Author: Pat Liberty

The Road to Fascism, Part Two

Pat Liberty

A few weeks ago, I shared a blog about the warning signs that we are headed down the road to fascism. I was waylaid by other pressing news, so here is Part Two.

There are predictable things that happen on the road to fascism. We are further down the road than we think. As I said in Part One, I think we are underreacting to what is going on.

Here are other characteristics of fascism:

            1.Coerced Loyalty: The occupant has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to cater to his cronies and punish those who do not agree with him. Frivolous lawsuits, public shaming, name calling and such.

            2. Corruption, Grift and Greed: This is pretty much self-explanatory. There is no end to the schemes the occupant comes up with to benefit the organization, his children and those who make massive donations to his campaigns.

            3. Mythic Past: Curricula writers are rewriting history to show the US as a loving, Christian nation rather than telling the truth about colonialism. During the colonial period, Native Americans were slaughtered and those who managed to escape being murdered were put on the Trail of Tears to a reservation that was created “just for them.” We are talking millions of people. We will never know exactly how many because the colonialists didn’t care. There is still our original sin of slavery that continues to shape the present.

            4. Humiliation: The occupant frequently stoops to grade school tactics in name calling,  insulting and trying to call the character of leaders into question. In truth, it just makes him look like he brought a squirt gun to a Super Soaker event.

            5. Savior Complex: The occupant will try and tell people that he is the only one who can save democracy, this as he systematically takes our democracy apart. He points to his political enemies as the ones who are harming democracy, when in truth he is doing more than any other leader in American History to undermine our democracy.

            6. Purification: This is particularly heinous. The first “purification” came with the genocide of Native Americans. It manifests today as the desire to deport people of color, some for no apparent reason. Another, more subtle and more frightening manifestation is the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. When people don’t have access to health care and adequate food they will get sick and die sooner.  The white supremacist agenda is out in the open and unapologetically so.

            7. Propaganda: Now that the occupant has his cronies owning the major news outlets, it is interesting to watch how the same news story is spun by different stations. CBS has sold its soul. It’s hard to find reliable news outlets, but we can’t drink the Kool-Aid the regime is handing to us. Staying well informed and vocal are two of the best strategies to fight fascism. Reputable news outlets include Global News and Wire Service. Publicly funded outlets are generally recognized for having high journalistic standards, such as PBS, NPR and the BBC Written media that generally trust include the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Guardian and Reuters.

            8. State Sanctioned Violence: The deputized thugs that dress in fatigues, carry assault rifles and cover their faces regularly violate people’s civil rights. Peaceful protesters are routinely maced, pepper sprayed and attacked with pepper ball projectiles. Peaceful protesters are detained unlawfully. And we cannot forget the outright murder of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. There are other murders that have not received the publicity they have received. Another manifestation of state sponsored violence is the way people are treated in detention centers. Their civil rights are violated daily. ExampIes include inedible food, lack of medical care, and withholding medications needed to maintain health.  There have been numerous deaths in detention facilities, the exact number is not known. Estimates are eighteen or nineteen. This puts the thugs on schedule to break the record of 31-33 in 2025.

            9. Denial of Due Process: People are routinely arrested and sent to detention camps without access to lawyers, family and religious support. The construction of detention centers that house thousands of people tells the story. Get “those” people in there and who knows (or cares) what happens to them next. At the infamous “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida, hundreds of people simply disappeared, never to be heard from again. Our government is disappearing people! Tens of thousands were disappeared in system transfers. In times of mass deportations, and interstate transfers, migrants drop off the records of ICE and CBP. It is an “enforced disappearance.” No one knows where they are or if they are dead or alive.

Part of the strategy of fascism is to keep the news cycle spinning. The newest outrage quickly puts the outrages of yesterday in the dustbin of history. The hope is that the American people will get tired and cease to be outraged. Silence is the greatest factor in the proliferation of fascism.

Manifestations of all these signs of fascism are right in front of us. It’s time to pay attention.

Where’s the Tea?

Pat Liberty

In 1773, a group of Bostonians revolted against the British Empire. It arose from two challenges, the financial problems of the British East India Company and an ongoing dispute about the extent of Parliament’s authority over the British American Colonies. The claim was “taxation without representation.” Britain continued to levy taxes on the American Colonies without seating any representation in the British Parliament. As a result, Bostonians threw 342 cases of tea into Boston Harbor, and the famous Boston Tea Party became a part of American history.

We need another Tea Party. We pay our taxes and our tax dollars are used for things over which we have no say. For example, one billion dollars of our tax money has been appropriated for the “Ballroom.” You may remember that originally it was to be paid for with private donations (which is problematic in its own way). This is a classic bait and switch. One billion dollars. Let that sink in.

Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, appropriated tax-payer money to lease a Boeing 737 Max 8 for DHS operations. This luxury jet featured a queen-size bedroom, 3 showers, a bar and a kitchen. It came with a price tag of $170 million dollars. It was used primarily for her personal and cabinet travel. After Noem was fired from her position the White House appropriated the jet to support cabinet secretaries and First Lady Melania Trump’s office. Noem faced further push-back when she spent $172 million dollars of tax-payer money to purchase two Gulfstream G700 private jets during the government shut down.

In a blatant act of corruption, the occupant has appropriated 1.8 billion dollars of tax-payer money to create a slush fund of sorts that can funnel money directly into the pockets of his political allies, including the January 6th insurrectionists. It is widely agreed that this is the single most corrupt act in American political history. It is unconstitutional in a number of ways. This, however, seems immaterial to this regime.

A vanity war in Iran is costing $1 billion dollars a day. The money financing it is our tax money. At the same time the regime says there is no money to fund Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. There is money. It is a question of priorities.

All of this amounts to taxation without representation. Our tax dollars are being hijacked for purposes that do not serve the people of the United States. Where do we find 342 cases of tea when we need it? 

Oppressive regimes are fond of diverting funds to serve their political ends.

Oppressive regimes also levy taxes on their subjects that they are unable to pay. This was true under Roman Occupation in Jesus’ time. Regime officials would tax the land of peasants at a rate that they were unable to pay. Consequently, they had to forfeit their land for non-payment of taxes.

Regardless of the methods, the end is the same. Money is used for purposes that do not serve the people. Jesus’ answer to that was to hang out with people who were victimized by an unjust government system and speak truth to power.

It is what is needed today. Write/call your Senators and Representatives. Even if you live in a blue state, your legislators need to know that you appreciate that they are fighting corruption. Protest. It’s easy to think this makes no difference, but that is not true. The protests in Minnesota drove ICE into the shadows and caused them to draw down their presence. Numerous arrest warrants, felony charges and FBI investigations are under way. This would not have happened if it wasn’t for the protests and push-back. It matters.

Dose yourself on the news. It is depressing. If we are going to stay in this fight for the long haul, we have to keep ourselves centered and energized. Watching news 24/7 is not conducive to sanity. Get your news from reputable sources. The three major TV networks are owned by the occupant’s supporters. Main-stream media is selling its soul; get your news somewhere else. 

Attend an observer training, which will give you skills to protest peacefully. Above all, our protests must be non-violent. It would take very little for the regime to call a state of emergency and derail the midterms. As far as it is up to you, be peaceful and non-violent.

Believe that what you do makes a difference. Do not be afraid to speak. Oppressive regimes count on people becoming tired, burning out or being afraid enough to keep silent. Show them they are wrong.

Everyday people are being victimized by an unjust system. ICE agents shoot people in the streets. Thousands of children have watched one or both of their parents are carried off in handcuffs by ICE agents. Both legal citizens and those without papers are treated in inhumane and abusive ways. Medical care is denied; food is infested with maggots; there is no adequate sanitation; and beds are non-existent. The answer of this regime is to fund ICE and Customs and Border Patrol until 2029 at a rate of 29 billion dollars a year. 

 If we are to save our democracy, we need to act. Daily. Don’t give up the fight.

The History of Mother’s Day

Pat Liberty

Before Mother’s Day became a twenty-five-billion-dollar holiday, it was a lot of other things, and it was a lot more complicated than cards and flowers.

Mother’s Day began as a radical movement led by women seeking social change, public health improvements and peace.

Ann Reeves Jarvis, in 1858, started Mother’s Work clubs. She lived in Eastern Appalachia where poverty was crushing as were all the realities that came when there was poverty. She had 14 children and only 4 survived into their teenage years. One way she dealt with her grief was to help other families who were suffering a similar fate.

Her goal was to combat high infant mortality rates and provide medical care to needy families. These community driven clubs educated women on hygiene, provided nursing care, worked with doctors to obtain clean water supplies and safe sewage disposal.

When the Civil War broke out, the area in which she lived, part of West Virginia today, was deeply divided. Neighbors fought with neighbors, family and friends were divided. From the outset she insisted that soldiers from both the Confederacy and the Union be treated equally.

Mother’s workday clubs remained a neutral presence and provided food, clothing, and care to both Union and Confederate soldiers.

After the war, Jarvis organized Mothers’ Friendship Day to bring together families and soldiers from both sides to help heal regional animosities.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe, best known as the writer of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, issued an appeal for women to unite. Her appeal to womanhood was a pacifist reaction to the carnage of the American Civil War and the Franco Prussian war. The appeal was deeply connected to Howe’s feminist conviction that women had a responsibility to shape their societies at the political level.

Her original proclamation reads, in part,

“Arise, all women who have hearts, whether our baptism be that of water or tears! Say firmly: we will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, women of one country, will be too tender to those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.

From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: Disarm, Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence vindicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plough and anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of council.”

She goes on to invoke the name of womanhood and humanity to bring about a general congress of women, of all nationalities. It did not come to pass. She did not give up. Rather she sought to establish an annual Mother’s Day for Peace, to be celebrated in June. It didn’t quite catch on.

