The View From the Sidewalk

Pat Liberty

This sermon was preached on February 1st at Ledyard Congregational Church, Ledyard CT

At the beginning of my vacation week, I answered a call to join clergy and religious leaders from around the country in Minneapolis.

Six hundred of us answered the call. We gathered on Thursday for a day of spiritual grounding, ethical and theological reflection. We were Hindus and Muslims, Sikhs and Catholics, Jews and Buddhists, Native Americans and atheists and protestants of every stripe.

We claimed the ancient practice of lament, a community practice of sharing grief and sadness and remembering that God is faithful. Many of the 150 Psalms in the bible are songs of lament. Prayed together they give rise to the depth of feeling that is within us as we measure the distance between the way things are and the way God envisions them to be.

Just as Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem, we wept over the city of Minneapolis and cities like it around the country. We wept over the cities where ICE has not yet arrived. We grieved the deaths of the bystanders and those who died in ICE custody. We cried out to God and God met us in the witness of those doing the work.

We sang new songs for a new age of protest. When you get six hundred religious leaders together, the harmony is stunning. Imagine 600 voices singing, “no one is getting left behind, this time.” We repeated it until it became a prayer that ignited our faith and strengthened our resolve.

We grounded ourselves in non-violence and committed to peaceful protest and noncooperation. We vowed to support those who engaged in civil disobedience.

The speakers were a diverse group of women and men who looked weary beyond describing but spoke with conviction about the work they were doing. They were clergy and community organizers, social workers, a senior advisor to the attorney general and a Native American advocate for his nation.

The main thing I walked away with was hope.

Neighborhoods across the city organized to support their immigrant neighbors. Thousands of volunteers rallied. I learned of neighborhood patrols that warn people when ICE is present. Some accompanied people to their medical appointments because they were too scared to leave their house alone. An entire team worked at finding immigration attorneys for recent detainees. Neighbors delivered groceries.   People accompanied their immigrant neighbors to immigration court appointments because people were being detained by ICE after their immigration hearings. One woman expressed her breast milk every day and delivered it to a household where there was a three-week-old baby whose mother was detained. The mother, as it turned out, was a US citizen born and raised in Minneapolis. After ten days she was released without charge, and I might add, without apology. White neighbors transported children of color to and from school. They made human fences around the children to ensure they entered the building safely. Often ICE was looking on, taking down license plates and photographing the supporters.

On Friday, in fifty degree below zero windchill, we gathered with 50,000 other people marched about a mile. We sang and chanted. Our delegation chanted ICE OUT. Others chanted something else. It made for an interesting juxtaposition.

Every Tuesday a group of clergy gather in front of the detention center and ask for access to provide pastoral care and the sacraments to detainees. Every day they are denied. They take as their grounding scripture the widow and the unjust judge.

Lord, when did we see you…? The thousands of volunteers who are caring for their neighbors live the answer to the question every day.

Lord, when did we see you?

This was a conversion text for me. It was an average Sunday morning. I was 15ish and already knew I was going to seminary. I sat in the back pew with my youth group friends, and we prepared to play a game of Pastor Vought baseball. As you have probably noticed, preachers have pat phrases they tend to repeat and Pastor Vought was more predictable than most. At the beginning of the service, we chose our phrases. If he said the phrase and it was yours, you scored a base hit. At least we were listening.

Anyway, pastor Vought started to read this text, and it exploded in the core of my being. My mind darted around and saw the people I walked by because I was afraid, the ones I ignored because they were different, the ones who needed my help and I withheld it.

The words settled deep within me and blew up any notion of what I thought ministry would be like for me.

I pictured myself as pastor of a country church, like the one I grew up in and maybe a hospital chaplain. I thought I would be a normal pastor, keep my head down and not cause any trouble. I never aspired to be a gospel radical or a social activist. But you know the old saying, if you want to make God laugh, tell her your plans.

That ordinary Sunday morning became extraordinary. Hearing the text that day changed my life forever. I have spent my life embodying the truth I learned that day, with varying degrees of faithfulness. Minneapolis was the latest installment in my remedial education.

Lord, when did we see you…?

Ours is a deeply incarnational theology. Christ lives in everything and everyone. When we look with Christ-like eyes, each person is revealed to us as unique and beloved. And there is no going back to passing on the other side of the road, no ignoring the sad and frightened eyes, no ignoring the evil that is visited on the poor, no wiggle room to diminish those who are different from us.

