We all need water, we all feel thirst, we all need a cup of water in moments of exertion or heat. As our physical beings are 80% water, there seems to be almost a spiritual connection. We float in our mothers’ wombs and yet have to learn how to swim. In the dry areas farmers and municipalities fight for water rights and yet two-thirds of the earth is covered in water. Water is both a deep personal need and a natural element needed by the whole of humanity.
Way before the water bottle craze, drinking fountains were the best public option for hydration. I am a proponent of public water fountains. Particularly in the South where water fountains have been such an overt symbol of racism, and separation, public water fountains are a real equalizer. Water Fountains are everywhere: most buildings, parks, and public venues have them. The “newfangled” water fountains even have water bottle fill stations.
My mom is the water fountain germaphobe in our family. She hesitates to let the kids drink from them and tries to wipe them off. I have tended to be more lax. It isn’t like you put your mouth on them. Well, now I am worried a bit more. I recently saw bright pink lipstick all over a water fountain spigot. YUCK. GROSS. ICK! I still cannot get the image out of my mind. I am sure those in the microbiology department have some comments about my naivete, and for the record my denomination does not use a common cup for communion.
My real outrage over the lipstick is that someone would mess up part of the common good for others. I consulted a few “water fountain etiquette” websites. The basic rules include not crowding the person in line ahead of you, not making too many slurping noises, not filling an empty water bottle if there are too many people waiting, and NEVER touch the fountain with your mouth. A British website used the phrase “common decency.”
Somehow the image of lipstick on the water fountain is what I keep coming back to while I am struggling to make sense of shooting at the mosque in New Zealand a week ago. How can we figure out how to transcend and celebrate our differences if we can’t share public water? My heart weeps for the victims and the families of those killed. I am heartbroken for the community and the nation that their security has been shaken again. I am angry that we so often turn to swords rather than plowshares. I am also a bit numb to more news of mass shootings. What has our world come to that innocents can be murdered in a mosque…or a church…or synagogue…or a school? What has our world come to that the evening news races to cover the political arguments about gun control and gun rights rather than even knowing how to process yet another tragedy?
As Christian began the season of Lent with the words “Remember Oh Mortal, you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” there is wisdom in taking a minute to remember our own mortality. We should all take pause to consider the balance between what we need and want as individuals and what it means to be part of the human community. How much are you willing to give up to ensure that others have enough? What do you need others to give up so that you have enough? It’s the same argument about disparity in school funding, access to higher education, food deserts, public services and many other issues. It is the balance failed by those guilty in the university admissions scandals. It is the tragedy that a lone shooter thinks he can ruin so many lives.
Whether you are Christian and reflecting on repentance and reflection during Lent or seeking balance between the individual and the collective good on another path, I invite you this week to be more aware of what you can do personally.
Blessings, Stephanie