The inspiration for Mother’s Day, moving toward what we now know, came to Anna Jarvis, Ann Jarvis’ daughter. After teaching a Sunday School lesson. She prayed for a memorial Mother’s Day to honor the service mothers provide to humanity. It was to be a day of tribute to all women, especially mothers, to recognize their service to humanity. Anna sought to fulfill her mother’s dream of establishing an official day to honor mother’s contributions.

By 1911, the holiday was celebrated across the USA, and in 1914 Congress authorized a national holiday dedicated to honoring the mothers’ social impact.

Anna Jarvis fought against the commercialization of Mother’s Day, arguing that the true meaning was focused on gratitude, activism and community. To this day, many view today through the lens of peace, social justice and political action.

Each year Mother’s Day offers a unique opportunity to reflect on and honor the role of mothers and people who nurture us, while remembering the rich and complicated history of our nation.

As Mother’s Day evolved, the text from Proverbs 31 became the siren song for women. I remember every Mother’s Day our pastor would do some harangue on Proverbs 31 and my mother would cry the rest of the day because she was such a failure. It kind of ruined the day.

So Proverbs 31 can come with some baggage. The passage needs some redeeming. Proverbs 31 is intended to show what wisdom looks like in action. The whole book of Proverbs is a wisdom book and Wisdom Literature emphasizes practical ways to live well by observing the world’s design and adhering to divine principles.  There is a strong emphasis on fear of the Lord.  But it’s not the fear and trembling to which our minds default. A more accurate translation would be “awe.” A wise woman is constantly in awe of what is around her and within her.

And the pronoun used for wisdom is always feminine. Wisdom is always “she.”  It’s important to say this text was never intended to be interpreted as a job description for women.

The intended audience is actually men. In Jewish culture it is not women who memorize Proverbs 31, it is the men. And they sing it as a song of praise to the women in their lives. This poem is about Wisdom with boots on the ground.

The only instructive language in the poem is directed at men. “Praise her for all her hands have done.”

The first line of the poem…a virtuous woman who can find?  It is better translated as valor.  This casts the whole passage in a different light. Valor means great courage, strength of mind and bravery. This fits with most of the women I know and celebrate. And valor is not just about what you do, it’s how you do it. When my sister was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, she said she had read this somewhere and she was appropriating it for that time her life. She said, “If you have to go through hell, act like you own the place.”  And she did. You don’t mess with my sister.

As Rachel Held Evans wrote, “If you are a stay-at-home mom, be a stay-at-home mom of valor. If you are a nurse, be a nurse of valor. If you are a CEO, a pastor or a barista at Starbucks, if you are rich or poor, single or married, do it all with valor. That’s what makes a proverbs 31 woman, not creating a life worthy of a Pinterest board.”

Proverbs 31 can be redeemed…it’s a way to celebrate all those daily acts of faithfulness exhibited by women. It is how men celebrate the women in their lives. It’s not our roles that define us, but the integrity and bravery we bring to those roles.

It brings us full circle to the rich history of Mother’s Day, women of valor who did extraordinary things with ordinary resources, women who refused to give up even when all the signs pointed to defeat, women who held themselves and their families together in the face of struggle, women who went through whatever was in front of them and acted like they owned the place.   Amen. 

More on Policy 2025: Department of Health and Human Services Goal 3# Promoting Stable and Flourishing Married Families

Pat Liberty

Project 2025 is the conservative agenda for social, political and economic policy. It repeals crucial protections for marginalized populations, slashes social safety net programs and penalizes the poor. The following is an excerpt from the Health and Human Services section of Project 2025.

“Families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society. Unfortunately, family policies and programs under President Biden’s HHS are fraught with agenda items focusing on “LGBTQ+ equity,” subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage. These policies should be repealed and replaced by policies that support the formation of stable, married, nuclear families. Working fathers are essential to the well-being and development of their children, but the United States is experiencing a crisis of fatherlessness that is ruining our children’s futures. In the overwhelming number of cases, fathers insulate children from physical and sexual abuse, financial difficulty or poverty, incarceration, teen pregnancy, poor educational outcomes, high school failure, and a host of behavioral and psychological problems. By contrast, homes with non-related “boyfriends” present are among the most dangerous place for a child to be. HHS should prioritize married father engagement in its messaging, health, and welfare policies. In the context of current and emerging reproductive technologies, HHS policies should never place the desires of adults over the right of children to be raised by the biological fathers and mothers who conceive them. In cases involving biological parents who are found by a court to be unfit because of abuse or neglect, the process of adoption should be speedy, certain, and supported generously by HHS.” (Project 2025, Page 453)

Here is the practical translation of what this means for an already marginalized segment of Americans:

