democracy

Dear Mr. Trump

/ uurevjeff / 3 Comments

Congratulations on your upcoming inauguration. Many of us voted for you despite your lack of experience holding public office. So, on behalf of the hundreds of millions of us you now serve, I want to take this opportunity and offer you some advice as you enter the Oval Office. Please forgive us if some of these suggestions sound simplistic, even obvious. Given your public discourse to date, however, we have confidence that you will find value in them.

trump-meryl1. Think. Our mothers taught us, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, then don’t say anything at all.” We Americans can be obnoxious, even rude. But, we look up to the Office of the President largely because it stands for the highest level of decorum and class in our society. Our President should be better than us, and should model for us the best human behavior. We all understand the satisfaction derived from beating someone in a war of words. But, we need our President to rise above personal pettiness and insulting retorts in response to criticism.

2. Listen. Like many of us, you have decades of life experience. But, you can now access thousands of people with unbelievable knowledge about every topic imaginable at a moment’s notice. You are smarter than most of us – otherwise you would never have succeeded in the election. You are still a human being, however, and we do not expect you to know everything. Please listen to people the way you expect us to listen to you.

3. Review. We admire your spontaneity. In a complex world, however, every word spoken by our President matters. When you tweet without subjecting your words to careful review…you frighten us. We don’t see grammatical mistakes, factual errors, and statements revealing a lack of knowledge of basic governmental functions as amusing signs of a delightfully quirky leadership style. They scare us. They scare us because they are mistakes that we would make – but we are not President. We fear the consequences of your unedited statements, and need to see that you understand our feelings and the power your words wield.

4. Respect. We respect the Office of the President like no other position in the world. Likewise, we need the person filling that office to respect us. We elected you. So, we logically expect you to respect our intelligence and wisdom. When we feel disregarded by our President, we can delude ourselves with false hopes; we begin forming unrealistic expectations of a nation already responsible for unprecedented historical achievements; and we allow our fears to override our reason. The American people will follow your example. We need you to display the respect for us that you expect from us in return.

5. Awaken. Citizen Trump owned every privilege available. Unlike most of us, you were born a white, straight, male, Christian, healthy and wealthy American citizen. But we need President Trump to represent people of color and women; gay and transgender people; Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, and Atheists; and people suffering from physical and mental illnesses. We need our President to serve all the people, whether they live in mansions, houses, apartments, or packing crates. Whether we work as executives or lawyers, nurses or plumbers, cashiers or migrant farmers, we must feel that you empathize with our lives and acknowledge our inherent worth and dignity.

6. Mature. To be honest, many of us voted for you because you acted like us. You said things we might say and acted in ways we might act. But we know that we don’t always say the right things, or act in the right ways. Candidate Trump was an adolescent – a malignant narcissist and expert self-promoter. And many of us loved that persona. We now need President Trump to heed the lesson we learned on TV from that great philosopher Spock of Vulcan, who said, “Having is not nearly so pleasing a thing as wanting.”

You wanted our ultimate position of celebrity and we gave it to you. But with ownership comes tremendous responsibility. Billions of lives across the world now depend on you owning every attribute of a great leader, qualities such as wisdom, integrity, and humility. Perhaps most important, we need you to show the courage to make decisions that might make you unpopular, but that are morally correct choices. Sadly, there isn’t a kinder, more gentle way to say this. Now that we have entrusted you with the most important office in our nation, we need you to grow up.

In his first letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul wrote, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal…Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Every one of your constituents – regardless of skin color, gender identity, sexual orientation, theological persuasion, ability, or legal, social and economic status – can agree with these sentiments.

