When Order Trumps Justice

I have seen a lot of Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes pop up since the Black Lives Matter movement took root, and let's be honest, most of the time it is by white friends condemning the movement, declaring that systemic racism is just part of the black community's imagination, and claiming it to be a violent movement similar to---believe it or not---the Ku Klux Clan. 

And yet, those same people have forgotten that despite his peaceful approach, Martin Luther King, Jr. was still a hated man, was still intimidated, and was still murdered. He was not considered a hero by the majority of the white population, and his nonviolent approach was still considered a nuisance to a degree that jailing, bombing, and lynching were considered a proportionate retaliation. The very white people who committed these atrocities did not see jail time. In some states they were not even breaking the law. In many of the states where they were breaking the law, the very men in uniform that were supposed to uphold the law, were more than obliged to turn a blind eye. Many people  considered this "justice." 

He was hated because he refused to stay silent in a society that wished he would. His words made people uncomfortable, it challenged the status quo, it threatened their privilege, way of life, and peace of mind. It exposed a violence that most had turned a blind eye to---a violence that had always been there for African Americans, but that no one really took notice of until white people began marching too---and got beaten for it on live television.

For some reason, it has never been enough for the white community to just listen to the reality of people of color and believe that what they are saying is true. It is never enough to believe that a black victim of injustice and violence is indeed a victim and not instead a perpetrator "with a background." They can never receive the benefit of the doubt. No, it requires a white consensus to be considered true, because how could people of color possibly be telling the truth about their own experiences?

And when the African American community speaks up today and says, "We are afraid for our children. Our unarmed sons are getting shot. They're going to prison at a disproportionate rate. They're being stopped and frisked for no reason," we do not listen. And then when rioting occurs---as a frustrated reaction to our REFUSAL TO LISTEN---we say "Those thugs. Those animals. If they acted like decent human beings we might actually listen to them." 

But there is no listening. Whether the approach is violent or nonviolent, there has never been an intention to listen. There is only finger pointing, politicizing, gaslighting, and scapegoating. We will gladly hold the entire black community to the standard of nonviolence, because we would really prefer to not know what it is like to actually be a victim of violence ourselves. But it's okay if they do.

And of course, we don't really believe that nonviolence is the best tangible solution for injustice. After all, we were very adamant about going to the Middle East to "bomb the hell out of those bastards," but we'll keep that our dirty little secret. Because when we uphold the standard of nonviolence as if it is the most sacred belief we hold, we are somehow able to hold every African American responsible for the negative or violent words and actions of a few, and in the end use those few instances to discredit an entire movement that we just don't want to deal with. And of course, again, that's only the case in THIS movement. Because Planned Parenthood bombings and the cold-blooded murder of an abortion doctor in the middle of a church service certainly don't discredit the pro-life movement, and we would never hold EVERY Conservative Christian pro-lifer responsible for the actions of a few. But again, that's our dirty little secret. Because you know what? We seem pretty hell bent on doing everything that we possibly can to ignore the racism in our hearts, our communities, and our justice system. Our churches, too. Why? Because it makes us uncomfortable. Because we care more about not having racial tension than we do about seeking actual peace and justice. Let's just sweep it under the rug. It's too uncomfortable. It's too threatening. 

There is a reason I've been saying "we" this whole time...because I used to say those same things and believe them too. And when I finally took the time to listen to what the black community was actually saying instead of what white news commentators were saying about the black community on television, I quickly realized how very wrong I had been. It is quite humiliating to realize that you are much more racist than you had ever imagined---not in a mean-spirited way, but in an ignorant lock-your-doors-in-the-black-neighborhood way. That's what many of us are: willfully ignorant. We aren't clan members. We don't believe that people of color have less worth than us. But we are perfectly comfortable with a justice system that treats them that way, so long as we're not the ones on the receiving end of it and we're the ones who benefit.

If you really do love and admire MLK as much as you seem to, then take the time to contemplate this lesser-known quote. And then go and use your white privilege to educate your white friends and family, because when the words and stories and struggles of African Americans come out of a white mouth, THEN they will listen. It is an unfortunate truth, but that is the way it is---so GO---use the skin and the voice that God gave you to seek TRUE peace and justice. Don't merely open the eyes and hearts of others---blindside them with the truth so that they can never go back to thinking and believing what they used to. 