I am inspired by my clergy colleagues who boldly and faithfully venture out every day to encourage volunteers, visit the frightened and call for the repentance of those who visit suffering on the poor. They are contemporary prophets who are unafraid to speak truth to power and are eager to step into the breach between what is and what can be. They encourage me to do the same. Two of the top leaders of the community organizing are UCC colleagues. I have never been more proud to be UCC.

I came home emotionally, spiritually and physically exhausted. I also came home with the flu…but I also came home doubling down on the call of the gospel. I came home encouraged by those who are living into the resurrection by being Christ’s presence in the world.

We are all witnesses to the truth that light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The darkness will not overcome it when each of us do what is ours to do.

Teresa of Avila, who lived in the 1500’s wrote,

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which God looks,

compassion on this world.

Yours are the feet with which God walks to do good.

Yours are the hands, with which God blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes. You are Christ’s body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth, but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which God looks,

compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

We are witnesses to the resurrection—when we grieve, when we lament, when we work for reform. It keeps us from getting cynical and demoralized. And we don’t give up. The gospel is real, the stories are true, Christ is risen and Jesus saves. That’s reason enough to keep standing. (adapted from a poem by Russel Moore)

Would you pray with me

O God, do not let me grow weary when I am tired of loving my neighbor,

when I am worn from speaking the truth,

when I am weak from pursuing justice.

Give me a peace that only you can give.

When I am done with silence at injustice,

When I am over the lies dressed as truth,

When hope feels thin and courage feels costly

Hold me fast.

Do not let my fear become indifference,

or my grief turn to despair.

Breathe again into these bones that I may rise not unscarred but faithful still for the sake of your love. Amen. (Author Unknown)

Say Her Name

Pat Liberty

Renee Nicole Good. Say her name. And while you are at it, say the names of the other people who were murdered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Silvero Villegas Gonzalez, a father fatally shot by an agent during a brief altercation after dropping his children at school; Marimar Martinez, a US citizen and teacher shot by a Border Patrol agent during a dispute. Multiple people have been shot by immigration agents, claiming self-defense.

Say these names too; these people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers. Genry Ruiz Gullen, 29; Serawit Gezahegn, 45; Maksym Chernyak, 44; Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, 44; Brian Garzon-Rayo, 27, Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, 55; Marie Ange Blaise, 44; Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, 68; Jesus Molina-Veya, 45; Johnny Noviello; Isadiro Perez, 75; Tien Xuan Phan, 55; Chaofeng Ge, 32; Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32; Oscar Rascon Duarte, 58; Santos Benegas Reyes, 42; Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39; Norlan Guzman Fuentes, 37; Miguell Angel Garcia Medina, 31; Huabing Xie; Leo Cruz-Silva, 34; Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh, 67; Josue Garcia Aviles, Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, 4; Jean Wilson Brutus, 41; Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, 46; Delvin Francisco Ridriguez, 39; Nenko Stanev Gantchev, 56; Keith Porter.

So far this year, thirteen days into January, four people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. All these people were husbands, fathers and sons. They were wives, moms and daughters. Each of them has a rich history and a story to tell.

Those who died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers died from not receiving proper medical care or receiving it too late to save their lives. A few died by suicide. Several others died from living in squalid conditions with improper nutrition

Renee Nicole Good was a US citizen and a mother of three. She was 37 years old, a veteran and the wife of Becca Good. Immediately after her murder, the regime started to smear her character. She was called a domestic terrorist. They said she engaged in threatening behavior. They said she threatened the agents with her vehicle and the agent fired in self-defense. This false narrative is eclipsing the truth of who she was. 

Controlling the narrative of these lives cut short by violence and neglect is a tactic of an authoritarian regime. That’s why we say their names, to remind ourselves that, whether in the country legally or not, they were human beings who deserved to be treated with respect and care.

In the first testament, stories  were how people came to know who they were. They were the people of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They traced their line back through the generations as a way of grounding themselves in history. In the second testament, the gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus. All the generations are represented. They connect Jesus to his history. Men’s last names were often bar-___ a last name. It means son of, like Simon bar Jonah. The naming reaches back in history to claim a familial identity.