His letter continued. “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

7. Love. Mr. Trump, on the morning of January 20, you will gaze into that golden mirror you caress so often. Our nation, all of us living and yet to be born, and the planet Earth that sustains us need you to see the full reflection of a President. We need that mirror to reflect a thoughtful, considerate, careful, respectful, aware adult. We desperately need that mirror to project an image of love. We know you love yourself and your family. We know you love your fans and supporters. As President Trump, we need you to share that love with every person equally.

trump-reporterWe need you to love every Black man looking in the rear view mirror at the flashing lights of a police car; the woman entering the Planned Parenthood office for a cancer screening because her insurance won’t pay for her to go to the local hospital anymore; the young gay man cast out of his parent’s home because of who he loves; the woman wearing the hijab being berated for her religious beliefs; the man publicly mocked for his congenital disability; the mother living in her car because her employers pay poverty wages; and the hard-working, courageous man seeking the same American dream for his children that our own ancestors sought.

We Americans can love deeply. But we will emulate our President. If our President displays impatience, arrogance, rudeness, and resentment, we will do the same. So, Mr. Trump, please model that love for us, for our nation, and for our planet as you become President Trump.

The Need for Resolve

/ uurevjeff

2016 was a tough year on many of us. It remains to be seen how the events of this past year will influence 2017.

I view this coming year as providing us with two opportunities. First, we should look on the past year not with sorrow and regret, but with a renewed sense of resolve. I realize the temptation to hunker down and ride out the almost certain coming storm appeals strongly. I also realize that the events of 2016 have left many of us emotionally shaken and intellectually bewildered.

Take the time to mourn, to lick your wounds, and to regroup. But, don’t linger in a state of hopeless victimhood for long. We must adopt a long-range strategy to pace ourselves for what might be an extended period of immoral actions and senseless attacks on logic and common sense. This means that we must get up, brush ourselves off, and get back in the game.

Related imageThe second opportunity before us in 2017 is the invaluable gift of passionate engagement. The past year left no one untouched. Some gains in equality and justice now stand on the brink of a reactionary chasm of patriarchy, privilege, and power abuse. Not for decades has the challenge to freedom and democracy been so strong in this country.

Robert A. Heinlein’s characters often use the phrase TANSTAFL – there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. In 2017, we must pick up the tab for a Trump presidency. The task won’t be easy, but I am confident that people of faith and vision have the resolve, with enough left over for a good tip.

 

I Am…

/ uurevjeff

As a Unitarian Universalist, I draw ethical and spiritual inspiration from the wisdom of all religions. One gains an insight when studying comparative religions; the world’s major faith traditions share most of the same fundamental principles. Love your neighbor. Care for the sick, the poor, the oppressed. Do not kill. Love your enemy. Speak the truth. Do not steal. Love unconditionally.

“Do not wrongfully consume each other’s wealth, but trade by mutual consent. Do not kill each other, for God is merciful to you.” Sura 4:29

Sacred texts of the world’s major religions vary widely. Some combine history and theology. Others resound like lyric poetry. Most include mythic tales, riddles and parables. All provide instruction on mindfulness and spiritual practice.

Most important, religious writings challenge readers to think, to feel and to act. Possessing only right belief does not make one truly religious. Empathy and kindness alone cannot produce complete salvation. And correct action without knowledge and belief is like a foundation of brick without water and cement. Spiritual growth requires exercise of the mind, the heart and the hands as one.

“Be good to your parents, to relatives, to orphans, to the needy, to neighbors near and far, to travelers in need…God does not like arrogant boastful people, who are miserly and order other people to be the same, hiding the bounty God has given them.” Sura 4:36-37

Studying religious texts presents a special challenge to the student. Each work resides in a past time, reflects ancient contexts and suffers human frailty in translation and interpretation. Subsequent to the writing of every major religious work, questions arose causing scholars to amplify, clarify and even correct previous understandings. Out of this expansion of spiritual insights emerged countless denominations and sects within all the major faiths.

The metaphor of stone tablets ignores the reality that every religion represents a living tradition, ever changing, ever growing. For religions to remain vital, spiritual practice must recognize changing times and adapt to each new generation’s capacities and needs.

