I wonder if I am the only one to notice the expansion and frequency of acts of cruelty in the U.S. since Donald Trump was in office. And sadly, I’ve seen that much of the nastiness is among professed Christians, represented by a political party that claims to be all about “family values”. But when did family values ever condone separating children from their parents to deter immigration? What part of the family values mindset refuses lunches to school-age children living in poverty or debt relief to struggling citizens while allowing business debts to be forgiven uncontested? What thinking in family values disregards the emotional and physical health of women with ill-conceived or malfunctioning pregnancies? What family values mentality denies children the right to learn about history, science, and the actual diversity of the human race? And when did family values ever include denying access to clean drinking water for entire communities of color?
The Republican Party and their white Christian nationalist have made it clear that certain lives and families do not matter. However, since Trump, they are taking their disregard and distain for others to a whole new level: unabashed cruelty. There is a Bible proverb that reads, “The merciful man does good for his own soul. But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh” (Proverbs 11:17). Mercy is an act of compassion shown towards people to whom you own nothing. It is undeserved favor. It is kindness extended to someone who needs it. Cruelty on the other hand is pouring salt into someone’s wound. It is the ruthless and inconsiderate infliction of pain and suffering onto others.
This past week, Governor Ron DeSantis flew fifty migrants, not illegal aliens, but legal asylum-seeking people, across the country to the island vacation town of Martha’s Vineyard without notice to anyone on the island of their arrival. What’s worse is that he lured these vulnerable people onto the plane with false promises of housing and jobs while also providing them with inaccurate information about how to maintain their tenuous immigration status. The information given would have disqualified them from pursuing legal residence in United States. In addition, some of those sent on the plane had hearings scheduled in other states as early as Monday morning. It bothers me that the news only depicts his actions as a political stunt to gain attention, when in fact his actions show a blatant and cruel disregard for the lives of the people he dumped in Martha’s Vineyard under false pretenses. Thankfully, his ploy to frighten, stun, or anger the residents of Martha’s Vineyard failed as they united to choose mercy. They clothed, provided food and shelter, and secured free legal advice to the newcomers. I’m sure that their souls are feeling good about now. I trust in the Lord to avenge the cruelty of Ron DeSantis. And I hope the voters are taking note. But there are others who are delving into that same bowl of cruelty.
As Disney and other media companies finally make attempts to be inclusive of a wide range of skin colors in their story characters, racist white people are losing their minds. I noticed the dark-skinned people in the new “Lord of the Rings” prequel and jokingly remarked to my husband that they must have undergone a mass extinction because they were absent in the earlier movies. But their reaction was pure vitriol. Of course, these changes on screen are an attempt on the part of the producers to right a past wrong. I found it interesting that the amount of anger from the racists about “Lord of the Rings” was over-shadowed by the protests over Halle Bailey, a highly talented, black-skinned actress cast as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid”. In both cases, we are talking about fictional characters who do not exist in reality nor in actual history and the racists are up in arms over the inclusion of darker skinned humans. The joy we witnessed among young black girls who see themselves in Ariel must warm the hearts of those producers who had the power to show this little bit of mercy. The haters can keep losing sleep as their blood boils and they spew hatred from their mouths and their keyboards.
I’ve already written about the backlash I’ve received on my Facebook posts about being a better human. And many of these from professed Christian people. There is a scripture I recite to myself, and I hope others take it to heart as well. It says, “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). That verse is a nice compliment to the Proverb I’ve highlighted for today.
As much of the world mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth, many are reminded of the past cruelty of the British Empire throughout the world. Many feel only bitterness and regret that Queen Elizabeth passed on the opportunity to issue formal apologies during her reign for the financial harm and for the many lives loss or ruined at the hand of her Empire. While she herself was not a cruel person and much of the harm preceded her reign, she failed in her lifetime to extend the mercy needed to acknowledge and help heal the festering wounds caused by those acts of human cruelty. I’m left wondering why she didn’t.
It’s a fact that humans have always had a cruel side. Acts of human cruelty are an everyday reality, and they seem to be expanding and becoming more frequent. However, humans are also capable of empathy and compassion which begats mercy. I’m going to be like those people on Martha’s Vineyard and those producers that are trying to be more inclusive. Each day, faced with the choice, I will choose mercy. I will not ignore cruelty because that is in fact a brand of cruelty itself. Each time I choose mercy, my soul becomes glad, and the world becomes a little bit better for someone else.