I recently watched an episode of “Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes” that showed Oprah and her production team preparing to interview George W. Bush. Although I am not a fan of Bush’s policies and believe his administration did severe damage to this country and our reputation around the world, I was extremely glad to see Oprah’s team treat the former president with kindness and respect. She allowed his perspective of his years in office to modify her own point of view on some issues, and I was impressed that she read his book with an open mind. I think it’s a mistake to assume that he has nothing of value to share that we can all benefit from.
I was reminded of a radio interview I’d heard recently with Elizabeth Lesser, co-founder and senior adviser of the Omega Institute. She’s started a campaign, “Take the Other to Lunch”, encouraging people to sit down and have a meal with someone they saw as alien to themselves, to share their own beliefs and allow their lunch partner to do the same, the idea being that there is always something we can learn from people we fundamentally disagree with that will help make us better people. It requires humility to abandon the vain illusion of our own rightness and realize that none of us as individuals can clearly see the truth in its entirety. My husband bought a copy of George Bush’s book when it was released and it’s been sitting on my bookshelf, gathering dust. I think it’s about time I took it down and gave it a read.
It’s been over two years since Sarah Palin first stepped on the stage at the 2008 Republican convention and captivated the nation. And I have to confess, for some time I’ve disliked her immensely. Yes, I know I’m not alone, but since I make a point not to dislike someone merely because they have a different world view, I’ve thought long and hard about why Palin stirs up such intense emotions in me. Is it her anti-intellectual bent? Her fiery rhetoric? Her opposition to any and everything associated with Obama?
I cannot respect willful ignorance, and while the embrace of it not only harms the individual concerned, but society as a whole, it is scarcely a reason to hate. Many public figures have said far stupider things than Palin has, and I certainly do not despise them for it. As for her rhetoric, Palin is not the only politician to suggest the president has unsavory ties to terrorists and does not love America, or that health care reform would subject the elderly and disabled to death panels, or that there is a red, real America and a blue, fraudulent one. She is not the only one who’s used violent imagery to target opponents, or denied her political enemies credit for good intentions because they disagree with her about how to advance the country or best serve the interests of its people. No, she is not alone in all this, so again I had to ask myself, why reserve all of my ire for Sarah Palin alone?
After much thought I realized that I dislike Palin not because of her politics, but because of the obscene worship she inspires from people who should know better, namely fellow Christians. Sarah Palin’s relationship with many in the Christian community is unlike that of other right-wing stalwarts like Huckabee, Michelle Bachman, and Jim DeMint. Her followers see her not just as a charismatic and highly effective politician, but as a modern day savior sent by heaven to usher in a new spiritual movement to reconcile America back to God. I am repulsed by Palin not because she is both a political and personal fraud, but because she is a spiritual one.
What I find especially astounding is that any Christian who is familiar with the bible and the character of Jesus could be so easily fooled. Even a casual observer of her ferocious responses to criticism and attack, her provocative language, her eagerness to throw stones rather than give grace, should see that she is not following in the footsteps of Christ. Palin talks a great deal about God and her faith in her speeches and books, but Christians are admonished to judge men’s hearts by their fruit, not their words. I challenge any Christian who is an avid Palin fan to show me which fruits of the spirit she exhibits, even occasionally–love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Sarah Palin has masterfully manipulated the body of Christ for personal and political gain. The only time the bible records Jesus lashing out in anger was when he physically threw the money-changers out of the temple, telling them they’d turned the house of God into a den of thieves by deceiving the devout to make money. Jesus didn’t strike out against prostitutes, tax-collectors and unbelievers, but against religious men who distorted doctrine and the nature of God to profit and elevate themselves.
Recently I again had to take another step back and reassess my feelings about her. Yes, Palin seeks personal glory and adoration, but whose fault is it really that she has been so readily placed on the pedestal she seeks? I was reminded of the children of Israel who chose to worship a golden calf rather than the God who had so miraculously lead them out of Egypt. Why would they do this? What was so compelling about this inanimate figure that it would inspire praise and awe? The answer, of course, is nothing. The calf was an object of worship not because of any innate quality it possessed, but because it was a symbol of the peoples’ own greatness, after all it was made from melted treasures out of their own homes, they had fashioned it with their own hands, and so this glittering, golden idol was whatever they wanted it to be.
