"We are all chosen"

Bob Carter was a man of peace who was especially cherished in the Palestinian community of Houston TX. We first read about him on the Palestinian American Cultural Center website.

Bob attended high school in Madisonville.  His collegiate journey began at Sam Houston State University and concluded at the University of Texas at Austin , where he earned a degree in pharmacy in 1954.  After college, Bob spent 18 months in Germany with the United States Army. Upon his return to Texas , Bob attended the University of Houston for three years, where he earned his Master’s in music in 1960.  Bob also met his future wife, Gail Gaedcke, during this time. From 1960 until 1986, Bob practiced pharmacy and was also a band director in multiple HISD middle schools.  In 1986, Bob retired from teaching and engaged in various professional jobs.

Bob’s Christian faith inspired him to be a passionate peace activist and he was a voice for peace in the Houston community and local media promoting non-violence.  From 2006 until 2015, he and others organized a group called Justice for Palestinians to promote peace in the Israel/Palestine conflict.  Bob was also active in a group to help abolish the death penalty.

Bob Carter     August 11, 1931 - October 1, 2016

A Message from Bob Carter

Dear Loved Ones and Friends,  

I believe firmly that we all created equal and that there is no such thing as a chosen people. This means that Black, Brown, Yellow, Red and White are all equal and all are CHOSEN. This leads me to accept a marvelous concept that we are all ONE and what we do to another we do to ourselves.  

In my view, all or almost all of our personal, national, and global disputes and brutal wars, disregard this ideal principle of ONENESS and are based on the failed concept that we are separate from one another and we are better, superior, exceptional and the other is less and inferior. We must eliminate the words “better” and “chosen” from our vocabularies.   I abhor the countless atrocities that are committed throughout the world today, but I have a particular religious interest in Palestine the homeland claimed by three major religions, Islam, Judaism and Christianity.  

Ever since I was a very young many years ago in a small East Texas town, I vigorously opposed segregation and the Whites oppression and subjugation of our Black brothers and sisters.   In the Israel/Palestine conflict today which has persisted since 1948, we must ask ourselves the question: Are we treating our Palestinian brothers and sisters who are both Muslim and Christian, with the same reverence as we treat our Israeli brothers and sisters?  The answer is obvious. We have not. We have denied the principle that we all are equal.

If the unequal treatment and favoritism continues, as it has for decades, then we may be looking at unprecedented consequences of global and biblical proportions in the future.   However, the good news is that we can reverse unequal treatment. We simply must become more informed and have the courage to speak out and follow the principle that we are all ONE and that we are our brothers and sisters keeper.  

I like this quote by Gandhi: “When I despair I remember that all through history the way of love and truth has always won.  There have always been tyrants and murderers and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall.”   May God’s blessing be upon all of you. Bob Carter