"... And The Evil of Banality" - Post election reaction 6

Brian Beutler of the New Republic has quickly become essential reading for me in the era of Trumpism.  In his opinion piece, "Donald Trump and the Evil of Banality" he turns Hannah Arendt's now famous description of Adolf Eichmann (Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil) inside out to lay out how even the most mundane week of a Trump presidency will be an opportunity for disaster.

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"Sometimes you have to be rougher." - Election reaction 5

Dondald Trump's reaction

In his 60 minutes interview with Leslie Stahl this past Sunday Donald Trump gave this reaction to his election: "I'll conduct myself - in a very good manner, but depends on what the situation is. Sometimes you have to be rougher."  Let this sink in.  

Brian Beutler of the New Republic captures the Trump reaction in his article, "Donald Trump Is Already Acting Like an Authoritarian".  


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President Obama's Subtext - Post election reaction 4

Among President Obama's strengths has been his capacity to get to the reality of a matter in a way that is forthright and lacking drama.  His press conference yesterday is a prime example.  He's in a position where for the good of the country and the world he must remain calm, ensure a peaceable transition of power and ensure that the key institutions of the nation have a chance of surviving a Trump presidency.  If he's wise (and thank God that he is) it's essential that he refrain from lashing out or blasting Trump, a man who spent the better part of the last 8 years spreading vicious and racist lies about Obama's very legitimacy as President.  However, Obama did make some key points on Monday and Brian Beutler of the New Republic lays them out well. 

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The question many of us are waiting to see answered with baited, nauseated breathe is: will the rules and norms and laws survive Trumpism, let alone reign it in?  History has shown that a metric shit-ton of hell can break loose before justice bends the world back towards shalom.

'The Republic Repeals Itself' - Post election reaction 3

I am so hoping that in 15 years we will look back on Andrew Sullivan's post-election reaction in a lighthearted way, "Oh, that Andrew Sullivan, he was always one for drama."  However, his visionary insights on gay marriage, the potential of an Obama presidency, and constant warnings regarding the likelihood of a Trump presidency show he has an eye for the bends in the flow of history.

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"So What's Your Plan?" - Post election reaction 2

This reaction from Brittany Packnett, who "is the co-founder of Campaign Zero, shares the No. 3 spot on Politico's 2016 list of 50 most influential, and was named to Time magazine's 12 New Faces of Black Leadership," asks white voters in general and white Trump voters who consider themselves puzzled and dismayed at the charge of racism in particular, "White people, what is your plan for the Trump presidency?" 

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Post Election Reactions - 1

I'm going to catalogue reactions to the election that strike me as adding vital perspective.  The first reaction is from a letter highlighted by James Fallows of the Atlantic Monthly.  The author of the letter is Joseph Britt of Wisconsin who has worked on campaigns and in government for Republican politicians.

You can read Joseph Britt's letter here.

The key thought regarding the non-wwc Republican vote:

The More Things Change...

...the more they stay the same.  This word from the prophet Ezekiel some 2500 years ago has been playing like a loop in my mind for some time now - particularly that part about mistreating the foreigner, denying them justice and the failure of God's people to protect the weak and vulnerable. 

On Jesus' Teaching 'Love Your Enemies'

Jesus taught,  “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[ and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven."  (Matthew 5)

There's a couple of things worth noting here:

1. A basic presupposition Jesus has is that if we're following him correctly we should have enemies. 

2. Being a child of the heavenly Father in this world requires having enemies and being persecuted - and yes, then praying for and loving enemies and persecutors.  

What Is Happening?

 Like I've said before, things are moving much faster than almost anyone realizes.

Planning Our Solidarity

Do you remember Trump's campaign pledge to create a registry, a watchlist for all people of Muslim faith in the United States.  This was a separate promise than the one to keep all Muslims from entering America.  Do you remember how conservative activist Charles Koch called Trump's Muslim registry plan 'reminiscent of Nazi Germany'?  Sure you do.  Well, the plan to create this registry is still underway. Apparently, the details are forthcoming.  

Here's what I am preparing to do and hope millions of other Americans will join me in doing: I am planning on volunteering to be listed on the registry.  It is not an article of faith to join a registry. Such a registry is utterly based on the lie of discrimination and hatred towards a specific religious faith.  In no way would volunteering for such a registry diminish or demean the Muslim faith or be a lie about my own faith as a Christian. Indeed, standing in solidarity with those who suffer is an essential component of all true religion.

"... the Silence of our Friends"

What Will It Take?

What I am waiting for, and truly desirous of seeing, is even one Christian Trump supporter denounce this kind of behavior.

Exhibit A of Why It's So Important to Listen to People of Color

Watch this clip of Rep. Keith Ellison being openly ridiculed by members of the mainstream press when he tries to warn of the possibility of a Trump Presidency.  In about 30 seconds you can witness privilege, implicit racism, and overt racism in the ways as a society we still find fully acceptable.