Every family has its stories that they tell over and over again. Aunt Bessie and Uncle Clyde and the way the used to…. These stories keep us connected to our history and to our family line. They are passed down generation to generation and form an integral part of who we are. At family gatherings, funerals and wakes, there is story telling. The stories bring laughter and sometimes tears. They lead us to daydream and connect us to our clan.

There is power in saying the names, being reminded that these people are more than a number. They were beloved family members. They had jobs and careers. They were people of faith and people of no faith. Each an individual with a story. Learn their stories; tell their stories; lest we forget.

There is power in naming. It is why I have stopped saying ICE and say the whole name. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is a reminder that goon squad is not law enforcement. They have no jurisdiction to detain citizens, issue driving or parking violations. Their work is with the immigrant communities. And for the record, they suck at that. By targeting immigrant communities they are often detaining US citizens. Their presence is an attempt to normalize uniformed personnel with tactical gear, war guns and face masks in cities and neighborhoods. Make no mistake; this is not about immigrants. It is about terrorizing cities and neighborhoods in order to make us afraid. It takes us one step closer to a police state.

Say their names. Keep their names and stories before your friends, neighbors and families. Refuse to be silenced.

Power Grabs and Executive Overreach

Pat Liberty

 The recent military invasion of Venezuela and subsequent kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro is outrageous on many levels. It is true many Venezuelans are cheering Maduro’s ouster from the presidency; he was an authoritarian ruler who oppressed people and treated the government like his personal law keeping force (not unlike the occupant and the US military).

The possibility of a better life that has Venezuelans dancing in the streets doesn’t change the larger situation. Venezuela is a sovereign country, and the US had no authority to attack it. Some have argued that the occupant didn’t need congressional approval under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and the War Powers Resolution (WPR). The WPR is intended to limit presidential power by requiring consultation and potential withdrawal of troops after 60-90 days if Congress doesn’t authorize the force, though presidents often claim inherent authority or cite other laws (like the AUMF). The AUMF is a congressional resolution granting the president authority to use military force, most famously after 9/11 that authorized action against those responsible for the attacks. There have been several incarnations of the AUMF. In 2002 it authorized use of military forces against Iraq. In 1991 it authorized military forces against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait.

The AUMF provides broad, open-ended authority for military action, unlike formal declarations of war. Critics argue they have enabled “endless wars” by allowing presidents to use force against evolving threats (like ISIS) without new congressional approval. Many others believe AUMF unconstitutionally transfers Congress’ war-making powers to the executive branch.

While all of this adds some murkiness around who gets to do what and when, it doesn’t change the fact that international law, primarily through the United Nations, prohibits the invasion of a sovereign country. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the US invasion of Venezuela are illegal actions under the UN charter.

The occupant is a wannabe king who, if not able to be a king, is content to be a tyrant. This has angered the international community and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO’s charter says an attack on one country is an attack on all member nations of NATO. There is bound to be some retaliation from the NATO nations.

The precedent this sets on the world stage is terrifying. The occupant’s unilateral action gives tacit permission for other authoritarian regimes to continue their own land grabs, China to Taiwan and Russia to Ukraine and beyond. War is surely on the nearer horizon. It’s hard to know where it will all end, but chances are good it will not be pretty.

Reaching back into Bible times, the occupant is acting like King Herod the Great. He was a puppet ruler for Rome and was so insecure and frightened of losing his power that he squashed all dissent and imprisoned those he saw as a threat. After Jesus was born, Herod was so threatened that he “took out a hit on a toddler” to quote Nadia Bolz-Weber. Herod ordered the death of all children under the age of two when he heard that the king of the Jews had been born.

The occupant is a malignant narcissist, like Herod, who is content to kill, imprison, arrest and silence opposition for the sake of his power. Like Herod, he seeks power for power’s sake. His thugs are now murdering people in the name of immigration enforcement. So far, in the occupant’s great immigration crackdown, a full 73% of people rounded up have no criminal record. This isn’t about immigration; it is about intimidation and silencing opposition. It is about terrifying communities, so they do not voice their anger at the inhumanity of this regime.  

Following the rule of Herod the Great, Herod Antipas (his son) became the Tetrarch ruler. This Herod was the ruler through all of Jesus’ ministry and through his crucifixion.

Herod Antipas is responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist. The Herods (or Herodians as they were known) were not good or righteous kings. However, given their authority they fashioned themselves as lords and kings over the Jewish people. By whatever means they could, they silenced dissent, imposed order and intimidated people. It is what all authoritarian rulers have in common.  The occupant fits the bill to a T.