The calf was really an idealized reflection of themselves, a symbol of their self-love and self-adoration. Talk to anyone who is devoted to Palin, ask them why, and one of the things they will all tell you is, “because she’s just like me”. At some point Palin will be exposed and she will fall from grace, as all idols inevitably do, but I’ve come to realize that her true character is immaterial. Since Sarah Palin the brand, the national phenomenon, is merely the creation of those who have longed to exalt an idol made in their own image, without self-reflection and contrition they will only raise up another like her to take her place.
By now everyone has read all of the horrific details of gunman Jared Lee Loughner’s shooting spree at a Tucson town meeting, where he killed six people and wounded fourteen, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. While the criminal investigation continues, my hope is that we all take some time to think about what kind of country we want to live in and what our obligations are to each other. While no one besides Loughner is legally responsible for his violent behavior, we are all responsible to the God who created us for the words we say, the actions we take, and the effect we have on the lives of others. Very few people are so evil that they would intentionally incite violence. More often cruel or irresponsible rhetoric results from plain and simple self-centeredness. In our sensationalistic culture, gaining personal power, money, and notoriety only requires the willingness to spew offensive language for maximum effect, and the shamelessness to absolve oneself of the potential consequences.
Our society, by and large, rewards the provocateur. Some musicians make millions spouting lyrics that denigrate women and their own communities. They are applauded for their marketing acumen, especially if in their personal lives they are law abiding, married with children, and safely ensconced in gated communities. Nevermind the thousands of kids outside those gates who take their words as gospel. These artists will never know on this side of heaven how many acts of violence and incarcerations their words inspired. Politicians demonize their opponents to make sure their side opens their wallets and gets to the polls. Media personalities encourage racial animosity and fear to gain market share and sell advertising, causing even their critics to express grudging admiration for their ability to steer the public debate and build their brand. Off the air or away from the cameras they may be decent human beings, not carrying with them the anger and hatred they inflame in the hearts of others. But they cannot ultimately escape accountability for their self-serving manipulation of the trusting, the vulnerable, the deranged.
Perhaps as a society we tolerate this behavior because most of us see through the smoke and mirrors. Most of us realize they don’t really mean it, that it’s all for show. But God, if we choose to care what he thinks of us, holds us to a higher standard. People who purposely harm others are clearly in the wrong, but so are those who use their words to advance their own interests and further their own ambitions without concern for the welfare of those listeners who actually believe what they have to say.
I’ve added a new black heritage print for January, a picture of Harriet Tubman taken two years before her death at her home in Auburn, New York. You can purchase this new addition and view my other black heritage prints at angelabanks.com. You can learn more about Harriet Tubman here.
I’m reading this great book called Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. The book explores how and why we know things without knowing why we know them–the premise being that much of our decision-making is subconscious. It’s a fascinating read. At any rate, the author writes about a test called the IAT (Implicit Association Test). The test measures your reaction time while making various word associations in order to reveal your hidden prejudices. There are a number of different tests to reveal your unconscious biases about race, gender, age, skin-tone, weight, religion, etc. Before you start the Race IAT, it asks you about your conscious beliefs about race. Then after your complete the test, the results let you know if you have a slight, moderate or strong preference for whites or blacks. It’s difficult to describe how it works, but basically the test determines how easy or difficult it is for you to associate words like Evil, Nasty, Intelligent, Wonderful, etc. with one race or the other. It’s a scary test to take. We all want to believe we are race neutral, but the reality is that according to the test results, a large majority of whites and more than 50% of blacks more easily link the bad words with black people.
We are all products of our environment and life experiences, and what’s most important is that we don’t lie to ourselves and others about our weaknesses and struggles. My test results revealed that I have a moderate preference for blacks. Anyone who fancies themselves colorblind may be similarly surprised by their results. One of the saddest things I noticed was how closely I associated the word “Hurt” with whites. That’s the source of my prejudice, I think–an accumulation of the hurts over the years–and those wounds have obviously not healed as much as I’d thought. You can try the tests for yourself here. We all know that it’s wrong to make judgments about people based on the color of their skin, but being honest with ourselves and willing to see to what extent we fall short in this area honors God, and gives us an opportunity to decide to change and grow.