"I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Popping My Christian Bubble

I'm gonna be honest with you. Moving changed me. It changed me a lot. I used to live and exist in a purely Christian bubble. I grew up in a Christian family, went to church, went to Christian schools, worked in a church, and then married a pastor. Being a compliant and obedient child, I virtually listened to and believed everything that anyone in the Christian community ever told me, without question. At first. You see, I didn't believe everything that they told me because I was gullible, but mostly because they were good people whom I trusted. I still believe a lot of what they've told me because, as it turns out, it also happens to be true. But on the darker side of things, I also believed them because I saw again and again what would happen if I didn't. I saw the ostracization of people who admitted to thinking differently than the group, even on something as miniscule as infant baptism or which version of the Bible is better. I heard the negative things said against them and the labels placed upon them, and I often saw them slowly and quietly leave the church and sometimes the Christian community or faith altogether.

Though no one likes to admit it, questioning is frowned upon in the Christian community, because questioning is doubt, and doubt is often perceived as turning away from God instead of toward him. But more often than not, doubt is something else entirely. Doubt is humbling yourself before God and your community that you either don't understand or don't yet have the head or heart knowledge that will heal your ailing, doubting heart. Doubt is admitting that you don't have all of the answers and that you sometimes never will know the answers. And sometimes doubt is even the evidence that you are hurting more than can you bear, as is often experienced when we've lost someone dear to us and suddenly find ourselves doubting God's goodness and His love. While doubt is often seen as a problem, or the evidence of one, it is amazingly enough also sometimes the very medium by which we are able to truly break out from the crowd and seek God and His truth. But unfortunately, it is not an easy road.

Years ago, I came across a blog called "Why I Hate Jesus." I couldn't help but click on it, and when I did I wasn't too surprised that the person running this blog really did hate Jesus and His followers. But it struck me as odd to truly say that you hate Jesus. It's such a strong word, a word that a majority of people in the world would never actually use to describe how they feel about Jesus. Even Muslims would never say that they hate Jesus, as they believe him to be a prophet, and Atheists will say that he was at least a good person with good things to teach. So for some reason, I decided that it would be a good idea to comment on that blog and ask a simple question: Why do you hate Jesus? The owner of the blog, and many of his friends, were more than happy to oblige, and what started out as a simple question became a dialogue (which often felt like an attack) between me and countless Athiests on multiple posts about every topic under the sun. It was hard not to get angry at times, and it was even harder to admit that I didn't always know the answer to their questions, or that perhaps I wasn't always right or morally superior either, but in the end that blog ended up becoming one of the best things that ever happened to me and my faith. It was challenging and it was humbling, and through their questions I was able to learn more about who God is than I ever did in Sunday School or Bible class.

When you live in a Christian bubble, something happens along the way that makes you afraid of any person or any idea that is different from you. You start to view everyone and every thing as a threat to your faith, and in your attempts to protect yourself from losing your faith you move higher and higher up a moral pedestal that ends up alienating you from the people around you and even the God that you serve. In fact, it paralyzes your faith. Following Christ requires you to stand among the people, not above them. It requires you to listen to people, not just shout at them. It gets lonely at the top, and eventually you find that there's nowhere to go but down, and God will indeed bring you down one way or another. When I first started commenting on that blog, I was at the top of that pedestal. I thought I already knew everything there was to know about my faith, I thought that my political and moral ideas were superior, and that the conservative Christian right-wing Republican worldview was THE only (and right) worldview. But step by step they brought me down off that pedestal, sometimes making it feel more like a kick, until I could finally talk to them at their level and see them as human beings, not as a threat to me or my faith. At times, I was genuinely afraid for my faith. I was afraid they were right about something that could be detrimental to my beliefs, I was afraid that hearing what they had to say would plant seeds of doubt in my mind and heart, and I was especially afraid of them being right about all of the things they said about me---that I was a sheep, blindly following the flock, and unintelligent to boot. But one day, when I found myself especially frustrated and afraid, I also found myself on my knees praying to God: "Lord, you've got my back. My faith is a gift, and you are the bearer of that gift, and it is held secure in your hands. I know and trust that no matter who I spend my time with and no matter what ideas or beliefs I listen to, you are going to show me the truth and be the protector of that faith. I know and trust that if I seek you, I will find you. I'm not going to be afraid anymore of the people and things that I don't understand."

