Extricate!

Ali Baba doesn't know this yet, but I'm reprinting his comment on the "Excommunicate!" series of posts because I think it sums up - theologically - a vital argument that I skimmed over. In this series I have been trying to hammer home the difference between a politician and a Christian. Plenty of things can be justified, even the controversial vote, as Gandhi's comment suggests. But Ali shows ably that Christians must seek the most godly course, not a politically-motivated-but-religiously-justifiable one.

The most important thing for me to remember about racism is that as a white man in the US I have never experienced [it] and never will. Especially in this case, I must defer to how African Americans feel about the clause in question. If African Americans claim it makes them feel inferior, unwanted, oppressed, or any other negative adjective they choose to use, my first response as a Christian shouldn't be, "Get over it. It's not a big deal." It most certainly shouldn’t be, "But then I’ll have to fund public education."

The fact of the matter is African-Americans see the wording of the Alabama Constitution as a reminder of the racism they encountered in the past and, to a lesser degree, the more subtle forms of racism they encounter in the present. Naturally, they want to change it. If I take the commands to "love my neighbor as much as I love myself" and "treat others in the same way I want to be treated" to heart, my love would be manifested in supporting their efforts.

My love to them is expressed by supporting the amendment, not questioning their motives. And even if their motives are shaky (as Parker suggests), it doesn't relieve me of my duty to love them just because I'm going to end up paying more in taxes. Moreover I'd take the command of Jesus to "do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you" to mean that despite the motives of a few I'm better off joining with the vast majority who see this as a simple measure of acknowledging and repudiating a racist past.

I show Christ's love and represent Him on earth by voting to ease my neighbor's painful memories of a racist past [rather] than [by] whining about what it might cost me to do that.

Thanks Ali!