  • Hard won civil rights for the LGBTQI+ community are on the chopping block. In Trump’s first reign of error the administration repealed all healthcare regulations that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. As a result, LGBTQIA+ persons can now be denied both public and private health insurance, including Medicaid.
  • Equal marriage may be made unconstitutional. Repealing equal access to marriage has devastating consequences for thousands of families. Family health insurance policies will end. Visitation rights during times of illness will be curtailed because gay partners are not “family.” If same sex marriage survives at all, it will be seen as inferior to heterosexual marriage.
  • The Gender Policy Council (GPC) will be dismantled. This was established by President Biden to advance gender equity and equality at home and abroad. The GPC developed policies addressing economic security, access to healthcare, gender-based violence and education for women and girls with special focus on marginalized communities.
  • The Trump administration will threaten the Biden administration’s expansion of gender and gender identity discrimination protections. Biden’s policies were in alignment with the landmark Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. This ruling affirmed that LGBTQIA+ individuals are protected under federal nondiscrimination laws. It also recognized gender identity as a protected class of gender.
  • The current administration will erase and criminalize transgender behavior. The broad expression of transgender behavior will be seen as pornographic. By labeling transgender expression as pornography and then outlawing pornography, the trans community’s identity will be erased in the United States.
  • Project 2025 will change the name of the Department of Health and Human Services to the Department of Life. 
  • Funding for gender affirming care for children and adults will be cut or eliminated.
  • Lack of treatment for children with gender dysmorphia will likely lead to increased depression, anxiety and rates of suicide.
  • LGBTQIA+ families will be banned from the Foster Care system. There is already a critical shortage of foster homes. This will exacerbate the problem considerably.
  • Same sex couple adoption will be banned. Same sex couples have higher adoption rates (21%) than different sex couples (3%).
  • Sex education for minors will end.
  • Transgender military service will end.
  • Parental rights regarding how their children are referred to and which pronouns are used will be outlawed.
  • Tax advantages will be extended to ONLY heterosexual married couples.

This is far from an exhaustive list. Those who believe that God’s love extends to all people regardless of age, sexual/gender identity or sexual orientation should rightfully be horrified. The God of the Judeo-Christian tradition is a God of compassion, mercy, justice and love. Hatred and injustice have no place in God’s being and it should have no place in those who claim to be God’s followers.

There is thinly veiled “religious” language throughout the Project 2025 document. It is fundamentalist, socially archaic and spiritually abusive to anyone who is not white, heterosexual and married with children. The guarantee of religious freedom for all people means that those who claim a different, more loving stance toward the human family should have an equal say in the legal process that defines religious expression. Make no mistake, the lines of separation between church and state are becoming dangerously thin. The “religion” that is shaping the state is White Christian Nationalism.

There needs to be a howling pushback to the religiously repressive undertones of Project 2025. Our legislators are hearing far too little from their constituents about the social and political implications of Project 2025. They are hearing even less from people of faith. If you are concerned about your freedom to practice your religion as you see fit, you need to write to you legislators and object on legitimate religious grounds. Our religious rights as well as our social and political rights are on the chopping block.

Period

Pat Liberty

Period

No, it’s not the one that comes at the end of a sentence. It’s the one that comes about every 28 days to women of particular ages. In a post Roe v. Wade world, there is increasing fascination about menstruating people.

This has nothing to do with the health of those menstruating people.

Rather, it is about controlling their bodies. It is about limiting access to abortion and birth control. It is about usurping agency from their own being. A total of 41 states restrict access to abortion in some way. Some states, like Alabama and Arkansas, make no exception for rape or incest. Other states allow abortion under specific circumstances such as fetal viability, gestational duration, or threat of harm/death to the pregnant person. Even in states where there are exceptions for rape or incest, they are essentially meaningless. In order to qualify under the law, the sexual assault must be reported within forty days. Incest must be reported to law enforcement within one hundred and forty days. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 63% of rapes are not reported. Only about 12% of child sexual abuse is reported to law enforcement. With such a dismal reporting rate, and the stipulations imposed, the rape/incest exception is useless. Further, even if the criteria for pregnancy termination are met, there is often no one to perform the procedure. This means travelling to another state, which is not an option for many poor pregnant people, who are disproportionately BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color).

In other states, abortion care must happen before six weeks of gestation. Most pregnant people do not even know they are pregnant at that time. It is another “allowance” that is essentially meaningless.

According to http://www.ReproductiveRights.org, Project 2025 outlines a detailed plan to limit access to abortion care and other reproductive services. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Ending access to medications like Mifepristone, which accounts for 63% of all abortions.
  • Allowing hospitals to deny medical care to pregnant persons in crisis.
  • Prosecuting people for shipping or transporting abortion pills and supplies across state lines.
  • Establishing an abortion surveillance system requiring states to report personal data of all patients receiving abortion care.
  • Restricting access to birth control, emergency contraception and other reproductive health services.
  • Tracking pregnant persons who are “at risk of having an abortion” (Missouri).
  • Paying a bounty of $10,000 to individuals who report a person seeking abortion care by crossing state lines (Texas).
  • Tracking pregnant persons through their internet search histories and social media. (Platforms track data using algorithms and selling the data. Setting up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and using encryption can limit access to search history, but it isn’t foolproof. A public computer is a better choice.)