We are watching history repeat itself.

Scary Parallels

Pat Liberty

On a steamy August morning our bus bumped along the narrow road that snaked through the lush Salvadoran hills. Enroute to the Cathedral in San Salvador, we were going to see the sarcophagus of (then) Archbishop (now) Saint Oscar Romero.

It was past the time for morning mass and we expected to find an empty sanctuary and plaza. Instead, we were met by at least 200 women walking in a somber circle around the plaza. Each woman held a photo in a black frame. These were the Mothers of the Disappeared. They gathered every Sunday morning to remember their husbands, brothers and sons who had been “disappeared” by the government. In the volatile 1980’s El Salvador was war torn, violent and politically unstable. Anyone who mounted resistance was often “disappeared,” never to return. It was chilling to think how much trauma and sorrow was gathered there in the plaza that day. It was mirrored in the eyes of the women gathered, embodied in the heaviness they carried in their frame. It was heartbreak and anger beyond words.

I never thought it could happen here. I was wrong.

Anyone with black or brown skin is at risk of being rounded up by the occupant’s goon squad and shipped off to places unknown. Some end up at the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador, some are sent to American detention centers far from home. People are held for an indeterminate time. They are denied due process and not allowed to contact their families. To date, over 1,000 people are unaccounted for. Their families have no idea where they are and the goon squad poohbahs are unwilling to share any information. Some of the detained are American citizens. Let that sink in.

Disappearing people is a tactic of an oppressive regime that aims at intimidating, terrorizing and controlling a specific “undesirable” population. In this regime that means anyone who is not white, male and straight.

The constitution states that it is illegal to send people to countries/prisons where they will be tortured. The constitution also says that the government cannot use cruelty on any person under any circumstance or status. That’s a joke, because such abuse is happening every day. And all this comes for the bargain price of six million dollars to date (this includes deportation flights and detention centers).

In biblical times, dissent was crushed by Roman authorities. There was no tolerance for disagreement in any way. First century Jews chafed under the Roman occupation and struggled to hold on to their customs and traditions in a secular, repressive regime. In 66-70 CE the Jews mounted a strong rebellion against Roman rule. Rome laid siege to the temple, destroyed it and ransacked its sacred relics. The Jews fled into what came to be known as the Diaspora. The bloodiest battle came to Josephus and his men at Jotapata. In that conflict, 40,000 Jews were killed.

Repressive regimes throughout history have the same formula. Select a population and then intimidate them through threats, manipulation, control and fear mongering. The selected population then becomes an example to others in order to extend the threats and control.

The Jews and the early Christians were passionate about holding on to their faith and emerging traditions. There was only one God, and it was not affiliated with Rome. Their world view and values were defined by their relationship with God and the communities that bore God’s name.

We would do well to emulate their commitments. We, who profess the name of Jesus Christ, are bound to an ethic, a philosophy and faith that recognizes God as the only Sovereign. All people created in the image of God and we are commanded to love and embody justice. Micah 6:4 asks the question, “What does the Lord require?” The answer is, “to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.”  

As we slide further down the road to fascism, the control and manipulation grow stronger. Those who criticize the government are branded domestic terrorists, the radical left and un-American to name a few. As people of faith however, we answer to a different authority and bow to a different master.  It was not easy for the Jews and early Christians to hold fast to faith when they were persecuted, abused and put to death. It will not be easy for us either.

We have the witness of the faithful who have gone before us, our Jewish and Christian forbears in every century who have held fast to the faith. They held to the rule of love, the work of peacemaking and the demands of justice. May we be encouraged by their witness, strengthened by their resolve and grounded in the voices that have stood for the poor and dispossessed in every age. The poor and dispossessed in this age are counting on us.

Resources

Strauss, Barry; Jews vs. Rome

Wordonfire.org

National Immigration Law Center

PBS

A Step Toward Martial Law

Pat Liberty

At the time of this writing the National Guard is flooding Washington, DC and supplanting the authority of local law enforcement. This is happening at the direction of the occupant. There is so much wrong with this action that it is hard to know where to start.

First, a few facts. In 2024 violent crime was trending down in all areas. According to the statistics of the Washington, DC police department, violent crime saw a 35% decrease in 2024. The number of homicides also decreased from 64 to 48 in 2024. Carjackings have also seen a significant decline compared to six consecutive years of increases. The number of carjackings was 498, nearly half of the average of the preceding six years.

