Three days later and the unthinkable
is still a reality.
How do we
begin to recover while living in a country that now suffers from self-imposed
tragedy? For anyone who has ever suffered hatred, economic and racial
injustice, oppression, sexism, violence, loss through unjust murder or is a
victim, in any way, of the rape culture, the devastation is tangible.
Collectively, none of us can ever breathe the same again. And to clarify for
the ones who love to use religious platitudes in a time of profound suffering,
we know that the President is just a man. We know that God is still in control
and we know that Jesus is still Lord, for those of us who choose this as our
belief system. Thank you for your pep talk, it won’t help in our grief however.
Now let’s get down to brass tacks. This mortifying election was truly about
love vs. hate, unity vs. racism and freedom vs. oppression. The outcome was the
symbol of our nation’s heart… and what a sick, fragmented, hateful heart it has
become. But that is not who the majority of us are. There is still much hope,
if we ban together.
The healing:
On Tuesday
morning, as my mind began to spin out of control, I heard the villainous jeers
whispering in my ears: hate won, hate
won, what are you going to do now? I cried, not soft quiet tears, I cried
from my belly with guttural moans. The prophetic resides in the belly. I cried
for every Native American ever terrorized and murdered on this land. I cried
for every slave ever beaten, chained and whipped. I cried for every body that
ever hung from a tree from senseless hatred. I cried for every immigrant used
and abused by this country. I cried for every woman humiliated and discarded
through sexism, misogyny and rape. I cried for our children who have to bear
the weight of a careless and greedy nation. I cried over graves with no headstones because
the bodies within were never considered human beings. I cried for every gay man
and woman disowned from their families and attacked by society, both physically
and religiously. I cried for our elders who worked so hard to bring us to a
better land only for us to wake up on the same bloody soil. I cried for our first Black President and First
Lady, who endured hardness like good soldiers and still managed to maintain
dignity and grace. I cried for the deceived religious elite, who really believe
that they can reach the world through hatred and division. Oh, did I cry…
I thought
that it would take days to collect myself. I couldn’t tell my youngest son the
results on my own. My despair was too heavy, that’s when I reached out and the
healing began. I began by group texting my older children along with their
father. Help, I said, I can’t tell Tim. I don’t want him to see me this way. One by one they began to
respond. Tim’s dad called and explained the results to him in a way that wouldn’t
worry him. We all kept texting, expressing grief, anger and sadness. The
healing was beginning. By mid-afternoon I had texted, called and messaged
several of my friends from various backgrounds and ethnicities. Their voices
were important to me. I needed my community of diversity to help restore my
faith in the world. We grieved together, we encouraged each other. Love was
working. I began telling my friends that I loved them in one form or another.
Each time the words came out, my heart grew stronger. I felt less faint. Love
was healing. I slept that afternoon for the first time in days. That evening I
had dinner with friends who represent interracial love. We talked, laughed and
grieved together. We sought out the light in the darkness together and I felt
lifted. Love was winning.
May I
encourage you to seek others who love humanity with the same intensity as you
do? When my daughter said that she was nervous about the climate on campus
Wednesday, I told her to look for the people who had grief in their eyes, they’re
hurting like you and can be trusted to mourn with.
The separating:
During the
last few days, through much thought and prayer, I have come to the
understanding that there is a time in life that we all must assess the people
and ideologies that we surround ourselves with. This election, along with the
pressing social injustices that have flooded our news in recent history, has
uncovered the darkness in the hearts of many, along with the unwillingness to admit
to the faults of this country and its sins. It has been open season for all who
wish to express in clear undeniable detail that social injustice persists. Many
have clung to a belief system that was rooted and grounded in the Jim Crow
error and the church that turned a blind eye to hatred for people of color. I
have read commentary from those who blame the victim and claim ignorance at the
same time. The hypocrisy is astounding and I can no longer bear witness to it,
nor befriend it in the hopes that such hearts will change. It is obvious that
the line in the sand of good and evil has been drawn and many wish to dwell in
the land of evil claiming it as their birthright of patriotism, while defiantly
ignoring the call to love your neighbor as yourself. And just to clarify, this
does not mean that I choose to separate from anyone who doesn’t share my same
belief system in all aspects of life, this separation is about far more than a
mere differing of opinion, anyone who has been trying to tap below this granite
surface for any length of time understands that.