This prayer changed me, and over and over again God has transformed my faith through people who don't share my faith, experiences, privileges, or political ideologies. There is a reason that in the armor of God, our faith is a shield and not a weapon. It is not something we use to destroy others, but rather a means by which we protect ourselves from what is untrue, and if faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to move mountains, then our shield doesn't have to be quite as big as we imagined it to be for our faith to remain in tact. In fact, the only truth you need to believe for your faith to be living and active is that your salvation remains in Christ.

But unfortunately, too many Christians do use their faith as a weapon, as a wedge, as a moral high ground and a symbol of their own greatness. Too many Christians stand on a pedestal and shout at the masses, believing that they are carrying out God's command to preach. Sometimes that Christian is even me. But preaching does not mean what many of us think it means. According to Strong's concordance, the Greek word for "preach" is διαλέγομαι (dialegomai), which means "to discuss, to address, to preach." It is used 13 times in the New Testament, "usually of believers exercising 'dialectical reasoning.' This is the process of giving and receiving information with someone to reach deeper understanding – a "going back-and-forth" of thoughts and ideas so people can better know the Lord (His word, will). It is the root of the English word 'dialogue'." Now, I may not speak Greek, but I do speak English, and I know it well enough to know that dialogue requires not just talking, but listening. When you stand in front of a room and state your own opinion and your own thoughts...that is a speech. Preaching, however, leaves room for questions. It allows more than one opinion and opens the floor for others to join in the conversation and wrestle with what you are saying. It does not diminish the truth of God's Word, but rather clarifies it to you and those who are seeking to understand it. Can you imagine how little the Gospel would have spread had Paul gone into the Synagogues and marketplaces and shouted at them instead of reasoned with them? How much smaller his impact would have been if he never took the time to sit and listen to those speaking before he took the platform, thus understanding what it is they even believe? Paul showed us that if you do not take the time to understand how another person thinks, believes, lives, or feels, you cannot properly minister to them.

And Paul is not the only one to show us the true meaning of preaching. Our greatest preacher was Jesus Himself. There was no one in Jesus' time who surrounded themselves with a more diverse population than Jesus did. Not only did He spend the majority of His time among prostitutes, lepers, the poor, the rich, the religious, the irreligious, the Jews, the Gentiles, and yes, even women and children, but His disciples alone were a melting pot of opinions, beliefs, professions, and life experiences. They followed Him without truly understanding who He was or what it meant, and every one of them doubted and asked questions along the way. Yet Jesus answered them, often with a dialogue that required them to think more deeply about what they were asking. He did not mock them or demean them, because His aim wasn't to be right, it was for them to understand. The disciples themselves, being as diverse as they were, didn't always get along with each other, but they allowed their eventual shared faith in Christ to unite them and lead them into friendship, despite their differences, and when they addressed the people to whom they were preaching, people whom believed vastly different things and lived vastly different lives than them, they often referred to them as "friends," not enemies. They truly loved the people they preached to.

If the disciples, who were often beaten, thrown into prison, exiled, and eventually murdered by the very people they preached to, can treat those same people as friends, then I think we Christians can do the same when we're among the people we often perceive as enemies---the people who are different from us and might occasionally trash talk us on the Internet or give us the stink eye. So my fellow Christians, take some time to dwell on this and what it means in your life. Who are the people that are different from you, that you have a hard time understanding? Who are the people that you perceive as enemies? Who are the people that anger you the most? Are they Muslims? Immigrants? African Americans? Liberals? Atheists? The Poor? The Homeless? Pro-choicers? Feminists? Welfare recipients? The Anti-Guns People? The Pro-Guns People? Democrats? Republicans? Democratic Socialists? Politicians? Gays? TransSexuals? Bigots? Racists?

Whoever they are, I pray that you no longer let fear keep you from knowing them and preaching the Gospel to them in a way that values them as a person and values their opinion and their own life struggles. I pray you take the time to actively listen to them and dialogue with them in a way that clarifies God's truth and His love for both you and them. I pray that you are able to humble yourself before the Lord and them, and admit when you are wrong in either belief or action, no matter how much it pains you. I pray that you will allow God to use your "enemies" to change your heart and your life, and to strengthen your faith and relationship with Him. And last, I pray that God will open your eyes to the fact that your salvation is secure in Christ, and that nothing on this earth or outside of it is a threat to your faith in Him. It is a blessed assurance, Jesus is yours.

