I am constantly reminded I need to do the same. Berkeley is a beautiful city built on the side of a mountain overlooking San Francisco bay. It has awesome cool weather year round thanks to the cold ocean current nearby. It is almost not fair that their high temperature is usually in the 60¹s and low 70¹s, even in the middle of summer. I remember, and I¹m showing my age here, Berkeley from the hippie movement in the late 60¹s and early 70¹s. I wondered how many hippies might be still around wearing psychedelic T-shirts with peace signs on the front and doing drugs. While there are some crazy shops and bookstores there I think the high housing prices have forced most of the hippies elsewhere. I have spent time in cites like Los Angeles and New York and many folks there are not very friendly. Without thinking about it I assumed Berkeley would be the same, but I was wrong. People went of their way to help us and be friendly in ways that honestly shocked me. A sweet Asian neighbor brought over a plate of cookies and welcomed us to the neighborhood. I, of course, did not want to hurt her feelings, so I felt it my responsibility to eat most of the cookies. When walking across a street, even with no light, drivers will stop and wave you across the road. If you try that here in Burlington you will likely get a horn blown at you. If you try that in Atlanta or DC you will be dead. One morning when I was out for an early walk a neighbor named Bruce who was working in his yard struck up a conversation with me. When I asked how to get to a good overlook of the bay Bruce offered to drive me to one. He gave over 30 minutes of his time to a perfect stranger. I later asked myself if I would have stopped my work for a stranger. Jesus tells us to love others, to be kind, and help people, even strangers. Not only was I surprised by the gracious friendliness of Berkeley I was challenged as well. I think, however, I¹ll pass on the psychedelic T-shirt.
