#CHARLOTTESVILLE

A few years ago Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright included in one his sermons the notion of God "Damning"  America and folks such as Sean Hannity and others were apoplectic over Rev. Wright's commentary. I listened as Hannity and others maligned Barack Obama for the "crowd he associated himself with"  over and over again. They marveled that the Obamas could sit under this man and listen to such rhetoric. As with most cases, the message was lost as what Rev. Wright said in the message was taken out of context.

One dictionary definition of the word Damn is to be condemned by God to suffer eternal punishment in hell. Well, truth be told, there are times when it seems like America has been condemned by God based on her treatment of too many of her citizens who do not look a certain way or have a certain complexion or ethnic background.  The good news is God gives a way out of the "damning" in 2 Chronicles 7:14 where He says "If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."  We haven't humbled ourselves or turned from our wicked ways, therefore, our land has not been healed.

Interestingly enough,  Many Americans have partnered in this damning. I'm sure many of you are asking, "What do you mean by that?" Let's take a look at this last election, what the results said and how it all connects to what we are witnessing in Charlottesville as I write this post. Upon learning on November 9, 2016, that Donald J. Trump had actually won the presidency, I was literally waiting for Rod Serling to come out and let me know that I had indeed entered the Twilight Zone. If one is honest and forget about "left" and "right," one would have to admit that we have had many Twilight Zone experiences since January 20, 2017.

Donald Trump's election to the presidency immediately reminded me of  1 Samuel, Chapter 8 in the Bible where Israel asks for a King against the advice and wishes of Samuel. In fact, God tells Samuel
"Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."  I encourage you to look up and read the entire chapter [1 Samuel 8] for yourself as we also see the consequences that God details that will happen as a result of their having this king that they wanted so badly.  Consequences (I'm somewhat paraphrasing), such as the taking of sons and appointing them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen.  The making of instruments of war, while taking daughters [grabbing them by their pussies] to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. The best fields and vineyards will be taken through eminent domain and given to his children along with a tenth of your income to give to his cabinet/administration. He will take the best immigrants who can pass the latest immigration process and put them to his [menial] work which will ultimately exacerbate the economic "Haves" and the "Have Nots."  Go ahead, pick up a Bible (notice I did not say "your Bible," as I do not want to assume) and find 1 Samuel Chapter 8 and read it in its entirety and see if I am making this up. Parallel what is going on then to what is going on now.  In essence, the people of that time damned themselves just as we have damned ourselves.

The cartoon above accurately depicts the seeds that were sown during the election campaign and yet we as a country with our votes said this is what we wanted; sexism, bigotry, fear, vulgarity, hate, division, racism, and violence. Heck, we get that on a daily basis in the White House, so why would we expect anything less outside of it. The one credit I do give and will continue to give Donald J. Trump is the fact that he did not put on an act when he was running for president. The same Donald Trump we witnessed when he was campaigning was the same Donald Trump that he has always been. To get a flavor of what I am saying, I encourage you to read The Truth About Trump by Michael D'Antonio. Trump's playbook has not changed since his childhood. All of what we are seeing has been his Modus operandi (M.O.) since his childhood and yet we elected that. In short, we damned ourselves and thus my premise.

I cannot in this post list all of the foolishness that has gone on since Trump's taking of office as it is too long, however, Charlottesville is the latest in this never ending saga of which this post is about. Sadly, in America, what we are seeing in Charlottesville is not new, it is only rearing its head publicly and boldly because the participants feel empowered by who is at the helm. In fact, according to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke:

“This represents a turning point for the people of this country,” said Duke in video uploaded to Twitter by Indianapolis Star photojournalist Mykal McEldowney. “We are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believed in, that’s why we voted for Donald Trump. Because he said he’s going to take our country back. That’s what we gotta do.”

I don't believe Duke is far off base with his thoughts. It would likely be safe to say that this bunch rallying in Charlottesville is a part of the 39 to 40 percent of those making up Trump's current approval rating.

What we are witnessing in Charlottesville is reminiscent of a short sixty-five or so years ago. In my mind, the difference is that the latter Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Zers are not going to subscribe to Gandhi and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s methodology of nonviolence. Personally, I do not believe that this group is going to just sit and take a beat down. This group does not have the discipline or the patience for that. In other words, folks will have a fight on their hands. Sadly, this is exactly what too many are hoping for. The White Nationalists were looking for a reason and the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in their mind was a perfect launch site.

We have not learned yet that hatred cannot and will not win. Evil may have its time, but in the end, good will triumph over evil. Light will always trump (no pun intended) darkness.  Hatred only begets more hatred. The whole notion of supremacy is and has always been rooted in hatred and will not stand. There is only one race and that is the Human Race. We all bleed the same color blood and feel the same emotions. We all want to be loved, recognized and appreciated. We ought to be celebrating what our differences bring to the table instead of using the differences as something to separate us or see them [differences] as something negative or bad. Historically, each group has contributed intellectually and physically to the making of America and to the rest of the world for that matter. But too many would not know that because the contributions of those who do not look a certain way or have a certain complexion have been intentionally left out of the history books.

I could go on and on, but I won't. When do we as human beings wake up? When do we learn that we must indeed work together as brothers or perish together as fools? Charlottesville is taking us back into the foolishness which ultimately will lead to us all perishing.