“This is American”- an Untraditional View

The family of Ameria Garcia, one of the 19 school children who lost their lives in the Uvalde massacre, being interviewed on CNN Morning Show were asked pointed questions about their feelings of the day and what they were seeking going forward from the experience. It was hard for them to keep their emotions in check (as well as anyone watching it like me) as they focused on two specific issues in their response. First, how slow and reluctant authorities were in being forthcoming with details and responsibilities for the events of that fatal day. Second, they wanted assurances that the proper “fixes” will be in place before school opens again in a few weeks that would assure that this type of thing will not reoccur. The family went on to say they were participating in an organized “sit out” by parents keeping their kids out of school if the changes have not been made. Additionally, the mother was planning to go to Washington D.C. in hope of getting an audience with the President to ask what he could do to make it safe for their children in school. In the father’s appeal to fix this situation in Uvalde schools and in the schools in our nation he stated with respect to solving this dilemma: “This is not Democratic or Republican, this is American”. That is an appeal from a victimized family to set aside partisanship for the sake of the greater good. That is the traditional American view. That is not the view of America today.

If you have been keeping up with the evolution of information that has happened since the events of that day, you will have noticed first a blatant display of “covering tracks” for those responsible. There was a press conference held soon after the shooting chaired by the Texas Governor and sitting U.S. Senator (Ted Cruz) assuring the police response was effective and as well as could be expected in the saving of as many lives as possible. Since that time, the details reveal a slowly changing narrative regarding the response to the threat that day and confusion over who exactly was in charge. Subsequently, the police chief has resigned but still many questions remain with regard to the command, control, and the equipping of the tactical units responding that day. The latest development is the release of a partially edited video without sound taken in the school during the event, recording the police’s inactivity by waiting in the school hallway. Because this video did not include sound, the screams of children on the other side of the door cannot be heard. The argument is being made that the full video with sound should be released in the public domain because it is so horrific it would compel something be done to ever prevent something like this from happening again. This is the state of our nation when it comes to the topic of guns. In the words of Ameria’s dad “this is America”. A nation so polarized in our “blue vs. red” mentality that we lose site of the main reason for having our Constitution is to “form a more perfect Union” by such assurances as “ensuring domestic tranquility” and “promoting the general welfare” of our nation. We are so constrained over our arguments regarding one of the subsequent amendments on guns (2nd amendment) that we have lost site of the main purposes of the Constitution. Surely, we can agree that the parents and people of Uvalde DO NOT feel “assured of their domestic tranquility” nor DO THEY feel “their general welfare is being promoted”. Neither should any other families of the many recent mass murders in our country. Neither should any of us who take the whole Constitution into the context of being our constitutional rights and not simply selecting parts of it to debate on its own merits.

Pictured above is former Oath Keepers spokesperson, Jason Van Totenhave, who described the Oath Keepers as a para-military organization largely shaped in the image of its leader(s) with the purpose of achieving their objectives through violent para-military actions. It should be noted that in his testimony to the House select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol Van Totenhave could not define any specific objectives of the organization other than to take para-military action as deemed appropriate by its leadership. With regard to the activities on January 6, the stated objective was to “stop the steal” of a claimed fake election. The other note of importance in Van Totenhave’s testimony was that “he fears for the next election;” his point being he had every expectation that similar events could happen again. Meanwhile, the two prominent leaders of the Oath Keepers involved in the attack of the Capitol on January 6th have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and obstruction to an official proceeding and are facing up to 9 years in prison and up to $300,000 in fines. So, regardless of the criminal prosecutions to date for the events of January 6th and seven provocative hearings of the House select committee investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol, the political popularity of the ex-president presiding over the events of that day remains almost as strong as it was on the day of the attacks. It was also announced recently that the former president will soon begin his re-election campaign. The state of our nation is such that this former president who was twice impeached and now is complicit in facilitating an event that caused destruction of federal property, injury and death to others is poised to pursue re-election. This is also without regard to the fact that because of his direct involvement in the events of January 6th our nation came perilously close to having the election process dismantled, which is the heart of our democracy, nearly sending our nation into governing chaos by declaring “martial law” and weaponizing the “Oath Keepers” as a lethal force. Nevertheless, this former president is poised to run for re-election with a majority support from one of our nation’s political parties and its leaders. “This is American” as defined today as well. This is not the view of traditional America. We have clearly moved to a different place in our country, never before experienced.

On January 27, 1838, Lincoln spoke before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, about “the perpetuation of our political institutions”. During that address, he said: “At what point then is the approach of danger expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.” (Posted by Ciara O’Rourke July 26, 2019, featured on Facebook June 29, 2022). Apparently, Mr. Lincoln knew what he was talking about so many years ago. “This is American” today – on a path to commit suicide.

I believe it is time for the people of faith to speak out. I encourage every pastor, teacher and faith community leader to start addressing the divisions in our nation. I believe the solution to the division in our nation resides with the faith communities, but they must begin talking to one another. Evangelical communities of faith must reach across denominational lines and begin discussing middle ground of faith for the greater good of our country. Christian communities of faith must begin reaching out to Jewish, Islamic and other communities of faith for the greater good of our country. Why? Because every community of faith in our nation is protected by the same Constitution to freely practice their respective faith without interference from the government. We must defend that right as vigorously as we defend our gun rights, our right to “choose”, and our right to have a free and fair election for our democratic government. If we sacrifice these rights on the altar of autocracy, soon to follow will be our freedom of religion, our right to worship as we believe without threat or compromise. If it comes to that, where will we be as communities of faith without the ability to openly practice our faith? “This is American” – we still have the freedom to speak out when our liberties are threatened. This is also a tenet of our faith. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13,14) Faith unifies, it doesn’t cause division. Faith replaces fear. Faith produces strength in humility, courage with love. Our nation is desperate for that type of voice. People of faith, we need to start exercising our faith for the greater good to bring our country together, not using our doctrinal differences to further divide our nation. Let’s begin by reaching out to each other through our local ministries and churches. Contact organizations like Multi-Faith Neighbors Network (https://mfnn.org) and others to begin talking. For the sake of our nation and our own faith.