Growing up, I knew it only as "one of those cities with a professional baseball team!" The Cleveland Indians -- in fact, in those days, they were relevant! One evening, I watched as Albert Belle (slammer extraordinaire) stepped up to the plate. My mom said, "Alex, this guy hits a home run every time he's up to bat." Of course, when he hit a home run in that moment, I believed her (literally)! Well, later in the game, he came up again in the 9th with runners on base and needing to hit a home run to keep his team in the game. When he struck out, I bawled. (And I could no longer trust my own mother! ... Just kidding) :-)
But this is not why I now hold Cleveland dear (and let's be serious, the Atlanta Braves were my team growing up, until, of course, Arizona introduced the Diamondbacks in 1998!)
In the fall semester of 2009, I learned that I would be spending a week in the following March on a service trip with several others in Cleveland. It was then that I learned that Cleveland is on the edge of a lake, a full two day straight shot driving east from Omaha, NE.
I had spent the semester in Ireland, where they informed us "American students" from the very beginning that there were no opportunities for volunteering in the modest (a generous descriptor) town of Limerick. Apparently, American study abroad students often demanded such programs, so the international student coordinators knew to warn us in advance that such opportunities did not in fact exist at this time.
Up until then, I hadn't really considered very seriously the idea of volunteering. It wasn't until I saw the suffering of the poor in the non-campus areas of Limerick that I really felt like I wanted to involve myself in their lives. But rather than try anything on my own, I decided to sign up for the Spring Break Service Trips program back at Creighton for the following semester.
It was the city of Cleveland that gave me the chance to be with the poor. Without really knowing anything at all about what I was about to experience, I proceeded with an open mind (but not without preconceptions). What I experienced was a thorough, albeit protected, immersion with the poor/homeless, accompanied by 8 others from Creighton whom I'd never met.
This is what I learned:
-I learned that the struggles of the poor go largely ignored by the masses of our society, a society built on individualistic and consumer-driven ambitions. (I try to say this without spite, but it isn't easy).
-I learned that each and every individual, no matter the circumstances, cares about his/her life just as much as I care about my own. More importantly... his/her life is absolutely as valuable as my own.
-I learned that there are some men and women who are remarkably dedicated to devoting their lives for the good of others. I needed not to look further than the other members of my own group.
What I learned, though, seems now to be just parts of the greater picture. The greatest consequence of my trip to Cleveland, the most remarkable aspect of its impact on me, is its role as spark.
Cleveland sparked within me a personal revolution. My motivations are changed, my thoughts and my desires are changed, my entire social circle is now fully displaced, and most concretely, my actions are changed. This short paragraph, if expanded upon, would be far too much for one blog entry -- it is my hope that my blog eventually will reveal the full details of this revolution.
My concern is this: If I had not stumbled upon this spark... who would I be today? I don't dare to actually investigate the answer to this question, but I do ask the question for a reason. I fear that the typical American individual lives most of their developing life sheltered from the realities of marginalized peoples, as I had for over 20 years. Most people do not even get the chance to be challenged by this experience! The sad (or perhaps, encouraging?) part is, it usually is of no fault of their own. Our society, in large part, does not foster the practice of integration of social classes.
I believe that this very act -- the act of simply meeting and conversing with anyone who struggles economically, racially, or otherwise -- is a necessary first step to a very healthy and beneficial personal revolution. It is the single unit experience of solidarity.
Consider it a currency. The more "meetings" our society manages to facilitate within itself, particularly between social classes, the richer we shall be.
***
Though I only spent one full week in the city of Cleveland, the name and the memories command as much affection from me as any other place in this world. I pray that others will stumble across a "Cleveland" of their own, and strive to do my part to aid in the effort.
