Colossians 3:14 (NRSVUE)
“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Recently I started rewatching the television series The Good Place. A central theme of the show is asking what makes a person good and the premise behind it is that humans are given a numerical score for every action they take. If, when you die, you have enough points, you are sent to The Good Place. If your score is too low, you end up in The Bad Place. No one truly knows what happens when we die, although there are people with very strong opinions. One of my personal opinions is that we shouldn’t need the promise of a good place, such as heaven, or the threat of a bad place, such as well, to be good people. It should be enough to just be aware that our actions can impact others and that as a community, it’s better for all of us when we’re good to one another or helpful to one another. There has been much written about the decline of community and togetherness over the last few decades. Some of the reasons for this decline aren’t inherently bad, but nevertheless, they had unintended consequences. ▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️ I want and strive to be a good person. I fail at this pretty often because I’m human and it’s what we do. None of us are perfect. Those who know me know that I am political. I don’t inherently love politics for the sake of politics. Actually, I loathe the way politics is treated as entertainment and the coverage of it as if it's a horse race. Politics is a means to and end and should be centered on policy. I feel that I have no choice but to be a political person. For the obvious, selfish reason, I am gay. Politicians decided to politicize my very existence long ago. The less selfish reason is as I stated at the beginning of this section – I want and strive to be a good person. I care about people and the collective good. My reason for writing this is clearly driven by what happened in Pennsylvania on Saturday and the response to it. According to extensive research done by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) approximately 75 percent of terrorist attacks and plots in the United States between 1994 and 2020 were committed by right wing terrorists, religious terrorists, or ethnonationalists. I firmly believe that in order to solve a problem it is important to understand its cause(s). After the shooting on Saturday, Democratic leaders promptly put out statements condemning violence and wishing for the healing and safety of the former president. Many Republican leaders put out incendiary statements blaming President Joe Biden for the violence along with other nasty rhetoric. President Biden even personally reached out to the former president and spoke with him to offer his well wishes. It’s very hard for me to see that happening if the situation were reversed. That is an opinion rooted in precedence. We need only look at the former president’s response to the attacks on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul. We can also look at his speech when he told victims of gun violence “we have to get over it” at a rally in Iowa just days after a shooting there killed a sixth grade student. Or, we can look at his incitement in rallies and on social media leading up to the terrorist attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Of course I am not saying that the Democratic / left side is perfect, but there is sufficient evidence showing that it is the Republican / right side that amplifies and perpetuates most of the rhetoric and violence. This very incident in Pennsylvania over the weekend was committed by a 20 year old white male who was registered as a Republican. ▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️ Politics have always been personality driven and I think that is usually a detriment to discourse and policy. But, if this election were just a personality contest, there is still a clear choice. The former president has been indicted on 88 felony charges and found guilty on 34 of those charges already. The rest are still pending. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan noted Monday, the jury did find the former president liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll during an encounter in the dressing room of a New York City department store in the mid-1990s, and the details of that finding show that her having maintained that Trump raped her is "substantially true." In November 2019, a judge ordered then President Donald Trump to pay $2 million to an array of charities as a fine for misusing his own charitable foundation to further his political and business interests. All of that is just the legal ramifications he has faced – it doesn’t count his abhorrent language directed at many racial minority groups, veterans, and women. On the other hand, President Joe Biden leads with decency and kindness. I am not a cultist and I do not worship any politician, but I can acknowledge this is evident in his behavior and among even those who call him an enemy. I would much rather vote for a man who tries to do the right thing and makes mistakes than a serial liar and con artist who has a history of heinous conduct. One reason I feel so strongly about the former president’s repeated pattern of behavior is that so many evangelical Christians are okay with it and even encourage it. I cannot judge anyone’s soul, but I can see actions, and the actions of the former president are the antithesis of the actions of Jesus Christ. Evangelicals have had to justify their support of this man they idolize by making up lies about President Biden. They call him corrupt, without evidence, or claim he is suffering from dementia, when in reality he’s had a lifelong stutter and – newsflash – at 81 years old doesn’t move or speak as quickly as he used to. Maybe they have forgotten their idol is just three years younger? If the president’s health were in dire condition we would know, and right wing media outlets wouldn’t have to alter or edit speeches and videos of the president to make it look so. Ps. Even mainstream, corporate media groups have used these tactics against Biden, but it’s not new. They also called on President Barack Obama to step aside in 2012 because Hillary Clinton was polling ahead of him. They claimed Hillary Clinton was too sick and should step aside in 2016 when she had pneumonia. For whatever reason, they tend to only hold Democratic candidates to standards no one can achieve. ▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️ Beyond the personalities of the two candidates, there is policy – which is what truly matters to me. Again, I do not choose policies based on candidates or parties – I try to make informed decisions based on facts and what I think does the most good, or helps people. The two choices couldn’t be more stark. First, research and read about Project 2025.
I know that others have varying opinions and if I’m honest with myself, the people I wish would read this probably aren’t, but I’m writing this for me. I’m okay with a difference in opinion. But I’m not okay with the dehumanization of any group of people and I’m not okay with violence. I know that there is no religious figure, including Jesus, who completely lines up with a political candidate or party. I would never try to insinuate that. But, I find it incredibly hard to see how people who claim to follow Jesus can support hatred, homophobia, misogyny, and racism. I can say for sure Jesus does not condone any of these things. I must do what I think is right based on the knowledge I have and based on wanting the most good for everyone in this country – not just myself. That is why I strongly support the Biden/Harris ticket for re-election. I truly am anxious about this contest for a number of reasons. The violent actions and rhetoric, again stemming mainly from one side, and the lack of courage in calling it out from so many people with a platform. I am also anxious because of the outcome. The former president has repeatedly sided with authoritarians and dictators and while he was in office, he often conducted himself in that manner. We cannot allow that to happen again. ▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️ “You are not required to finish your work, yet neither are you permitted to desist from it.” - Pirke Aboth I understand the want to turn away from everything and shut everything off. But, it’s important to remember there’s truly nothing as radical and progressive as hope and optimism. You can’t do everything and no one should expect you to. So, do what you can. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup, so take care of yourself, and then do something to help someone else. Your help doesn’t have to be in the form of politics if that’s not your realm, although I strongly encourage you to at least talk about these issues and influence your circle to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. If it is your thing, then get involved! Knock on doors, make phone calls, or write letters. Between now and Election Day I will write at least 300 letters/postcards to voters in battleground states/districts. That’s how I’m channeling my anxiety. I also want to hold space for those who are hurt by the political actions of people who claim they love you. I know firsthand how gut wrenching it is to hear or see someone speak out or vote against your very existence. Again, differences are one thing. There’s plenty of room for gray in life, but we must also recognize when something is black and white. Our differences should be more along the lines of how do we protect children and the environment, how do we lift people out of poverty, and how do we prevent gun violence – not IF we should do those things. Before you vote, or do almost anything in life, it’s helpful to remember to do so in love. It’s hard to go wrong if you lead with love and kindness.
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