These tactics are front line ammunition to control menstruating people who may unintentionally get pregnant. They also feed the larger goal of keeping those who give birth subservient to and dependent on men (though there are few consequences for men who do not support the children they create). 

While access to reproductive health services is being severely limited, social safety net programs are being slashed: WIC, SNAP and Early Intervention to name a few. As a result, persons with children, particularly BIPOC people are trapped in a cycle of poverty that is almost impossible to escape.

Sr. Joan Chittister writes, “I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion, that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don’t?” Because you don’t’ want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth.”

For many conservative evangelicals and white Christian nationalists, all their anti-abortion rhetoric is wrapped in a neat little package, branded with a Jesus sticker and called Christian. In truth, Jesus was unwaveringly concerned about and committed to the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. What was true then is still true…the most vulnerable among us are women and children.

You would think the government has better things to do than peer in the windows of women’s bathrooms and see who is peeing on a stick. But it is all part of the re-entrenchment of a patriarchal society where white, cisgender, heterosexual men are in charge. Whatever progress we have made in dismantling the patriarchy is on the line in Project 2025. And it all begins by trolling your social media.  

An Open Letter to JD Vance

Pat Liberty

February 3, 2025

Vice President JD Vance

The White House

Office of the Vice President

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington, DC 20500

Mr. Vance,

I write to inform you that you are fundamentally wrong in postulating that there is a Christian concept “that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that.”

I beg to differ, sir. It is you who has completely inverted the Christian tradition. Your position reflects a fundamental misunderstanding and ignorance of Scripture. For example, the same story is told in all the synoptic gospels. Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35, and Luke 8:19-21. In each of these pericopes Jesus is told that his mother and brothers are waiting to see him. Jesus responds, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers? And pointing to his disciples, he said, here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus consistently advocated for the poor, the marginalized, the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised. Your distortion of words to a “Christian” concept is blatantly and dangerously false.

I realize you are a fairly new Christian, and have not had years to study scripture and theology as have I. If you would like some remedial Bible study to gain a more accurate understanding of the faith you proclaim, you may reach me at the above address.

Until you are better informed about the Christian faith, you should seek the counsel of wise elders who are well versed in Scripture and tradition. Your false portrayal of Christian faith, which equally naive people will believe is true, distorts the Christian faith. I urge you to cease to speak about that which you know little.

Faithfully,

Rev. Patricia L. Liberty

This Letter was sent to JD Vance on February 3, 2025

Dismantling Democracy

Pat Liberty

Hitler dismantled the democracy of Germany in just 53 days. It began with mass deportation and the dismissal of government officials who opposed him. Number 47 has begun in exactly the same way. Widespread ICE raids are targeting and rounding up immigrants, many of whom are legal citizens and have committed no crimes. The philosophy seems to be “round them all up and we will sort it out later.”

This week he fired a number of officials from the Department of Justice who pursued litigation against him for his illegal behavior. He said he would retaliate against those who opposed him and he is making good on that promise.

He is also challenging birthright citizenship in direct violation of the fourteenth amendment to the constitution. It hinges on a short phrase in the amendment that his right wing justices can interpret any way they choose with virtually no opposition.

Hitler became chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. We are in a very similar situation to Germany at that time.  It is important to understand some history so we see the parallels to our own time. Hitler did not seize power in a coup. He was not directly elected to power.  Rather a combination of social and economic and political crises conspired to put Hitler into power. The fragile Weimar Republic which came to be in the aftermath of World War I was unable to manage the crises and political divisions that emerged during the late 1920’s and early 30’s. The world-wide Great Depression politically divided Germany and people lost faith in their government’s ability to solve problems and govern.

Radical antidemocratic political groups like the Nazi party grew in popularity, taking advantage of the political and economic chaos. The Nazi party made outlandish promises that captured the attention and the hopes of disgruntled Germans who were suffering in the economic and political chaos.  Things like fixing the economy, making Germany great again, reclaiming territory Germany lost in WW I and restoring a heavy handed rule of law were among the planks in their platform.

If it all sounds familiar, it should. The United States is following a very similar trajectory. The promises 47 made in his campaign are hubris to some extent, but he is making good on his anti-immigrant, anti-trans, anti LGBTQI agenda, much to his followers’ delight. He is also signing Executive Orders, some 300 since taking office. Many of them will go nowhere or will be delayed in endless litigation, but the overall visual is one of 47 taking charge and getting things done.

The American people are largely ho-hum about it. If this doesn’t affect us directly, we tend to not react or respond. We are not immigrants, legal or illegal, so who cares? We can take the hit for increased egg prices, so who cares? The Department of Justice probably needs some housecleaning, so who cares? It isn’t until the chickens come home to roost in ways that directly impact people that they wake up and take action. And often that action is pretty anemic– complaining loudly, kvetching and grousing.