In other words, the facts don’t match the actions. This is nothing new for the occupant. He regularly disregards the facts and the constitution to continue his unlawful and outrageous power grabs. He invoked the Home Rule Act to take federal control of the city.

The Home Rule Act is different from Martial Law but is a stop on the same train. According to Time Magazine, “…the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, gives the President of the United States the authority to commandeer DC’s Police department in ‘conditions of an emergency nature.’ Attorney General Pam Bondi is now in charge of the Metropolitan Police Department, he said.” Now there is a truly terrifying fact. Pam Bondi would fail at being in charge of a one car funeral.

The Home Rule act grants a municipality a degree of self-governance and autonomy within the state’s legal framework. Martial law, on the other hand, is the imposition of military rule over a civilian population, typically in times of emergency or crisis, and involves the suspension of normal civil law and governance. It is unclear what the limits of the National Guard will be in DC and whether local law enforcement will retain any authority.  Under the Home Rule Act, local control is balanced with federal oversight. This does not match the rhetoric of the occupant.

As if this is not enough to cause outrage, the occupant is talking about expanding the National Guard (and perhaps military) to cities like Los Angeles, Baltimore and Oakland (Time Magazine). It appears to be only a matter of time before the occupant begins declaring Martial Law in specific locales with an eye toward expansion into significant geographic regions, if not the whole country.

Martial law replaces civilian authority with military authority. It is declared in times of war, rebellion or national disaster. Washington, DC does not meet the criteria. Martial Law is declared when civilian authority has ceased to function, is completely absent, or is completely ineffective (Office of Justice Programs, USDOJ). Again, Washington DC does not meet any of these criteria.  Martial Law cannot be used as long as civilian authority continues to function. The function and limit of authority of the National Guard in Washington, DC is unclear. It appears to be a smash up between Martial Law and the Home Rule Act.

In New Testament times, the issue of human rights was defined by whether or not someone was a Roman citizen. Roman citizens had special status and were protected from scourging, crucifixion, having their land seized or being sold into slavery. Jews had no such protection. They were largely left alone as long as they paid their taxes and knuckled under to the general agenda of Roman rule. They got into trouble, however, because they refused to bow to Ceaser as a God or worship any other Roman official. This was considered treason and Jews were punished by the forfeiture of their land, scourged, crucified or sold into slavery.

It is an example (one of many throughout history) of peoples being marginalized because they do not belong to an occupying force, or refused to obey an occupying force. The suspension or eradication of individual rights and personal autonomy are similar. The concept of human rights and social justice in our time, however, is not mirrored in biblical times. That said, it is important to note that only 5-10% of people in the Roman Empire were Roman Citizens. That means that the majority of the population was subject to the whims of Roman Rule and Roman Law, which clearly favored its own citizens. What is similar from Roman times to ours is the usurping of personal agency to an occupying force.

Jesus’ response to Roman authority often got him into trouble. He refused to bow to any Roman God. He regularly disobeyed Roman rule if it conflicted with the rule of Yahweh and held himself and his followers to higher standards. He was ultimately crucified under Pontius Pilate because he posed a threat to the Roman political system. Throughout the Roman empire the voices of dissent were silenced, often by brutal force or death. Still, Jesus and his followers held to the vision of the Realm of God. Jesus viewed Roman authority as second to the authority of God who desired peace, justice and shalom for all people.  

The time is now to make our ultimate loyalty known and to stand against the rising tide of fascism and the erosion of human rights.  

Alligator Auschwitz

Pat Liberty

The difference between Alcatraz and Auschwitz is the difference between having due process to convict one of crimes versus rounding up people who look suspicious simply because of their black or brown skin. The facility in Florida is a concentration camp. Full stop.

The conditions of the camp are also reminiscent of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. According to truthout.org, detainees (read prisoners) are “enduring inhumane conditions including inadequate and maggot infested food, inability to bathe, flooding and denial of religious practice.” There are also documented cases of sexual violence against women, failure to give adequate care during pregnancy and lack of treatment during a miscarriage.

The people imprisoned at Alligator Auschwitz are supposedly the “worst of the worst” criminals, but there are documented cases of US citizens being detained despite having no criminal record or current charges against them. Even if they WERE the “worst of the worst” they deserve to be treated as human beings.