Underlying these swirls of change, however, lie immutable principles — rules of decency, goodness and basic common sense — to which we all can agree. Despite our human history of violence and war, we possess the ability to dialogue, to compromise and to reach mutually acceptable rules for living.

“Repel evil with what is better and your enemy will become as close as an old and valued friend…only those who are steadfast in patience, only those who are blessed with great righteousness, will attain to such goodness.” Sura 41:34-35

The shadow of fear now cloaks America. Some use fear to divide us, to set us against each other, and to maintain historic systems of oppression. America must strive for better. Our greatness does not lie in our wealth; the world does not respect us because of our power. America endures because its arms embrace the refugee, its blood pumps the beat of freedom and its eyes see a future of equal opportunity and equal reward for all dedicated to its principles. We must never look backwards for our greatness. America’s greatness lies in its future — a time during which all people will be treated with inherent worth and dignity.

Achieving this future will take a revolution of the mind, the heart and the body. In other words, America’s future depends on a spiritual awakening that respects all religious voices and rejects any notion of dogmatic truth. Joining together in unity and cooperation, our faith traditions can tear down the walls of separation and break the chains of conquest, manipulation and cultural invasion.

“There is no cause to act against anyone who defends himself after being wronged, but there is cause to act against those who oppress people and transgress in the land against all justice…” Sura 42:41-42

I am not a Muslim or a Christian. I am not a Jew, a Buddhist or a Hindu. But I find much of worth in each of these religions and in their writings. As such, I am to some degree a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew, a Buddhist and a Hindu. I am a Sikh, a Jain, a Taoist and a Confucian. I walk the path of Shinto, the Goddess, the Creator gods of all cultures and the Oversoul by all its names.

If our president-elect pursues the registry of Muslim Americans — an idea he repeatedly suggested during his campaign, and which his transition team continues to discuss — then I will be the first in line when the government officials come to Midland. I will stand with my Muslim brothers and sisters not simply because it is the just action. I will stand with my Muslim neighbors because I believe in what they believe and I love them as kindred souls.

By whatever name we use, each of us experiences transcending mystery and wonder during our lives. Regardless of our culture, each of us faces opportunities to renew our spirits and guide us on our path toward enlightenment. Our current national climate will test our resolve to love unconditionally, and it is up to each of us to rise to that challenge.

What Do I Do?

/ uurevjeff

On the Saturday morning after the election, members of my congregation and others joined together to draw chalk love notes on the Jefferson Avenue sidewalk. A small gesture – one unlikely to impact Trump America much – but a meaningful effort for some.

As hundreds of cars and trucks drove by, I knew that people saw us. We made a public statement against the hate this election released. People feeling scared and vulnerable in the wake of hundreds of examples of bigotry and violent intimidation could see that some of us oppose this rhetoric of division.

Amidst the smiles and waves, however, one passing driver shattered the mood of solidarity. One cowardly shout of “F*** Black Lives!,” reminded me that our effort was not an art project; not an insignificant public service message supporting love and acceptance. With three words, a bully thoughtlessly yelling at children drawing with chalk reminded me that our actions were a doorway, an opportunity to walk in another’s shoes.

As a white person, I never feared the police. As a man, I never shook with terror as slavering eyes pawed my body with rage-filled lust. As a cisgender male, I never trembled while walking to my car followed by a gang of overgrown boys looking to prove their manliness. As a U.S. citizen, I never imagined the terror of uniformed men ripping me from the loving arms of my family and casting me into a windowless prison. Even as a non-Christian, I cannot suffer the venomous revulsion others feel toward Muslims and Jews.

I can only imagine, and will never really ‘know’ how these things feel. I can only know the sorrow, the helpless witness of a growing power structure that supports violence and discrimination against People of Color, women, LGTBQ, immigrants, and non-Christians in America. I brim with frustration that I cannot ‘fix’ my country. I bemoan my inability to cure this plague of white, male, straight, U.S. born, Christian privilege in my homeland.