This is the time to be paying attention. In Germany it didn’t begin with gas chambers. It began with mass deportation, dismissal of government employees who saw the danger in the Hitler regime and increasing authoritarian governing. In other words, what is happening here.

If you aren’t writing your senators and representatives weekly; if you are not writing to 47 and expressing your outrage; if you are not supporting the agencies that embody your values; if you are silent in the midst of what is happening; you are like the majority of Germans in 1934 who ignored the gradual hand writing on the wall.

Our democracy is older than Germany’s was at the time. It may mean that we have some resilience that Germany didn’t have, but I am not willing to bet the farm on that. Democracy, while incredibly strong, is always incredibly fragile. The degree of its fragility depends on the engagement of its people in the political process.  Given what I am seeing currently, this does not make me hopeful.

I implore you. Get politically active. Make your voice heard. Even if it doesn’t impact you, even if you don’t see the problem, even if you agree with some of his policies, even if you don’t really give a damn, it’s time to rise up.  Elie Wiesel said, “Silence benefits the oppressor.” The poor disenfranchised and politically powerless will pay the price long before many of us. If we claim to be followers of Jesus in any way, shape or form, our concern for them must rise to the top and our actions must reflect Jesus’ values and behavior. Otherwise, we become like the German church, which became the Reich church and did the bidding of the Nazi’s. Or we become like the confessing church, which ultimately failed because of its cowardice and lack of faith.

For those of you who say faith and politics don’t mix I say bullshit. The gospel is inherently political. It is not partisan, but it is political. Jesus’ ultimate concern was for the poor, the powerless, the disenfranchised, the last, the least and the lost. Embodying his concern for the people of our time who are exploited and beaten down by the system is our moral duty. It’s just that simple.  

Saved?

Pat Liberty

In one of his cockamamie speeches, number 47 said he felt he was” saved by God to make America great.” Of all the vomit-worthy things he says on a regular basis, this one caught my attention.

There are many ways to understand what it means to be “saved.” There are many theologies of salvation. Some believe that salvation comes once and for all in a specific moment. You might hear someone say, “I was saved on July 10th” or whatever date. It is cited as an experience of being born again. Others see it as a lifetime process of continuing to grow in the grace and image of God. They cite no specific moment but believe in the presence of the Holy helping shape and divine their lives. These are just two of the theologies of salvation. Gallons of ink have been spilled defining what it means to be “saved.”

What most of the definitions have in common, however, is this: one is saved for the purposes of God. The life of the faithful disciple is to embody the presence of the holy in one’s daily life. One labors for the things that are central to the message of Scripture. These are care and concern for the poor, marginalized and disenfranchised, working to undo unjust systems that persecute those with less power, creating the realm of God on earth, a realm where justice, peace and enough for all is the norm.

Salvation is never understood for self-aggrandizement. It is not to shore up any political or social system. In fact, God’s realm undoes political and social systems in favor of an equal distribution of goods and services to all people. In God’s realm there is no underclass, there are no second-class citizens and there is no mega-wealth. In ancient times it was believed (and I think they were onto something) that there was limited wealth. If someone was wealthy, it was because someone else was poor. The wealthy literally took the resources from someone else.

We know now that CEO’s make 290 times as much as a typical worker. In 1965, they were paid 21 times as much as a typical worker. And while everyone has been griping about inflation, the truth is that corporations including grocery store chains, department stores like Wal-Mart and petroleum companies have posted record profits for shareholders. Meanwhile their workers qualify for SNAP benefits and their children qualify for reduced price lunches. The minimum wage has not been raised since July of 2009 when it was raised from $6.55 to $7.25. In the intervening years the cost of living has increased by roughly 47%. Do the math. These financial statistics do not embody the values of the gospel and the proposed policies of #47 do not bode well for the poor.

When one is “saved” they embody the fruits of salvation; justice, mercy, compassion, love for others, economic justice, respect for God’s creation and radical welcome. None of that is on #47’s radar. Salvation is an invitation to walk with the Holy One in humility and faithfulness. It is a discipleship journey that lasts a lifetime.

Tax cuts for the wealthy, mass deportation of immigrants, persecution of the LGBTQI community, systematic voter suppression, lack of redress from the legal system, discrimination in employment, housing and lending and the normalization of prejudice, violence and hatred are not gospel values. They do not embody salvation, no matter how you define it or what your theology is.

It is heresy for #47 to claim God as part of his plan to destroy America. God is nowhere to be found in his rhetoric or his actions. Those of us who strive to live into gospel values, whether we are church goers are not, have a responsibility to speak out and speak up to anyone and everyone who will listen.  Part of the reason #47 has been able to spread his MAGA right wing political and religious bullshit is because the theological moderates and liberals have been too long silent about his actions. Take to social media, talk about your faith, your theology and what you are doing to live the gospel. Repost this blog to educate people about the nature and purpose of salvation. Write letters of protest to #47 and tell him you are outraged by his hubris and heretical speech. Organize a demonstration. Put signs on your lawn. Make your revulsion known.