The revelation:
These are
the words that have resounded in my ears within the last few days:
The American church has
lost all credibility with the world. It will never be viewed the same again. This has been a long time coming. Slowly but surely those who warmed the
pews have spilled out into the streets joining those who have never entered its
doors. The American church has revealed the highest level of hypocrisy for the
entire world to see. The by-standers are just as accountable as the perpetrators.
By refusing to speak up and to cry aloud and spare none, many have sown hatred
where there should be peace as well. There is no such thing as a neutral stance
between good and evil. Remove yourself from the appearance of religion
completely because it is an empty and lifeless exercise. It will simply prove
itself as a display of an antiquated behavior, producing no real results for
the world. I am ignoring the religious and the loveless of this land. Rise up
with the poets, the prophets, the teachers, the singers, the dancers and the
artist. Become an activist pursuing love at all costs, especially for those who
do not share your culture. Come out from your sterilized surroundings padded
with people who look and act like you. Abandon the notion that I don’t hear the
prayers of the entire world and all those that seek me in ways that are foreign
to you. Stop trying to get people to come into your buildings and go into the
streets, the cities and the highways to live amongst the seekers, while asking
me for wisdom and guidance along the way. Choose life, outside of religion and
receive new life.
Lend your church buildings to
recreation centers, daycares, after school programs, employment agencies, food
pantries and civic centers. Offer your lavish establishments and your
storefronts to community needs instead of hosting your own weekly club
meetings.
The rebuilding:
Tuesday
morning’s resounding question was: what
are we going to do? There is
rioting, kkk rallies and harsh dissension all over the country. People are afraid
of being attacked on the streets. How do we live amongst such hate and go on
with our daily lives?
My personal
directive is to dig deeper and stand my ground with civility and knowledge.
Ignorance and hatred is what got us into this mess and it’s going to take
higher thinking to get us out. We don’t have to be doormats and accept the
visceral behavior, we just have to outsmart low level thinking. They want us to
display the same hate that they are showing. It thrills a racist mind if we
choose to become fearful beyond words and angry with rage. Fear yields power
and tells your enemy that you believe that they are stronger than you. Refuse
to be intimidated by the men in white sheets and the shaved heads. Refuse to
let them steal your peace and relinquish your power. Stand strong and fight the power of hatred with
civility. Head up, chin raised, eyes toward heaven, with an un-flinchable
resolve, that’s the stance that we need to take against the self-appointed
oppressors. Dignity is not a language that they can understand or war against.
Take that
stance into your workplaces and communities. Teach your children how to walk
with authority and wisdom. Read often and speak boldly about the history of
this nation and its slow moving demise from its inception. Create a new
language of unity and acceptance. Broaden your social circles. Stop just having
that “one friend” who’s (insert ethnicity here.) We can’t keep thinking that
this movement will only be advanced by one particular race of people and others
cannot be trusted. For those that like to quote Malcolm X by saying: By
any means necessary, remember that his life changed when he traveled to
Mecca and began seeing men of other races who believed the same as he did. Only
then did he understand the error of what he was taught to believe and that the “blue
eyed devil” is a misnomer. Remember there have always been abolitionists who
aided the oppressed at the expense of their own lives. They are still alive and
well today. The movement is love vs. hate, not black vs. white.
There will
only be a remnant of Christians that answer this call and leave their Sunday
morning rituals for action that makes a difference. The majority will be people
who do not claim to belong to any one belief system but who do have genuine love
for their fellow man while desiring nothing more than to ignite a love
revolution. If that shocks or bothers you, just remember the church has had
more chances than we can count to come out of its lifeless ways and to actually
live as Christ. This is the final result of seeking after its own self-interests
and ignoring the greatest humanitarian ever known…Jesus Christ.
If you
belong to a ministry that actively seeks to model Christ’s behavior in its
ENTIRTY, then you are part of a much needed remnant in the earth. But make no
mistake, this is only evident to the world by how you treat your fellow man.
The hashtag:
#lovealution
(love revolution)
I hope it
catches on…