Take some time to get to know the kinds of people that just came your mind this week. If you know them personally, ask them about their life. If you don't know them, pick up a book, read an article, or watch a movie that shares their unique perspective. See what they have to say. In the worst case scenario, you'll change your mind. In the best case scenario, you'll be informed and maybe even make a friend. Either way, you're better off than you were before.

He Says "Suppress the Vote," I Say "Don't!"

Matt Walsh recently wrote an article with the title "In Order To Save America, We Must Legally Prevent Oblivious People From Voting." Because so many people are sharing and agreeing with perhaps the most Un-American sentiment I've ever heard come from a Conservative's mouth, I feel it is my civic duty to inform the public about just how incredibly wrong he is. Matt has offered up three ways we can therefore keep uninformed people from voting:



1. Require Every Voter To Take And Pass A Fifth Grade Civics Exam

This seems like a good idea, sure. I too want my fellow voters to be informed and educated, and yet the very thing that made our democracy so revolutionary in its time is that it took the power from the rich, ruling, educated class and gave it to the poor, working, and yes, UNEDUCATED class. This forced politicians to earn the people's votes and do things that helped the majority of the citizens, not just themselves and their rich friends, and it opened up the political process to the average American, and in time minorities and women as well. Matt's suggestion to require a civic's exam is eerily similar to how white Americans were able to suppress the votes of African Americans after they first received the right to vote by requiring voters to take a literacy test, knowing full well that the majority of African Americans could neither read nor write. In fact, this put the governing bodies in a bit of a debaucle, as many poor whites also could not read or write either, so they decided that they would extend mercy to the illiterate by merely reading to them and seeing if they could understand what was being read to them, usually of course claiming that whites could understand them and blacks could not, even if they really could. Voter suppression has been a favorite tactic of both political parties throughout our history, targeting poor and minority demographics, knowing full well that their sheer numbers have the power to bring about real change and, yet again, forcing politicians to earn their stay in power and do the will of the people, not just the ones backing their campaigns and filling their bank accounts. To learn more about the history of voter suppression and how it is still being enacted today through methods such as purging and creating stricter voter ID laws, please visit the website for America's Black Holocaust Museum or really, just google "voter suppression" and see what's there. It is alive and well, and it is looking more and more like the last thing politicians want is for more and more people who look and think differently than they do to vote.

2. Abolish Early Voting


Matt makes the point that people should not even be voting before a candidate has finished their campaign, and more importantly that it shouldn't be so easy for people to vote---voting should be a "bit inconvenient" and requires "a small smidgen of sacrifice, energy, and effort." Apparently Matt is one of us priveleged Americans who are able to get off work to go vote, because many can not sacrifice even two hours of pay to get themselves to the polls because they are literally living paycheck to paycheck. Of course, these are likely either the elderly, who do not easily get out of their homes, or the poor, minimum wage workers who might now have the education he would prefer to be allowed to cast a vote, who are typically part-time and not earning vacation time or sick leave to put towards their absence. Some states have laws requiring employers to allow employees time off to vote, unless there is a 2 hour window before or after their shift starts that would enable them to vote apart from working hours, but few restrict them from deducting the hours from employees' paycheck. And unfortunately, a whopping 19 states do not have any laws at all requiring employers to give employees the time off that they need to vote. You can see those laws here. The fact is that in a true democracy, every citizen should not only have a right to vote, but also an opportunity to vote that is not economically prohibitive to any citizen of any class. This is why it makes far more sense to declare voting day a national holiday, ensuring a high voter turnout and that true democracy is in fact taking place. But again, most politicians do not actually want a high voter turnout from the poor working class, thus the lack of reform.



