November 4, 2008....we were so overwhelmed on the campus of Hampton University. It was literally the best place to be in the world....on the campus of an HBCU having elected a Black president.
My mom cried.
It was the fulfillment of a dream.
So many people thought racism was over.
It wasn't and it isn't.
We know that now, 8 years later.
So many have died.
BLM has emerged.
Progress is not marked by the ascension of one, as is the case of President Obama, but by the emergence of an entire group of people. Until we can all say we have overcome, we have not achieved the promise of America.
Many people are asking "Can anything be done about everything we are seeing today?"
What we can't do is give up. We can't give in to the forces of division.
We have a chance to defeat the hatred spreading through our country.
What makes America great is that we have the ability to vote and decide who leads us.
Hope is only possible in the face of hopelessness.
Victory can only be achieved if defeat is possible.
Life can only be sustained in the face of death.
Justice can only be won in the face of injustice.
The resurrection says that regardless of how great the enemy is, he can be defeated.
Too many people died for us to not exercise our right to vote.
For Emmett Till's sake and Harriet Tubman's sake and my great great grandmother's sake and my future children's sake I need to vote.
Its not just a secular choice. The secular government can lift up those cast away and free the oppressed. <--That's Bible.
For those who have chosen to serve God alone, what does it mean to vote?
Deuteronomy 1:13 gives us tips on how to vote for God.
Moses charges the people to chose leaders to lead them and gave this advice.
Choose people who are wise, discerning, and reputable.
I can vote for God by choosing people who fit the bill Moses set forth.
Wisdom: practical ability to exercise judgment and skillful decision making...not lofty ideals.
Vote for people whose skills and accomplishments has been proven and tested. <--This is wisdom.
Those running for office should be wise, tested, and experienced. Not just people who have been to school but actually worked using that book knowledge. Wisdom doesn't mean they haven't made mistakes or bad decisions. It means they have had the opportunity learn from it.
Reminder: The presidency has a minimum age because you need to have lived to really lead.
We need a person who brings people together.
Proverbs says a wise person listens to wise counsel, welcomes correction, and isn't arrogant. They reign in their tongue and doesn't give vent to anger.
The Apostle James said the wise candidate is quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Moses said to pick people who can weigh all sides of the story, leaders who can measured in their words, patient under pressure, and who do not lash out in anger.
Moses said we should choose candidates who are discerning. The ability to separate right from wrong, justice from injustice, and progress from gridlock isn't one everyone has or uses.
We need to choose people who bring about the right kind of change... change that can see the injustices of our justice system, who see the inequality in our economy, who see and care about the people Jesus called the least of these: the sick, hungry, imprisoned, and refugees. <--This is why I have HUGE issues with the religious right. How can you be for the GOP which systematically disenfranchises the people Jesus said we are to look after and simultaneously claim some type of moral superiority. That's a smooth hell no. The religious right have placed all their eggs in the basket of making abortion legal and are failing the help their fellow man that they see each and everyday. Miss me with the religious right. I'm a devout Christian, an evangelical some would said and I'm a Democrat because I actually believe that we should take care of the least of these. Some people need to read their Bibles and get back to me about how they can interpret Jesus's teachings as being in alignment with the Republican party!
We need to elect people who can separate fact from fiction and who will cause SCOTUS to expand freedom.
Discernment would say "lets not take rights from people but expand freedom."
Moses says I want you to choose leaders who are reputable.
1 Timothy 3 says leaders need time to prove themselves to establish a good name. Leaders should be well thought of by outsiders and insiders.
You can't buy a good reputation.
Proverbs says a good name is better than riches.
We need to think about what the candidates known for?
Moses would say we should choose people who have a reputation for doing good not just for themselves but for everyone. We should choose people who have a reputation for holding up the institution of democracy. We should choose people who want to form a more perfect union, not divide and turn people against each other.
People who are wise, discerning, and reputable are people who should be our leaders. That is what the Word says.
Moses does not say choose people who are perfect. Wise, discerning, and reputable people won't be perfect.
Jesus isn't running for an elected office.
We can not abdicate our responsibility.
Every vote matters.
1 Vote has made the difference in the following situations
1645: Control of England to Oliver Cromwell
1800: Thomas Jefferson became President instead of Aaron Burr
1851: Admitted CA and OR to the Union
1876: Rutherford B Hayes became President
1923: Hitler became the leader of the Nazi party
1993: Al Gore approved the largest tax increase in American history
That's what one vote can do so don't tell me yours doesn't matter!
The question isn't just who we will put in office but what will they do?
How will they respond to the threat of war? Will they exercise diplomacy and advert nuclear catastrophy?
How do they respond to the mandate of diversity as people of different races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and ability seek to be included in American public life?
Will they include rather than exclude or will they continue to marginalize those who have been historically left out?
Will they require the rich and corporations to pay their fair share?
Who is more likely to promote the idea that women deserve equal pay for equal work?
Who will appoint Supreme Court Justices that are more in the tradition of Thurgood Marshall and Sonya Sotomayor or Antonin Scalia?
Who will set a better tone that will provide opportunity for all of us and not just some of us?
Who will set a tone that will stop demonizing black men and bring an end to mass incarceration?
A better tone that will give our children hope?
Who do we want to influence the narrative of who we are and what we stand for?
Who will expand America's promise to more of us rather than taking us back to a time that no minorities or oppressed groups want to repeat?
This election will approve the narrative that its either alright to discriminate against Black and brown bodies, sexually assault women, that the poor are to blame for their plight or the narrative that says that LGBT people are NOT sexual deviants and deserve equal rights, that makes space for differently abled people in the fabric of American life, that says that everyone is welcome and no one should be turned away for their differences. Which narrative will you approve? <-- I love the Pastor Coates always includes LGBT folks in his sermons. It makes me feel seen and valued in a way I didn't know I needed until I started going to an affirming church. :-)
We don't need a narrative that renders Muslims inherently evil but one is on the table for your vote.
We have come so far but we have to let folks know we are not turning back.
We're not going back to Jim Crow and double digit employment.
We need to remind people that there was nothing great about lynching.
We have two days to make America better.
Two days for hope and joy and peace and to set a tone that those committed to hate and division and racism and sexism and xenophobia and homophobia are not who we are. We need to let them know that that our ancestors died and bleed and fought for my future and it won't be taken from me without a fight!
We've got two days to be tone setters.
What tone do you want to set?
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