I asked myself this week why we collectively allow so many greedy, self-serving, unethical, and ignorant people to lead us. Too many of the leaders in our churches, media, and government today are literally leading us on a path toward death and destruction and we are allowing it. Are we really just sheep? Do we really trust charismatic personalities even when their protestations defy reason? Are we really so caught up in our busy schedules that we don’t notice the dangerous path we are on? Or are we too confused, too tired, too gullible, or just too passive to put any energy into selecting better leaders?
How many COVID-19 deaths, how many mass shootings, how many power outages, collapsing bridges, police shootings, voter suppression laws, extreme weather events, food lines, and racists attacks will it take for us to collectively demand leaders who actually address our pressing problems? Instead, I’m watching in dismay as many Americans follow the familiar name or the most loud and obnoxious voices who play to tribal fears of being replaced by minorities, whether ethnic, religious, or sexually different. Too many Americans have embraced these unfounded fears instead of demanding that their leaders address our actual problems we are facing. It is infuriating that we’ve been collectively unwilling to oust those who have shown us that they will do nothing to address our problems. I’m calling out conservative media hosts, unhinged pastors, and politicians like senators Ted Cruise and Mitch McConnell who both won re-election.
I watched in horror this week as Republican Representative Jim Jordan argued with Dr. Fauci over the notion that personal liberty is more important than public health. How much freedom can a dead person exercise? The loud and obnoxious confrontation was absurd and Jim Jordan has absolutely no business representing human lives if he can’t appreciate the fact that COVID-19 has killed more than 560,000 Americans and threatens to kill more if we do nothing. Perhaps he likes the idea that the majority of those dead are poor, elderly, and people of color. There seems to be a hidden agenda among some Republicans. My guess is that conservative media wants to make money while these unhinged ego-driven pastors seek the power, fame and money that comes with growing their congregations.
While I am for thoughts and prayers, they do nothing to get to the root of the problem we have in this nation with easy access to firearms. Almost daily, we watch in horror as high powered, rapid fire weapons are used to take the lives of innocent people at work, out shopping, at school, in theaters, enjoying a concert, or as we experienced here, in a dance club. And again, Republican leaders and conservative media behave like easy access to guns is more important than public health, especially if those gun owners are white. I’m not ignorant of that reality. While the majority of Americans want to control access to guns with background checks and eliminating weapons of war, Republican lawmakers won’t do it. Could it be that they are preparing for a race war? It seems so much more likely after Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene announced the creation of an Anglo-Saxon congressional caucus to protect Anglo-Saxon traditions. We must finally admit to ourselves that we have white nationalists in our midst who are infiltrating our evangelical churches, our media outlets, our police forces, our military, and now our government.
History has shown us what happens when one ethnic group gains economic, political and military power over others. First comes stoking fear that minorities are a threat followed by widespread oppression of rights, and finally ethnic cleansing or genocide. It should not surprise us that the fear of people of color, religious minorities, and LGBTQ people is already circulating and growing to the point that many of these gunmen are targeting minorities.
If we do nothing, if we allow these Republicans to block gun control and restrict our access to voting so that white nationalist can continue to elect government officials like Jim Jordan, Ted Cruise, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, I truly believe American ethnic minorities and LGBTQ people will be led like sheep to the slaughter within the next twenty-five years. So, the bottom line is that we can’t afford to allow ourselves, nor our family and friends to continue being sheep.