The facility uses outside contractors to run day-to-day operations. This amounts to millions of dollars in federal funding given to the occupant’s cronies. Less than $2.00 per day is spent on food for those imprisoned at the camp. Prisoners receive one meal a day and inadequate water to tolerate the stifling heat.

It is nauseating to realize that there is merchandise advertising “Alligator Alcatraz.” Mugs, T-shirts and hats are available online and connected to the Republican party in Florida.

Cruelty has always been the point. This is not primarily about deportation. It is about treating people as less than human and scaring them into admitting just about anything to get out of there. If this facility were operating outside the United States, there would be political and social condemnation. There is precious little protesting from the American people, a sad commentary on our apathy and willingness to acquiesce to avoid landing on the occupant’s radar.

It will not be long before people die, suffer mental breakdown or attempt suicide. Given the fact that there is not even an accurate list of who is in the camp, loved ones may never know the fate of the prisoners.

This is below inhumane. This is torture sanctioned by the state of Florida and the occupant’s authoritarian regime. Somehow the news that all people are created in the image of the Divine and bear the imprint of God’s love and grace has not reached the Everglades in Florida.

In addition to the conditions at the prison, there is also impact on the delicate Everglades ecosystem. The degradation of this environment endangers the entire state of Florida and beyond. There are also tribal lands that are being desecrated by this monstrous monument to the depth of human cruelty. Apparently, the sanctity of God’s creation and the inherent dignity of tribal peoples have not reached the occupant or the Florida government.

And we who are aware of these atrocities are complicit if we keep silent. Contact your Senators and Representatives. This is not a partisan issue. This is a human dignity issue. This is a moral crisis for our nation and for each person who claims this nation as home. The lack of public outcry and the willingness of so many to purchase merchandise advertising this human rights debacle signals that the country is okay with this. Make it clear that it is not okay. Phone calls, letters, e-mails are all ways to register your outrage about Alligator Auschwitz. Act today. People are waiting for relief and justice.

This is a Test

Pat Liberty

Fascism depends on people thinking that:

  • things aren’t that bad.
  • what’s happening there won’t happen in my area.
  • it will all work itself out and I don’t need to do anything.
  • it won’t impact me because I’m a citizen.
  • democracy has always survived; it will this time, too.

Fascism assumes we will be lulled into a false sense of security because the horrors are not knocking on our door. Fascism assumes we will grow tired of protesting and contacting senators and representatives because we think it won’t do any good. In short, fascism depends on our docility.

It is, however, time that we ask the question, how long will we:

  • tolerate the federal government deploying national guard troops against US citizens when the national guard is called out at the state’s behest?
  • ignore the inhumane conditions at Alligator Auschwitz because we don’t personally know anyone who has ended up there?
  • dismiss the attacks on civil rights for the LGBTQI community because we are not in that population?
  • Ignore an undone, mentally incompetent, megalomanic presiding over the demise of our democracy while we twiddle our thumbs?

It’s past time we remember Hitler didn’t start with concentration camps. He started by creating “us” and “them.” He started by dehumanizing groups of people and giving people a common “enemy.” He started by suppressing dissent and punishing those who publicly disagreed with him. He started by creating disinformation campaigns.

We cannot ignore that all of that, and more, is already happening here. And we cannot forget that Hitler’s rise to power could not have happened without the tacit consent of the German Church. The state church became the Reich church and supported the policies and pogroms Hitler promoted. The Roman Catholic church was largely silent as the horrors unfolded. Even the Confessing Church eventually capitulated to the pressures of the third Reich.

In the United States, fascism and the entrenchment of white Christian Nationalism cannot happen without the tacit consent (or silence) of the church. In a world where the loudest voices get airtime, what is needed is a cogent voice that cuts across denominational and political lines. It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or granola groupie, what is happening to people across our country is wrong. It’s not about politics; it’s about being human. Standing by silently while ICE agents create terror (which is the point) is one sign of our agreement with these inhuman policies and procedures.

Make no mistake, this is all a carefully orchestrated plan. The goal is to create an authoritarian regime that gives the message that it cannot be challenged. It also gaslights people into thinking that this leader, in this case the not-so-great Cheeto, is the only one who can “save” the country.

With the demise of the integrity of the Supreme Court, there is no limit to the power this unhinged, deranged man-child can exercise. His minions all kiss his ass and carry out his bidding just to preserve their own political power.

