We say that we believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but we don't really practice a belief that all lives matter. If we believed in the value of every person's life, there would be no need for #BlackLivesMatter. If we believed in liberty, freedom from oppression, the USA would not have the highest incarceration rate in the world. People of color are disproportionately incarcerated for crimes that their white counterparts receive probation. If we believed in the pursuit of happiness, then we would realize that people are not happy when they have no health insurance and cannot afford to pay for their medical expenses or cannot afford to take care of their families because they don't earn a living wage.We are better than this!
We say that we are the land of the free, but freedom of the media is being daily threatened by an administrator who cries 'fake news' when the news reports don't suit him. And we are not the land of the free when those whose religion is different from ours are harassed and even shot and killed as they worship. We are better than this!
We say that all men are created equal, but that seems to be only true if you are a white male. White women and men and women of all ethnicities and genders do not fare as well in every measure, including, salary, wealth, health care, and the availability of fresh, clean water, and clean air. We are better than this!
In the last two years, I believe that we have taken steps backward in race relations, social justice, our relationships with our allies and adversaries around the world. Civil discourse has become a thing of the past.The administration has fostered and nourished a climate of fear and distrust which threatens to tear us apart as the rich get richer. We are better than this!
We are so much better than what we have become. As a believer, I know that we should pray about these conditions. We should have faith that God will take care of this. But faith without works is dead. We must rise up and vote in numbers that have never been seen before. We must vote for those who more closely live up to the ideals of our nation.as well as the tenants of Matthew 25:34-40. And we must vote for those who believe in human decency and The Golden Rule; a standard that is recognized in most religions and by decent people with or without a faith tradition.
VOTE! There are no perfect candidates but we must exercise our choice.Countless Black men and women died, were beaten, lynched, mutilated, and burned for us to have the right to vote. Dr. William J. Barber, II, stated that only 77,000 votes determined the 2016 presidential election. Don't let your vote be one of the ones who stayed home.
WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS! VOTE!!!