I think about Adolf Hitler a lot lately. I think about how he came to power. I know that the history books aren't always accurate and their delivery from teacher to student isn't always comprehensive, but the thing that my history teachers talked about again and again was that he was a great public speaker. An entertaining speaker. He captivated the audience. He played to their hopes-but mostly to their fears. He stirred them up. He got them to act. Many of you think you know where I'm going with this, this being the year that we might be about to elect another such enigmatic speaker to the oval office, but I'll let the fact that your brain went there without me having to say the name stand for itself. I wonder if there were people who saw the coming madness. Were there common, everyday folks who would have posted their opposition to social media if they'd had the chance and the freedom? Were there grandmothers who shook their heads at the men who stood outside the ghettos with guns? Did children tug on their mother's skirts and ask 'why'? Did the divide between 'them' and 'us' tear families apart? Did the wedge between 'have' and 'have not' get hammered in by hate or fear? Did the path the people took to avoid their fate seal it?
I don't know what's going to happen to this country. I don't know who's going to win this election- I don't even know who 'should' win. I can't decide if I'm more afraid of the current options for President or the system that brought them before us. I don't know if this election is the hammer-fell of the beginning of the end or if it fell a long time ago, behind closed doors and away from cameras, wielded by wealthy people we surely only elected to power with our money. I don't know if the system is breaking the people or the people have long since broken the system.
I don't know what's going to happen.
I know I can cast a vote. But it just doesn't seem like that's going to make much of a difference, does it? I'm just a Mom and a Christian and a woman living in Alabama, trying to make sense of this madness- one of a large and mostly ignored group of people who see what's coming and have no clue how to stop it. I'm writing this from my sofa, sitting next to my sleeping one-year-old. His fat cheeks are flushed pink and his little puckered lips are twitching into a smile as he dreams. He doesn't know what's going to happen either. What questions will come to his mind as he grows up under the next President of the United States? As he experiences life walking down the streets of the America we, the adults, are crafting for him today? Will he see peace as a child? War as a young man? Will the things that divide us continue to shine and glimmer in the spotlight of the media? Will he grow up with a black boy afraid to walk down the street with his friends? A Mexican boy shunned by the rest of the class? A Muslim boy with a number tattooed to his arm?
Yes, I know that I can vote. But more importantly, I know that I can reject the things that divide us. I can feel the fear of this massive unknown future and choose to craft my decisions from love instead of hate, and common sense instead of fear. I can teach my son to treat strangers with respect instead of condemnation and offer help instead of judgment. Before Hitler there was another speaker who captivated the world. His ideas brought people together who'd been separate before. He loved on the people who'd been least loved on, he motivated the people to move and he calmed storms. His words have been carried through generations- used to fuel peace and misused to start horrible crusades. If you look at all the red text in your Bible, you'll find a man who spoke passionately for love and violently against pride and pomp. Vocally for the underdog and loudly against the oppressors of the time. I don't know that I see that attitude in any of our current candidates. I don't know if I should stop looking for it in the President and start looking for it in myself. I know that I'm going to stop living in fear of what's coming next. I know that I'm going to pray for God's will to be done in my life before I pray for it in my country. I know that I can look to the words of truth to guide my steps much more clearly than to guide my vote. I know I can help the people God puts in my path. I know I can look on the poor and the rejected and the damaged people of this world with the same love Jesus showed them. I know I can ignore the naysayers and stick to the truth that has never steered me wrong before. I know that God loves us. I know that. I know that nothing short of reflecting that love, in our lives more than in our votes, is going to heal America. Truthfully, if we'd been showing it all this time there may not be such a mess to wonder about.
I don't know who's going to run this country. But I know who's going to run my life.
It is scary how people can look over the words that are said just because someone is a good speaker, a known figure, or whatever. If you or I went around saying some of the things that have been said during the debates (by more than one candidate), we would be considered a racist or ignorant, but because someone "in authority" said it, it's ok. We need to be in prayer that the right person gets this very important job. And, no matter what happens, teach our children how to treat people, how to show God's love, and who our true Authority is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on all counts.
ReplyDeleteThe other day, our eldest, age 8, said to us “All the people who followed Hitler were very bad people.”
I told him- what’s scariest about the people who followed Hitler is that they WEREN’T all bad. They were ordinary people. Some good, some bad.
The thing is that when they heard the charismatic speeches designed to entice them to hateful thought, instead of recognizing that it didn’t sound quite right, they went with their egos and ate it up. And those who recognized that it seemed wrong didn’t always stand apart and make their thoughts known. They certainly waited too long if they did try to speak up. Once the wheels got turning and momentum built up they had to stay on the bandwagon or risk their own demise for getting off.
It concerns me that again religious belief is being made such a big portion of our choice in leader(as it was with Hitler). In a country where religious freedom is supposed to be guaranteed, but where religion and state are supposed to be separate- it seems like it should not even be a part of the discussion. It only serves to create an “us vs. them” atmosphere.
But if we were to look for who is acting in the ways that all religions teach- who most closely resembles our ideals? Who is in favor of treating their neighbor/brother/sister better than they treat themselves? Who would do unto others as they would have done unto them? Who has humility and compassion?
I don’t have the answer, but that is what I am looking for. Who most resembles the ideals I uphold? I am a Baha’i, my husband is a Muslim, together we have friends who are Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Taoist, Shinto, etc from cultures across the world.
I want for my friends what I want for my own family and myself.
Jesus Christ was an example to humanity as a whole on how we should behave. He treated unwanted people lovingly, he welcomed the scorned, he forgave those who did wrong, he fed the hungry and clothed the naked.
I have never heard that he was all about talking about others disparagingly, building up the money in our own pockets, building walls, creating division(racial, religious, political, or otherwise), creating war, or even carrying weaponry just in case. I could be wrong, but I have never heard that he taught those things. And I’m not saying all those things are always wrong- they do have their time and place- but they never struck me as his main teachings.
When it comes to Presidential candidates I feel like we can use Maya Angelous adage of “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
While I obviously would be thrilled to have someone lead our country who leads like Jesus, the truth is, that's not how Jesus led. He did not take a position of governmental authority. In fact, that is exactly what the Jews were looking for, and He came and showed them nearly the opposite. A servant-leader. A good speaker, yes. But not a politician. So while it would be lovely to see a president whose personal convictions and behavior I support, I don't really EXPECT it. Sadly. Womp woommmmppp.
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