In the wake of the election, incidents of unthinkable cruelty occurred in our schools, our workplaces, and our public spaces. Assaults, beatings, and people made to feel unspeakable terror at the hands of their neighbors. Even Midland did not escape unscathed from these expressions of intolerance. In response, some allies began wearing safety pins as a sign that they were a ‘safe’ person, someone who would stand with the victims unleashed by simple-minded demagoguery. We hoped that this small symbol would send a subtle, but powerful signal to our community that we will not tolerate verbal and physical abuse of marginalized peoples.

No sooner had this movement begun, however, when critics expressed doubts about its sincerity, about the true commitment of the pin wearers to commit when needed. After all, white people largely elected Donald Trump as President. Why should non-white people trust them to put themselves at risk?

So, what do I do? Do I wear a safety pin or not? I do not support the racism, misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia acting out on our national stage today. But I am one person. I am afraid, too. I do want to help; I just don’t know how.

You ask yourself questions. If I see a man berating a Muslim woman for wearing her hajib, will I stand by her and share the verbal attack? If I see children chanting “Build the Wall!” will I silence them and scold them for their insensitive attack? If I see a man grab a woman forcibly by her most private area, will I speak up and put my body between the two to protect her? I see a gang of homophobes beating a trans-person. Will I shout at them and come to the victim’s defense?

Until it happens, you cannot know the answers. Until faced with actual physical danger, you cannot know how you will react. There is nothing wrong with that. Self-preservation is a powerful instinct.

Self-preservation is a luxury of privilege
If you are white, you have the luxury of always trusting the police. If you are a man, you have the luxury of never fearing attacks by rapists. If you are heterosexual, you have the luxury of entering any business and knowing you will receive service. If you are a natural-born citizen, you have the luxury of sleeping each night knowing that you are safe from a government-sponsored home invasion. If you are Christian, you have the luxury of living in a country where your morals go unchallenged and your beliefs earn you protection.

The day following the election, November 9, commemorated the anniversary of Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass. On this day in 1938, Nazi military and paramilitary forces, joined by citizens, destroyed or damaged 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses, wrecked 1,000 synagogues, and killed hundreds of Jews. With rare exceptions, the German people uttered no protests. Few stood by the Jews and other targets of Nazi rage. The churches and universities stood mute. Judges acquiesced. Doctors and nurses complied. A nation watched as thugs kicked friends and neighbors to the street, rounded them up, and shipped them to concentration camps.

Protected status is a luxury of privilege
One by one, the government singled out groups: Jews; political opponents; gays and lesbians; emigrants; Romani; Jehovah’s Witnesses; and other “defilers.” The people responsible for electing their leader turned their backs, and others hid behind their privileges of religious belief, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and racial identification. Facing little opposition, the nation’s leaders began to change the rules of society. They normalized the abrogation of human rights and welcomed intimidation and violence as tools to enforce the new order.

I pray that history cannot repeat itself in America. But the rhetoric is there; hate groups roam emboldened; and our leadership possesses the raw arrogance to use the enormous power of this nation without concern for the very human consequences.

So what do we do? We refuse to accept these ideas as ‘normal.’ When someone threatens to hurt a minority group, believe them. Don’t rationalize, don’t intellectualize. Take them at their word…and resist. The enemy we face is not radical Muslim extremism. The enemy threatening our American way of life is radical American extremism. The precepts of radical American extremism teach that putting more wealth in the hands of the rich will improve the economy for all; that making white people feel more secure will improve everyone’s safety; that limiting the rights of women and gays reflects the will of God; and that building a wall will preserve the privileged status we earned merely by being born.

The American Dream is a luxury of privilege
Of course, you worked hard to get to where you are. But have others worked just as hard, even harder, and received fewer rewards? Why? Was your skin color a factor? Your gender identity or sexual orientation? Your citizenship status? Your religious beliefs? There is a reason the lead characters in Horatio Alger’s stories of the American Dream were all young white boys.

