For many years, following each major election, I connected with the late Dr. Dorothy I. Height, Civil Rights Icon and Chair Emerita of the National Council of Negro Women, to get her perspective on the results. She had an amazing way of seeing the whole forest when most people could only see the trees. After the candidates I supported lost, I would complain to Dr. Height about how the candidates with compassion for the under-served were defeated and how little we would be able to accomplish for those at the bottom economically. She would look at me and say, in a quiet but absolutely confident voice, “Dr. Skinner, you can always work with whatever is available to do what God has called you to do.” She would then remind me of struggles past where God-fearing trailblazers like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others used whatever was available to help create a better world without the benefit of technology, social networking, and other resources we now enjoy.
Dr. Height, died just six months ago at the age of 98, so following the November election, I called another highly respected Civil Rights Icon and Elder Statesperson, Dr. Otis Moss. Dr. Moss is the former Pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, the same church that Dr. King pastored before he was assassinated. In a similar vein as Dr. Height, but in a booming voice that sounded like God speaking, Dr. Moss said, “Dr. Skinner, we have come through many stormy elections and battles in the past. We will come through this election and many more by God’s grace.”
Remembering the wise words of two amazing sounding boards, I reflected on the election where President Barack Obama and his party were badly beaten; and where those now leading the U.S. Senate vowed to ensure the defeat in 2012 of our nation’s first African American President. I pondered how a pro-life, social justice Christian and Democrat like me could turn the obstacles of the 2010 election into opportunities for the under-served.
Remembering the wise words of two amazing sounding boards, I reflected on the election where President Barack Obama and his party were badly beaten; and where those now leading the U.S. Senate vowed to ensure the defeat in 2012 of our nation’s first African American President. I pondered how a pro-life, social justice Christian and Democrat like me could turn the obstacles of the 2010 election into opportunities for the under-served.
The first opportunity I have is to view the election through the eyes of faith in an all powerful God. I firmly believe that absolutely nothing happens on earth without the knowledge and permission, though not necessarily the endorsement, of Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth. God is neither Democrat, Republican, nor Tea Party, and is more concerned about the character, attitude, and behavior modeled by those in the faith community than the election’s outcome. Over the past two years, since the election of President Obama, many in the faith community became more loyal to party labels and slogans than operating in a spirit of love, mutual respect and civility. The negative, shrill, name-calling and demonizing of opponents in this election was often so offensive and poisonous that it was hard to separate those from the faith community from others who never claimed to be.
The second opportunity I have is to embrace the love ethic of Jesus to care about every person I encounter, including in the political arena, in the same way that I care about myself. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. defined this ethic as agape love or the love that sees enemies as potential friends or colleagues. It is the kind of love that makes it totally unacceptable to demonize those from opposing political parties whose philosophies of government and core values differ from mine. Such a powerful, God kind of love leads me to pray for those who were elected on November 2nd – that any stony hearts against the needs of the under-served can be turned into hearts of compassion. At a minimum, it means that my dialogues and engagement with those from other political parties and points of view will be conducted with the utmost civility.
The third opportunity I have from this election is to become better organized and a more effective messenger, as I join forces with like-minded persons in future elections to advocate for the moral and social justice issues I care about. Some of these issues include justice and economic support for the poor and vulnerable; care for the elderly; protection of all life, both human and the environment; replacement of war with peace; and protection of marriage between a man and woman as I understand God’s word, without violating the fundamental civil and human rights of those with other viewpoints.
Viewed through the eyes of faith, the 2010 election has become for me, not an occasion for fear and anxiety about the future, but an open door to turn what appeared to be insurmountable obstacles into enormous opportunities.
Viewed through the eyes of faith, the 2010 election has become for me, not an occasion for fear and anxiety about the future, but an open door to turn what appeared to be insurmountable obstacles into enormous opportunities.