More than 50% of the people may have voted for this ego-maniacal narcissistic excuse of a human being, but we are a strong minority and not a small one at that. His tropes worked to unite the right, now our tropes need to unite the left. Find your voice and speak up.

Just Wondering

Pat Liberty

So, I’m just wondering why the CEO of United Health being shot on a Manhattan Street is an act of terrorism and (another) school shooting is not considered terrorism. Anybody being shot for any reason is a tragedy and there is no way that gun violence can be excused in any setting. Yet we have been dealing with school shootings (83 so far this year) since the 1700’s when four Lenape Native Americans entered present-day Green Castle Pennsylvania, shot and killed schoolmaster Enoch brown, and killed nine or ten children (reports vary). Only two children survived. I’m just wondering if the violence of these Natives was related to yet another example of having their land stolen, their people being senselessly killed and their way of life threatened.

I’m wondering how politicians, in good conscience, can continue to be owned by the NRA, which effectively circumvents any meaningful gun control in the United States.

I’m wondering why the Trans community is the target of such vitriol when they make up less than one percent of the entire population of the country. Twenty-four states have pending legislation to limit access to health care for the trans community. According to the National Institutes of Health, eighty two percent of trans teens have attempted or seriously considered suicide. These numbers are only going to increase as the incoming administration targets the trans community.

I’m wondering how we, as a nation can continue to give carte blanche to Israel to conduct a systematic genocide against the people of Gaza. I wonder where the outcry for the people of Gaza is. I wonder why it is impossible to say anything against Israel without being called antisemitic. The truth is that Israel is guilty of war crimes and needs to be called to accountability in the international community for systematic murder of Gazans in the name of defeating Hamas. Thanks to American technology, Israel has access to weapons that can blow the top off a can of soup, but instead they choose widespread bombing campaigns with high civilian losses.

I’m wondering about the implementation of Project 2025 and what it will mean to poor and marginalized communities. Equal marriage, decades of progress in civil rights, social justice and equity particularly for African Americans are on the chopping block. Social safety net programs like SNAP and Medicaid face drastic cutbacks. I’m wondering how the American people can be so blind to the truth that Project 2025 is going to cause widespread suffering to the poor, those with food insecurity and those at risk for homelessness. I’m wondering if we are so self-centered as to think that as long as we are okay, it really doesn’t have anything to do with us. I’m wondering where the “love your neighbor as yourself” part of the gospel has gone in our corporate American religious life.

I’m wondering what will happen to our planet as hard-won regulatory restrictions against fossil fuels are rolled back. I’m wondering how close we are to the point of no return. Sometimes I wonder if my war on single-use plastics at home is making any difference, if burning wood instead of fossil fuels contributes to the health of the planet, among other things I do to try and live lightly on the earth. I’m wondering if we have forgotten that two and two and fifty make a million, and if we all did what is ours to do we could make a difference.

I’m wondering why everyone blames inflation for high grocery prices when the truth is that grocery chains are posting record profits. I’m wondering if the American people know they were played when political candidates promised to lower grocery prices for hard working middle class families. In reality, unless there are government checks on price gouging, nothing will happen to reduce grocery prices.

I’m wondering why the health care industry is completely owned by insurance companies. Before 1993, insurance companies were not-for-profit. The focus was on providing medical care. Now the focus is on making profits for shareholders. Premiums continue to rise and benefits continue to decrease. Increasingly artificial intelligence algorithms make decisions about the kind and amount of health care one can receive. I’m wondering when the whole system is going to implode, or as seems more likely, health care will be a privilege of the increasingly rich, while the poor will continue to have less access to care and poorer health outcomes.

I’m wondering where our capacity for outrage has gone. As the old saying goes, “If you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention.” I think it is true. We are not paying attention because the changes that are gradually happening have not caused us a sufficient amount of pain. I’m wondering how we became so selfish, so self-involved, so unconcerned for others while still claiming to be followers of Jesus. Incidentally (not really), Jesus was all about the poor and marginalized. I’m wondering how the church of Peter and Paul’s time went from being on the cutting edge of announcing an upside down realm to being the chief holder of the status quo.

Maybe it’s me, but I’m just wondering.

These Uncertain times

Pat Liberty

This sermon was preached at Ledyard Congregational Church in Ledyard, CT on November 10, 2024

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,

though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

“The Merton Prayer” from Thoughts in Solitude Copyright © 1956, 1958 by The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani. Used by permission of Farrar Straus Giroux.

Thomas Merton O.C.S.O. (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. He wrote over 60 books and hundreds of poems and articles on topics ranging from monastic spirituality to civil rights, nonviolence, and the nuclear arms race. He kept private journals and maintained a voluminous personal correspondence; he also recorded his classroom lectures.