This election unleashed radical American extremism, freeing it from restrictions imposed by civilized behavior. Not surprisingly, white supremacists, Klansmen, and other hate mongers now rise and walk without shame, seeking to redefine our national strength as white strength, straight male strength, Christian strength, and ‘pure-blooded’ strength. This election affirmed one modern version of concentration camps – for-profit prisons selectively incarcerating generations of men of color and immigrants who simply followed the footsteps of our own ancestors who built this nation. Groundless fears of voter fraud fueled the passage of laws denying millions of citizens their right to take part in this election. How soon before our government requires that Muslims register and sew the Crescent on their clothes?

Wearing a safety pin sends the message that you considered all of this and still want to help. It means taking the stand we will not recognize discrimination and intolerance as American values. That means confronting bigots – some of whom may be friends or relatives – and making them feel marginalized for behaving in ways that do harm.

Wearing a safety pin shows your willingness to lean into your own discomfort. Read the works of marginalized peoples and explore your own feelings of fragility. Resist the urge to take offense and fight the decades of programming telling us that our way is the only right way.

Wearing a safety pin means putting your privilege of self-preservation, of protected status, and the American Dream on the table and accepting the outcomes. A safety pin is not a passive, colored ribbon of support. A safety pin is a promise – your promise to actively resist racism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, and religious hatred.

I make that promise gladly and proudly. I invite you to join me.

Back in the Saddle

/ uurevjeff

The pizzatorium is open for business again.  I completed a sabbatical over the summer, providing a long-needed break from commentary and agitation. Sadly, the causes demanding attention have not gone away – many have actually worsened.

For much of the fall, I watched the campaign of our now fascist-elect with disbelief.  As a student of the German state of mind in the Nazi era, I could not bring myself to believe that Americans would elect someone like Donald Trump.  And like almost everyone, I trusted the polls that never gave his campaign a chance to succeed.

The unthinkable has happened.  Why is no longer relevant.  What we do now is critical.

The time for sitting on the sidelines is over.  My path is clear.  As a minister possessing most of the categories of privilege this society offers, I must speak out and act up.  The clarion call must resound and signal the need for action.

In the coming months, I intend to be relentless in calling out hypocrisy and raising up opportunities to stand as allies with the legion of people threatened by this regime.  As Rachel Maddow says, “Watch this space.”

A Crisis of Leadership…and Faith

/ uurevjeff

People of faith across Michigan find themselves wrestling with the ongoing revelations that state officials knowingly allowed the poisoning of the people of Flint without warning for more than a year. Every day, more information shows us that Gov. Rick Snyder’s appointees sacrificed the health and well-being of thousands of citizens recklessly, perhaps immorally. As we learn more, we must cope with our immediate response to the crisis while at the same time discerning its cause.

In his State of the State address last Tuesday, Gov. Snyder apologized and vowed to fix the problem. Rep. Gary Glenn told us to accept his apology and move on, a sentiment I share. We should forgive Gov. Snyder and those who reported directly to him responsible for this heinous act. We should not let our feelings of betrayal and outrage lead us to lash out against politicians who may have — somehow — believed they were serving the public interest.

We should release the anger we feel toward Gov. Snyder and his appointees so that the work of reconciliation can begin. As people of faith, however, forgiving Gov. Snyder does not mean that we will not seek justice for the people of Flint. Every child who drank the lead-contaminated water will live the rest of their lives suffering the effects of their poisoning. People made intentional decisions that exposed those children to vile pollution. And they must be held accountable.

The acts resulting in the destruction of the water supply of Flint and the ongoing exposure of its people to toxic, perhaps fatal chemicals, were a sin against every human moral belief system. Whether you are Christian or Muslim, Buddhist or Jew, Atheist or Pagan, the decisions that allowed Flint’s children to be poisoned were unthinkable and evil. And justice demands that those responsible be held accountable for their actions according to the laws of our land.