So, what to do? Every single day make your voice heard. Contact senators and representatives (they do not have to be from your state) and protest the policies of this corrupt government. Stay informed about what is REALLY happening and not what you are fed by major news outlets. Listen carefully to the language that is used to describe what is happening. It will give you an idea of their “spin” and their priorities. Look for the most neutral news outlets you can find.

Read, read and read some more. Understand history and how it repeats, especially when our leader looks with admiration upon the most abominable human being in recent history. We can recite the statistic that says six million Jews died in the death camps, and it is true. What is also true is that four million LGBTQ persons, those with mental limitations, Roma people, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, Jehovah’s Witnesses, artists, writers and political opponents (like Dietrich Bonhoeffer) also died.

We do well to remember the words of Martin Niemoller:

“First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist.

            Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”

This is how I rewrite it for our time:

            First they came for the immigrants, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t an immigrant.

            Then they came for the journalists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a journalist.

            Then they came for the transgender and LGBQI community and I didn’t speak up because I was not a part of that community.

            Then they came for the liberal church, and I didn’t speak up because I was not a practicing Christian.

            Then they came for the poor, and I didn’t speak up because I can afford my groceries,

            Then they came for the chronically ill and removed their health care coverage, and I didn’t speak up because I can afford to pay for my health care.

            Then they came for me and everyone was so pissed that I didn’t speak up for them, they ignored my cries for help.

The truth is, we are all in this together. We need to use our voice and our privilege to speak for those who are systematically disempowered by the fascist regime that is firmly established in our country. There is still time, but it is running short. What will you be remembered for?

Gaslighting and the occupant

Pat Liberty

Gaslighting is defined as a form of psychological manipulation where someone intentionally twists and misrepresents reality, making another person doubt their own perceptions, memories, or sanity. It is a way of eroding their self-confidence and sense of trust in their own experiences.

The occupant is a master at gaslighting. His most recent stunt was to sign an executive order announcing actions to “Put American Patients First by Lowering Drug Prices and Stopping Foreign Freeriding on American Pharmaceutical Innovation.” (from the web page of the White House)

The problem with this is, that it’s pure BS. On Inauguration Day, the occupant signed an executive order reversing initiatives aimed at reducing prescription drug costs for Medicare and Medicaid recipients, expanding the Affordable Care Act and increasing protections for Medicaid recipients.

One Biden-era initiative overturned by the occupant was to instruct Medicare to explore ways to reduce drug costs, including a potential $2000 annual cap on out-of- pocket expenses. The occupant also reversed Biden’s executive order that extended enrollment periods for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and provided additional funding to third-party organizations assisting with ACA sign-ups. These measures resulted in nearly doubling ACA enrollment.  The occupant also ended a Biden-era Executive order that directed the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to develop three experimental drug pricing models. Included in Biden’s Executive Order was a standardized $2 co-pay for generic drugs used to treat chronic conditions in Medicare prescription drug plans, which increased medication affordability and compliance with prescribed regimens.

The occupant created a crisis by overturning Biden-era directives that lowered drug costs and supported the Affordable Care Act. Then he signed an executive order to fix the crisis he created. It is widely believed that this order will do nothing to impact out-of-pocket expenses for most Americans in the near future. This is classic gaslighting. There is no crisis, create a crisis, fix the created crisis…voila gaslighting.

In typical occupant fashion, he claims this is one of the “most consequential executive orders in US history. He claims drug prices will fall “almost immediately” by 30%-80%.

The order directs the US Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce to ensure foreign countries are not undercutting market prices of drugs. The order also directs the appropriate Administrative agencies to communicate price targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers to “establish that America, the largest purchaser and funder of prescription drugs in the world, gets the best deal.” (White House web page) Reading the White House Web page makes this plan the savior of the American people when it comes to drug prices.

The order sets a thirty-day deadline for drugmakers to electively lower the cost of prescription drugs in the US or face new limits down the road over what the government will pay. Translation, drug plans will pay less for drugs for those who receive Medicare and Medicaid benefits and consumers will pay the difference. Big-pharma is unlikely to voluntarily lower drug prices and give America “favored nation status.”

This, while the occupant has hacked $880 billion from the Medicaid budget.