A Poem for Veteran's Day

Looky here, America
What you done done?
Let things drift
Until the riots come.

Now your policemen
Let your mobs run free
I reckon you don’t care
Nothing about me.

You tell me that hitler
Is a mighty bad man.
I guess he took lessons
from the ku klux klan

You tell me mussolini’s

Got an evil heart.
Well, it mus-a been in Beaumont
That he had his start—
 
Cause everything that hitler
And mussolini do,
Negroes get the same
Treatment from you

You jim crowed me
Before hitler rose to power—
And you’re STILL jim crowing me
Right now, this very hour.

Yet you say we’re fighting
For democracy.
Then why don’t democracy
Include me?

I ask you this question
Cause I want to know
How long I got to fight
BOTH HITLER—AND JIM CROW. 

- Langston Hughes, Beaumont to Detroit: 1943

Article 3 of the Bill of Rights Must Hold!

You recall this Tweet tonight from Donald Trump...?

My fear was for the media who were the 'inciters'.  But it looks like more than the 1st Amendment is at stake as the possibility of the right to assemble may be in trouble, too...

You can read the whole article here.

First Amendment Must Hold

So here's a tweet from David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush and a conservative I like to read...

And here's President elect Trump...

Note the words 'professional' and 'incited'.  We must hang on to the 1st Amendment at all costs. Trump has more than hinted at bringing it down and clearly has his angle.



Edit:  And here's Donald Trump after Romney lost to Obama in 2012 just for comparison...

Bernie Sanders Weighs In

In a statesmanlike way Bernie Sanders indicated a willingness to work with President elect Trump for the common good if and where at all possible. But he sounded this warning, "If Donald Trump takes people's anger and turns it against Muslims, Hispanics, African Americans and women, we will be his worst nightmare."

I wish from the bottom of my heart that even one conservative Christian leader would say the same thing. If anyone discovers a statement of solidarity from a conservative Christian leader to protect those who are most afraid today - Muslims, all people of color, immigrant communities, women, survivors of abuse, the LGBT community, people with disabilities - please let me know in the comments.

Readings in White Supremacy, Racism and the Dangers of False Religion: 1) Rituals of Blood by Orlando Patterson

A growing concern that I have been having over the course of the last 16 years is that American Christianity has not fully reckoned with its white supremacist roots.  As American Christianity presumes and enjoys a sort of moral voice in America, this gap in our moral understanding and the white washing of our history leaves all of us vulnerable to a type of implicit racism that empowers and emboldens white supremacists.

Before jumping right in on reading Orlando Patterson's Rituals of Blood (which I must say was viscerally a worse experience than being forced to watch "A Nightmare on Elm Street" at a Baptist youth group party when I was 13) I would recommend two things to get started.

1. Watch this video called  "Terror Lynching in America"  
2. Read this article "The Promise and Peril of Christian Solidarity: Lynching in the Christian South"

From there we will start in on 'Rituals of Blood'.  I do hope that there's some dialogue around this and so please feel free to post comments, reactions, songs, poems, prayers, laments, paintings, etc.

What Have We Done?

Donald Trump received this note of thanks today:
“Thank you for your … support of the white nation in South Africa. We wish you all the best for the future, and you can rely on our support,” wrote the leader of the pro-apartheid Afrikaner Resistance Movement.

Dear God, forgive us, we know not what we do nor the evil we have just unleashed. 



You can learn more about the hate group Afrikaner Resistance Movement here: 
http://www.awb.co.za/

Some Preliminary Thoughts on the Lie of Racism

The essential lie of racism isn't the proposition that there are races that are superior than others.  The essential lie of racism is the very existence of race in and of itself. The fundamental truth is the inherent dignity and equality of all human beings who carry the spark of the divine - we truly do all belong each to one another. We are not separated into races by evolution or by our Creator, but by the lie that we ourselves have created out of fear, greed, sloth, will to power, and hatred.

The trouble with racism in America is that we have constructed every aspect of society based on the lie of race. Our Declaration of Independence is racist, our Constitution is racist, our religious experience is racist, our highway system is racist. Education? Yep. Location of grocery stores? Yep. Home ownership,  justice system? Yep. Every aspect of life as an American is racist. The lie of racism is embedded in our collective DNA. And so while the root of racism is in fact a lie, a shadow, a non-existence; the substance of our collective reality is built on this lie. And so it is that while racism is something that in truth has no substance, in our lived experience it is a suffocating killer that wields a relentless power to oppress and destroy.

The instinct to say, "I don't see race, therefore I'm not racist" is a moral and spiritual shortcut. Despite anyone's good intentions the instinctual dodge to think of oneself as above the question, as a 'good person', is delusional.