Consider this comparison. You hire a trusted contractor to build a playground for your children. The contractor completes the task, but knowingly uses rotted wood and rusty nails without telling you. Eventually, the playground collapses, injuring your children permanently. The contractor apologizes and holds you in his prayers. Then he asks for your trust and assures you that he will fix the playground.

We cannot know the nature of eternal mysteries of creation and goodness in the universe. We cannot presume to understand what consequences Gov. Snyder’s actions will inflict on his soul. Therefore, we should leave moral punishments to the Spirit of Life and Love that we call by many names.

We can, however, determine to what extent he and others violated the law and deal with them as we would anyone accused of crimes. If the deaths due to Legionnaire’s Disease were attributable to decisions made by Gov. Snyder and his appointees, then they should be charged with those negligent homicides. Anyone complicit in the poisoning of children should be indicted for the appropriate crimes. And those involved in hiding or covering up knowledge of these actions should be held as co-conspirators. This is not “finger-pointing.” This is a call for justice and for the fair application of our laws to all, whatever their position in our society.

This investigation will also bring to light the many instances of corruption resulting from this governor’s application of the emergency manager law. We must examine its overtly racist application to cities with large minority populations, wherein citizens have been deprived of their democratically-elected representation. We must consider whether our state’s experiment with temporary totalitarianism has been a colossal failure and determine how our cities can survive sustainably in a 21st century environment.

Perhaps most important, as Rep. Glenn reminds us, we must “invest ourselves in finding solutions.” I could not agree more. So I call on you, Rep. Glenn, to take the lead on local relief efforts for our neighbors to the south. Perhaps you could negotiate with local businesses and corporations to provide regular truckloads of water at discounted rates to which we all could contribute. You could sponsor emergency legislation to bolster Flint’s public schools, medical services and civic infrastructure to begin their long path back to health. And, most important Mr. Glenn, show us your leadership by demanding a repeal of the emergency manager legislation and a comprehensive investigation into the actions of this governor and his appointees.

The opportunity for us to live the shared principles of our various faiths lies before us. We need leadership willing to let go of partisan loyalties and commit to the citizens of Michigan. And we need leaders with the courage to show us the way toward justice for the people of Flint.

(originally published January 24, 2016)

Our Souls

/ uurevjeff

Catholic or Protestant, Muslim or Jew, Buddhist or Hindu, Pagan or Agnostic. Whatever your faith or religious belief, you possess morality. And that morality has a source from which you discern right from wrong.

For many, that source of our morality connects integrally to the essence of our being. Some call this our soul. Whatever you name that force that defines “you” sets you apart as unique, special and wonderful. One of the true wonders of humanity lies in those small, special differences that make us each one of a kind.

At the same time, we can come together with like-minded souls — people with whom we share concepts of morality and its sources. And so many of us belong to churches, temples, mosques and other houses of faith. These religious communities can be fonts of great strength and support. However, they can also divide us when sources of faith calcify into rigid dogma and believed truths.

Midland contains over 100 Christian churches. This fact mystifies non-Christians, who cannot understand how so many different interpretations of the teachings of Jesus can exist and manifest themselves in wholly separate communities. What is the difference between a Presbyterian and a Methodist, a Lutheran and a Baptist? And what separates the dozens of congregations not affiliated with any of the traditional Protestant denominations?

We know some of the distinctions involve ritual practices and internal governing structures. One church may interpret particular scriptures differently enough from another that worshiping together would be problematic. But many of us would be hard pressed to explain to others why we segregate ourselves on Sunday morning into 100 different buildings searching for the same things — fellowship, support, hope, love — things that everyone desires, whether they belong to a religious community or not.

As a result of this fragmentation, we find it hard to come together when needed to address matters that affect us all. Whatever our beliefs regarding the source of our morals, there are times when we should be able to unite in agreement against mutual wrong, against evil so clear that all would support its opposition.