3. Only Grant Voting Privileges to Tax Payers

This point is very clearly yet another dig at the poor---particularly those on welfare, though he never even actually mentions them---and surprisingly enough, it is also a dig at the young, stating "A college kid who has never worked or paid a bill or lived as an independent adult does not yet possess the experience and comprehension necessary to be granted the power to vote. She has been, up until this point, a taker not a maker. A receiver not a contributor." It's funny that he says that while pointing his finger at the 70% of working college students and the 73% of working welfare recipients. Apparently holding a job no longer counts as contributing to society either? And he seems to be forgetting that the reason welfare recipients do not pay taxes is because their annual income places them below the poverty line, thus exempting them from a burden that, for them, prevents them from being able to pay their rent or buy groceries, and for us, prevents us from buying cable TV or a 2nd car. We just looooove to point our fingers at them, though, don't we? How DARE they take OUR tax money and use it to buy groceries for their family and pay the rent that gives them shelter! And along these lines he goes on to say "It’s been warned for centuries that democracies collapse when voters learn they can vote themselves money and entitlements from the public treasury." I'm glad you brought this up Matt, so yes, let's talk about instances when voters learn that they can vote themselves money and entitlements from the public treasury. I am MORE than happy to oblige, because popular to contrary belief, the greatest instances of this have not been through welfare and SNAP cards, but rather through government bailouts, tax deferrals, and multi-million dollar tax write-offs by the very politicians that are supposed to be working on our behalf. You tell me, which person is contributing less to society? Is it the person working two part-time minimum wage jobs, trying to work their way up the ladder so that they can finally reach the financial point of even being able to pay taxes? Or is it perhaps the multi-national corporations that are backing many of our candidates campaigns, funneling their company's billions of dollars in profits to an off-shore account in a country that has a 0% tax rate to avoid the 35% U.S tax rate, thus legally cheating the government of what amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars every year? Funny how that law has never been changed despite us losing out on the amount of money that would actually enable us to pay off our national debt, huh? Or how about that time the government offered those same corporations a tax holiday of 5% to encourage them to bring their money back to American soil and invest in the crumbling economy, an opportunity which they then used not to invest in the American economy or even their own company, but rather to forego research and development and invest in the projects they were already working on, lay off thousands of workers rather than create new jobs, and most abhorrently of all, buy back their own company stock, thus increasing the already exorbitant wages of their CEOs, who are payed in company stock, a practice which also apparently qualifies their CEOs' multi-million dollar income to be used as a tax write-off for the company. Or do you mean Wall Street, who politicians have been working tirelessly to deregulate so that they can cheat taxpayers by creating fraudulent stocks and loans, such as the "inpenetrable" loans that caused the housing bubble and the subsequent Great Recession of 2008 and beyond, costing millions of Americans their jobs, homes, and even their 401ks? Or perhaps you mean the ever-increasing number of corporations, whose fiscal irresponsibility, laziness, and dishonesty have led them to cook the books and create fraudulent reports of profit, thus creating an increase in company stock (and again increasing their own pay), bringing about their inevitable collapse, and whom the government doesn't hesitate to give hundreds of billions of dollars of OUR tax money to in bailouts---tax money which they again used to lay off workers and reward their CEOs' dishonesty and failure with bonuses and unearned severance packages. Do you mean THOSE voters? Because believe me, they're informed and they know exactly what they're doing. They're the ones who spend millions of dollars each year to hire lobbyists for their corporations---lobbyists who have essentially weeded out any lobbying on behalf of unions or organized groups of taxpayers lacking the financial means that they have---because corporations are able to spend the money needed to employ hundreds of lobbyists in multiple locations at the same time with the time, resources, and connections to sit in on congressional meetings and set up countless meetings with our politicians to present their side. And often they are even hired because they already have a close personal relationship with our current politicians and hold a large amount of sway. Lobbying is a constitutional right, but the people are no longer being heard because of this corporate usurpury of politics. You mean those voters, though, right? But please, go right ahead and pretend that it's the welfare recipients and college students that are taking all the handouts. 

Let me clear something up for you, Matt. You are benefitting from other peoples' taxes just as much as the people you are pointing your finger at are benefitting from yours. Those taxes are repairing your roads, bridges, and dams, funding your libraries, schools, police and fire departments and the military that protects you, they are giving stability (in spite of curruption) to the very government that is granting you YOUR  voting rights, and are providing countless other benefits that extend to you and every citizen in this country. So next time you decide to write a post about suppressing the rights of every American who does not meet your standards of being "informed," perhaps you yourself should try being informed before you do so, and maybe even use your platform to inform them about things that are actually true.