Seeds Will Grow

I do not advocate violence. I believe in loving and praying for our enemies – in looking for creative ways to serve them and work for the common good. I share what I do below simply for your prayerful consideration.

“I think the bigger problem is the ‘enemy from within,’ not even the people who have come in and are destroying our country… We have some very bad people. We have some sick people. Radical left lunatics. And they should be very easily handled by – if necessary by national guard – or if really necessary, by the military… We have two enemies. We have the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within. And the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia, and all these countries… The harder to handle are the enemies inside…”
-Current male, US Presidential candidate

When a man speaks of turning the military against fellow citizens with whom he disagrees politically, please know this is not a drill. This is how authoritarian leaders talk. This is how authoritarian leaders act. This is how authoritarian military rule or civil war begins. [There are striking similarities to how Hitler talked… but I know many of you can’t even imagine – and I don’t want to either – such a reality.]

In the interview cited above and others, he names some of his political opponents by name. In many others, he names entire groups of people that he would scapegoat. [And, I’ve spoken with Americans who find some comfort in that kind of “rhetoric,” which deeply saddens me that we’re so self-absorbed that we cannot imagine or do not care about the impact on entire communities different from us…]

Note that he is calling these people enemies. Not fellow Americans. Not fellow citizens. Not reasonable, thinking, concerned public servants with whom he can work for the good of America. Not even human beings. Instead, they are “lunatics” and “evil.”

If you’ve not had the misfortune to be scapegoated as the “evil” group or live close enough to someone who was so scapegoated under leadership willing to resort to militarized violence – consider reading this blog post from a Korean American, reflecting on Korea’s past and the blood that was shed of innocent people because entire groups were scapegoated in the lead up to the Korean War.

Sadly, I notice this candidate uses fear of others to motivate people consistently, promising himself as the hope to remove the fear. Humans do very, very terrible things when motivated by fear. I’ve lived in multiple nations actively ruled by military juntas – and multiple nations recovering from decades of authoritarian leadership and civil war. My friends from these nations recognized this candidate a long time ago – before his first Presidency – they recognized him from a distance as a leader like authoritarian leaders they had known. This is why my husband is so confused and frustrated by the support this leader receives.

(If you’re still not convinced of the dangers of this “rhetoric” – or if you’ve not heard the Presidential candidate say those things, here’s the video of the interview I cited above – and a Newsweek article comparing this rhetoric to Hitler. The video and article are by no means exhaustive of this kind of rhetoric…)

I want America to be better. More beautiful. Noble. Just. Generous. Good. I’m not saying we are not any of those things, nor am I under illusions that a human leader is fully responsible to make that happen. But, I pray that we the people will choose a leader that makes it more likely – helps to lead us to a society, in the words of Peter Maurin, “where it’s easier to be good.”

America, we have a choice.

“God is love.”
“Perfect love casts out fear.”
“He who lives in love, lives in God and God in him.”

“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.”

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Then you will be able to test and discern what God’s will is — God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will.”