We face such an evil right now, here in Michigan.

Barely one hour away, one hundred thousand people have been poisoned, permanently harmed by their drinking water. This poisoning resulted not from a natural catastrophe, but from decisions made by men — men whose morality varied tremendously from our social norms. These decisions derived from a source that is not any god or sacred gift of goodness and grace. The men, women and children of Flint were poisoned by people who worship an unholy god — a god of money, a god of corruption, a god of racial hatred.

The people of Flint hurt. Already long-suffering, our neighbors feel betrayed and abandoned, powerless and hopeless. The people we helped elect knew they were poisoning a city and they did nothing. This governor and his appointees placed pipelines and profits over people. They played on your faith in them to care for and nurture our brothers and sisters in Flint to pursue a political and economic agenda that is growing more and more ugly as details emerge.

We are all praying for the people of Flint: the homebound elderly; the mothers and fathers; the children who have already suffered irreparable brain damage that may affect them for the rest of their lives. We should continue praying for our neighbors in Flint, and for everyone working to help them rebuild their damaged city.

But prayer is not enough. Charity is not enough. We must reclaim the road to Jericho from the thieves and robbers so that no more travelers end up dying in the ditch. As people of faith, we must unite against the idolaters and reclaim not only our own souls, but the soul of this state. We must tell Gov. Snyder that people matter more than privatization and profit.

To do this, we must look to the source from which these men derived their sense of values and expose it to the light of love.

  • The emergency manager law violates the most core tenet of our republic — representation of the people by those elected by the people. We must demand that the politicians in Lansing repeal this law and return democracy to this state.
  • The conjoined twin of the emergency manager law is vile racism — the belief that some people are inherently superior to others. Every person has worth and dignity and no one who believes otherwise should be creating laws, whether their hatred is based on race, ethnicity, immigrant status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or any other distinction. We must demand the resignation of bigots who cannot legislate fairly and equally.
  • State officials must be held accountable to their public service mission. The mission of the Department of Environmental Quality states that this agency is “dedicated to protecting human health and to preserving a healthy environment. The DEQ exemplifies environmental stewardship and affirms that a healthy environment is critical to our social, cultural and economic well-being.” Without accountability, such statements represent cruel perversions and indifference. Any staff or appointee who knew of this poisoning and did nothing must be fired.
  • Accountability can only occur when investigations into truth are impartial and unbiased. Appointing a prosecutor with known financial ties to the principle subject of the investigation tells us that our Attorney General seeks neither truth or impartiality. We must demand an impartial federal investigation into the poisoning of Flint.
  • Even impartial investigations require transparency. This governor’s expressions of remorse ring insincere when he continues to shield himself from requests for pertinent information. We must demand complete disclosure in this and all matters of governance.
  • And the core source of all of these problems? A philosophy of selfishness and greed expounded by entities like the Mackinac Center, a soulless organization devoted to helping the wealthy retain and increase their riches while the people starve, struggle for homes and jobs, and now suffer the loss even of usable drinking water. The pundits of the Mackinac Center have turned Flint into a third world country, and we must disavow their amoral teachings. We must refute these corruptions of capitalism and democracy and steer our ship of state to a port where people are never poisoned for corporate gain.

The soul of our state hangs over a fiery precipice. If we stand mute, then all of our Sunday sermons and prayers mean nothing; all of our creeds and principles ring hollow. We have elected men into office who have already sold their souls to golden idols. We must place no more faith in their ability to govern and make decisions for us or our neighbors.

Our brothers and sisters in Flint lie bleeding along the road and we must help them now. We must lift them up, bind their wounds, and see to their needs. This means not just bottled water and filters, but immediate replacement of pipes destroyed by chemical and political corruption. This means routing state money to Flint today to restore what was taken from that city. And it means ensuring that nothing like the evil inflicted on our neighbors ever happens again.

(originally published January 30, 2016)