After a rambunctious youth and adolescence, Merton converted to Roman Catholicism while attending Columbia University. On December 10th, 1941, he entered the Abbey of Gethsemani, a community of monks belonging to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists), the most ascetic Roman Catholic monastic order.

The 27 years he spent at Gethsemani brought about profound changes in his self-understanding. This ongoing conversion impelled him into the political arena, where he became, according to Fr. Daniel Berrigan, the conscience of the peace movement of the 1960s. Referring to race and peace as the two most urgent issues of our time, Merton was a strong supporter of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which he called “certainly the greatest example of Christian faith in action in the social history of the United States.”

This prayer was written during a time of deep uncertainty in his life as his ongoing conversion was leading him through new and uncharted territory in his life. I find his words quite comforting as we move into these uncertain times.

Uncertainty is one of those things we’re not very good at. We like things mapped out…A leads to B leads to C. We see the end, if not from the beginning, at least from the middle. And while that may be our preferred way of experiencing the world, in my experience that’s not the way it usually works out.

We live with uncertainty about our jobs…will they still be there in six months? There is uncertainty about our health, what it means to live with chronic disease or waiting for a new diagnosis. Our family relationships are, at times tenuous, as we navigate the changes that are inevitable among people who continue to evolve throughout their lives. There is no end to the avenues of uncertainty that haunt our lives. And we don’t like it one bit.

We knew that no matter who won the election we would be moving into uncertain times. Ours is a nation deeply divided and the way forward is anything but certain.

There is a feeling of being unmoored, like a boat that is bobbing around not attached to the ground tackle that holds it in place. After Super Storm Sandy, which Jean and I rode out on our boat, much to our families’ chagrin, we got phone calls from all over the country yelling at us. When we emerged from the companionway, the first thing I saw was a beautiful 38 foot sailboat lying on its side on the rocks two docks behind our boat. It’s hard to describe the sick feeling that came over me as I thought about the owner. A salvage crew was already approaching to lift the boat off the rocks, but it would be weeks before the damages were fully assessed.

I’ve had that same sick feeling in the last few weeks, the uncertainty of what lies ahead and what it will take to bring our nation back together as a safe place for all people.

Uncertainty looks like me, a gay married woman whose marriage may well be made illegal in the next few years.

Uncertainty looks like sky high grocery prices and most of our produce rotting in the fields when we deport half the migrant workers on whom our economy depends.

Uncertainty looks like the roll back of rights for the trans community and the end of gender affirming care. Now you may not understand what it means to be transgender, but that doesn’t mean that you know better than the person who lives in their skin what is right for them.

As an open and affirming church, are we ready to welcome a scared population of LGBTQIA people who are wondering what is ahead for them. Or, as I suspect, are we hiding our light under a bushel because the truth is we are welcoming of that community as long as we look and act straight.

Uncertainty looks like Project 2025, and if you don’t know what that is, you need to. It is impossible to be a responsible American citizen in this day and age without a working knowledge of Project 2025. It is available for free online. It is the blueprint for unprecedented uncertainty for every vulnerable population in this country. Don’t be upset with me for what I am saying unless you have done your due diligence and become familiar with Project 2025.

Uncertainty looks like extreme weather patterns that will continue to increase if we do not pay attention to the degradation of our planet. Sure, it’s amazing to have temperatures in the 70’s during November, but not when you realize why this is true.

Uncertainty lives at the razor’s edge of two things, despair and possibility. When we get to the very edge of all we have ever known and entered unchartered waters we have a choice. We can wring our hands and get immobilized in fear and despair, or we can do as the Psalm 46 suggests…be still and know that God is still God.

This is not a get out of jail free card. This knowledge will save us from nothing. Rather, it will ground us in a certainty that roots our action on the side of what is good and holy and just. God is faithful and calls us to be the same.

 Our tasks are the same now as they have ever been, to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, visit the imprisoned, care for the planet and care for one another.

Our identity as God’s people, people on whom God has laid a claim in our baptism surpasses our identity as citizens, political affiliates, liberals, conservatives, tree huggers or granola groupies.  

What we share is that we are citizens of this country, and this world and God calls us to covenant relationship that puts all other identities second to the one we share in Christ. If we fail in this, we fail in all else.

Whatever the uncertainty in your life, whatever despair creeps around the edges of your peace, whatever fear invades the certainty that, while partly an illusion, you have lived with…be still and know that God is God. Keep digging, deep, down deep, until you get to that bedrock that is the root of all things.

When we stand secure in that place…what is unclear will become clearer, what is uncertain will become more certain, what is fearful will diminish because we will discover that love is stronger than hate, faith is stronger than fear, the call of life surpasses the threat of death. God is still God. We are still God’s beloved. These times will require all the faith, all the love, all the grace and all the courage we can muster. It’s time we put the protest back in protestant.