We cannot move forward without looking back. If history has taught us nothing else, it has taught that by ignoring the failures and disasters of the past, we only set ourselves up for more disasters to come. This applies to natural disasters, personal disasters and yes, even the political ones.
At the risk of sounding too cliché, imagine centuries worth of dirt being swept under the same rug. Eventually it becomes a stumbling block. Well, we have tripped over that massive pile of dirt and have fallen smack on our faces. What have we swept? Continued racism, sexism, prejudice, hatred, bigotry, hypocrisy, arrogance, and corruption. Hypocrisy and arrogance are chief among these sins, for without hypocrisy and arrogance, these would have never been swept under the rug in the first place.
I am truly struggling with all the things these days. It is enough to parent during a pandemic. I am truly blessed to have an incredibly observant child, an employer who supports family first, a husband who works from home, and my ability to work from home part time. (Please don’t get me wrong, days in the office are a blast these days, even when separated by glass walls.) I love our country. I get all warm and tingly inside when I have an opportunity to dig into the law of the Constitution. Although, there are definitely cringeworthy moments. I love the IDEA of America, of the United States. I grieve at what it has become, and I know I am not alone. But the stress this uncivil war has caused on so many, including myself, has been unbearable at times.
What then do I do? Do I ignore it, stick my head in the sand and let what happens, happen? No, I cannot, I love this country too much. I love this crazy experiment. I love the idea and the fact that all men and women of all colors, races, ethnicities, and religions ARE created equally. But that idea doesn’t come from the Constitution; that idea comes from God.
I think one of the reasons this has been so gut-wrenchingly hard for me is that I do believe in a God of love, but I know God is JUST, which means, because I am a Christian, and because I love God, I MUST believe in accountability, and support it. Which I do! I am unable to put words to how so many who claim Christ can ignore accountability now and request we push past this egregious afront to our democracy, our way of life, our Constitution, in the name of fake unity. Fake unity is not unity. Fake unity is a gloss over seething undercurrents of resentment, jealousy, hurt, fury and pain. Unity cannot happen until there is accountability.
I am not only talking about the insurrection, incited by the former President. I am talking about the degradation of that office by his words and behavior. I am talking about the looking past of everything any one of us would wash our child’s mouth out with soap about. I am talking about moving the bar for the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES so low, that it no longer seems to exist.
I am embarrassed by the behavior of the Senators and Representatives that are more concerned with their reelection by a “base” that espouses hatred, prejudice, and conspiracy over doing what is BEST for our country. Holding someone accountable will only divide our country if our leaders encourage it. If our leaders encourage reconciliation, unity will follow. That’s why they’re supposed to be our “leaders.” We, as a citizenry, have overall done an okay job electing these leaders, but let us face it head on: we have screwed some of those up royally.
So, what do we do now? We cannot sit by and watch our democracy crumble, regardless of who you voted for. For me, it means a few things: 1. We can no longer be complacent and ignore our right, privilege and duty to knowledgably vote. 2. We need to realize that while it all affects us, it affects us ALL. Meaning, we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. It is not only about one of us or a few. We share this country, we share this planet. Isolating ourselves and voting for what will ONLY benefit us is a sure-fire way to create division. It is not all about me. 3. We need to vocalize this to our representatives now in an emphatic and legal way. Protests are great, violence NEVER is. 4. For me, and for I hope everyone who claims Christ, the true authentic Jesus who came to save the marginalized, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the woman and the man, the Jew and the Gentile: we need to pray. We need to pray for wisdom for ourselves and our leaders. We need to pray that self-serving attitudes are replaced with attitudes of grace and mercy. We need to pray that what is good wins out the day, and not lies. We need to pray that those who seek to destroy are held accountable. We need to pray that we live the life Jesus truly called us to: Love God, Love people, put others first.
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