On Kavanaugh & a Clarity for Moving Forward
This past weekend was the culmination of watching a show that I have already seen before.
As someone who loves political theater, the last two weeks were a reminder that you can have too much of a thing. I say too much of a thing and not a good thing because the term “good” is a subjective term. Something good can be harmful and satisfying simultaneously; So to use a vernacular phrase, what’s really good? I enjoy watching cable news and being overtaken by the drama of politics. However, the drama is the same performance every time. I am sure that I could benefit from watching less cable news; I can find more productive things to do aside from watching talking heads. But there is an even greater benefit to never entering the theater, to begin with. Falling for the habitual plotline of a people stirred by their altruistic desires to serve their country, only to be painfully reminded of how Whiteness and White supremacy are protected by those very people within our nation’s institutions, is damaging to the soul. Watching this rerun is an addiction that leads only to one’s own peril. Watching American politics is nothing more than watching Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind repeatedly. I expect America to do the right thing, but America made the show. It’s an act I keep falling for.
Last Friday, I fell victim to trusting Scarlett O’Hara to do the right thing. There is a reason America looked to Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski as the arbiters of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. At the conclusion of this latest drama, I was left with the only thing that seems to make the most sense: last Saturday, Lisa Murkowski was the 47% and Susan Collins was the 53%. Calls were made in the public square to continue to resist this administration and congressional Republicans while others called for a resignation of hope in what currently is. Some rejected those calls and agreed with Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley that opposition to Kavanaugh was the mob rule. I unapologetically reject those particular voices. However, what this conversation, and others like it in the public square, did for me is return my attention to the internal conflict that lies within. It’s a debate for my soul’s allegiance where the intellectual, emotional and spiritual spar with one another. Within me are competing agendas where both remain relevant. Winning isn’t a matter of destroying but rather a matter of converting. It is a debate between my Blackness and my Christian-ness. My Blackness does not negate my being a Christian and being a Christian does not negate my Blackness. However, each seemingly strives to take over the space that is my soul.
I don’t struggle with my identity as a Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ — I know without a shadow of a doubt that he died for my sins and the sins of humanity and I believe in the key tenets of the faith. The Holy Spirit dwells on the inside. Likewise, I don’t struggle with my identity as a Black man. I know and accept the history that shapes me and I accept the traditions that inform my existence. I know that I am part of a special family with norms, values, traditions and a culture that is proof of how Elohim can make something out of nothing. However, if I do struggle with anything, I struggle where these agendas intersect. Not because they don’t or cannot work together. But because during moments such as this, there is an internal debate within my inner man on how to reconcile and react to the actions of this nation. One the one hand, I recognize that I am a stranger; a pilgrim in a foreign land (1 Pet 2:11). I know that I am only passing through and that my destination is eternity with my Heavenly Father. I know that I am his imager to work in bringing forth his Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. I know that this earth is not my home. Yet I know the history of my people. I am aware that the mighty power this nation was fueled largely, if not primarily, by African slaves and their descendants who were also enslaved. This nation and the fruits thereof are as much mine and my offspring as it is to anyone else; if not more. I know the structuring of this nation at its founding. It was Audrey Lorde who said that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”
If I were being honest, I would say that at times like this, there is a battle that is reignited within me between these two agendas; struggling for preeminence. Like a classic prize fight, the rounds are split between the combatants as they philosophically wrestle for position in my heart (Prov 4:23); exchanging blows that are equally effective. That is until it is time to render a decision at the time when clarity is the necessary fuel for my moving forward. The decision is rendered and the scorecards are in favor of neither, but rather the cards are in favor of the Christ. Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2), not Christians as we know them. In fact, the term “Christian” was first designated to a group of people, who were of color, because the embodied the mission of preaching the gospel to all people. Jesus Christ executed justice and proclaimed his gospel for all of mankind. His word was revealed to the African enslaved who were victims of his word manipulated by their enslavers. His word was held as a mirror to America by the church during the civil rights movement that caused men and women to liberate and be liberated. His word resonates still; leading and loving that men and women continue to strive to bring forth Elohim’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
As I reflected on that, I was quickly reminded that the work and efforts of the Reverend Dr. William Barber II was rewarded with a Genius Grant. I was also reminded that LaQuan McDonald received justice with the conviction of Jason Van Dyke. Indeed, justice does live and it is rewarded. Yet I am aware that a thing can exist in a place where it may be unwelcome. Society has proved over time that justice can appear in an unjust world. This is the battle to be fought in the public square. This is why the Christ renders himself the victor within my soul. Because of my uniform (the skin that I am in) and my unique attributes that stem from the color of my skin; it is suitable for Elohim’s use. However, use of my personality is effective only with a heart change. That goes for anyone of us — no matter our race/ethnicity. Pastor Eric Mason said something profound in his new work, Woke Church:
“You have to be intrinsically changed by God in order for justice to be done. In other words, justice doesn’t come by legislation because you can’t legislate things and nothing changes. We can go to the executive branch. We can go to the legislative branch. We can go to the judicial branch. We can put in place whatever kind of Supreme Court justices we want in place. But at the end of the day, legislation doesn’t change hearts… only the gospel does.”
That truth sustains me during moments like these. While my feelings can take me in many directions, functioning in the spirit of the living God is the mandate. Functioning in that spirit is not abandoning one’s culture and background. Functioning in that spirit is embracing one’s own culture and background to tap into the power of Jesus to meet the needs of the people. It may sound corny, but it will take those who are converted by the gospel to serve the people by addressing individual needs and also challenging systems of oppression. Denying Merrick Garland the opportunity to sit on the Supreme Court was wrong. However, the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house — no matter who sits on the court. With that said, a conservative court isn’t for the people. So we must encourage people to protest, vote, and preach the gospel to change the hearts of the people. Legislation, executive orders, and judicial holdings are subject to human agendas that change with the wind. It’ll take a heart change to see justice reflected in those policies. Denying the voice of the abused and aggrieved mustn’t be dismissed. You cannot believe that Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford was the victim of an attempted rape yet not believe that she is correct about who she says attempted the rape, Brett Kavanaugh. White male patriarchy was on display to defend Kavanaugh and the FBI investigation was proof that the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. To dismantle the master’s house, it’ll take different tools from the master in heaven. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rules of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). Protecting White male patriarchy at the expense of the abuse of women dates back to the enslavement of Black people… and it continues. That history fuels my voice and my advocacy and it is used of God to bring forth justice. Jesus fuses those competing agendas into one agenda — for him. I return to this moment of clarity as fuel to move forward.