The degree of civilized behavior in any nation is measured by how well it cares for its weakest and most vulnerable members. In Jesus’ time, corrupt political officials extorted taxes that the poor could not pay.  It resulted in forfeiting their land and leaving the poor to beg or indenture themselves to those who took their land. The principle is the same. Corrupt political leaders show no compassion for the poor and needy. Widows and the elderly were especially at risk and were disproportionately left homeless and destitute.  Jesus railed against the corruption of his time, the inhumanity of the Roman occupation and their collusion with corrupt religious officials, which levied additional financial burdens on the poor. Don’t be deceived, the occupant’s Executive Order will benefit big-pharma and not the neediest among us.  

The Dwindling Line Between the Separation of Church and State

Pat Liberty

On May 1st the occupant signed an executive order establishing the Religious Liberty Commission. Calling on evangelical allies, high profile Catholic clergy and conservative faith leaders, the task of the Commission is to create a report on the “foundations of religious liberty in America” and the impact of religious liberty on American culture. It is also intended to detail “current threats to religious liberty” and create programs to celebrate religious pluralism. The occupant also ordered the Department of Justice to start a task force on anti-Christian bias.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. On the agenda is exploration of the report on First Amendment rights of religious leaders and houses of worship, religious rights, vaccine mandates, parental rights in education and “permitting time for voluntary prayer and religious instruction at public schools.”

This is code language for giving preferential treatment to his primary voting block–white evangelical Christians. Two-thirds of white evangelicals feel that Christians in America face discrimination, according to polling by the Public Religion Research Institute.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. The Rev. Shannon Fleck, executive director of Faithful America, criticized the new commission, calling it an attempt to “tear down the wall between church and state.”  The wall has been growing increasingly thin in recent years. Posting the Ten Commandments, buying bibles for public school students and several recent rulings by the Supreme Court attest to this truth. In the Court’s ruling in Carson v. Makin, the Court ruled that a state MUST fund religious activity as part of an educational aid program. This “religious activity” is white evangelical Christianity. If religious activity were defined as the faith of Islam, no doubt a lot of people would lose their shit.

 In Kennedy v. Bremmerton, the Court ruled in favor of a Christian public school football coach who prayed with his players while on duty. Long standing precedent prohibits school officials from participating in prayer with students.

According to the ACLU, “With this month’s decisions, the court has now required that government funds be diverted from a secular education program to support religious education and indoctrination and has allowed school officials to impose religion on public school students. The ruling in Kennedy v. Bremmerton is particularly disturbing because, until now, the court has repeatedly recognized that students are impressionable, much more vulnerable to religious coercion, and thus deserving of the highest levels of constitutional protection. Instead, the court subverted students’ religious liberty to the religious demands of school staff.”

The Supreme Court six-justice majority abandons long-standing doctrines that have supported the principles of no establishment to ensure the government stays neutral when it comes to religion. And do not be mistaken, the Christianity that is being slipped into the government is conservative white evangelical Christianity. According to the Court, state funding of religious indoctrination is not only permissible, but now required in some circumstances. This means taxpayer dollars are used to fund religious education. This is a direct violation of the First Amendment which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” 

This comes at a time when white Christian nationalism is on the rise.  This is a political ideology that tries to link the identities of Americans and Christians. The message is that only conservative, white Christians are “true Americans.” This is a threat to all faith expressions, both within and outside of Christianity. If the only “Christians” who have freedom are white evangelicals, then there is no true religious freedom for anyone.

The mandate of the Religious Liberty Commission will most likely confirm the narrative that Pilgrims came to the new world to escape religious persecution. Then it isn’t a large leap to get to history repeating itself in the oppression of “Christians” in our time. The narrative will be predictable.

The sign of the times is that religious freedom and the separation of church and state are in grave danger. This trend began some time ago. Recent rulings of the Supreme Court allow for almost exclusively Christian prayers at government meetings. In addition, the Court has sided with individuals who, on the basis of “religious” conviction deny providing services to the LGBTQI community. Discrimination for recipients of government-funded social services is also included in this ruling.

If you enjoy practicing your religion without interference from the government or if you enjoy practicing no religion at all, know that your fundamental right to both is in grave jeopardy. Write to the Supreme Court. Their address is Supreme Court of the United States, 1 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20543. Or you can leave a message at 202-479-3472. Write to the occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20500. Support the ACLU, write editorials for your local newspaper. Religious freedom is built into the bedrock of our country. Don’t let a bunch of half-baked Christian wannabes take it away