thoughts on shouting matches at health care debates, black muslim socialists in ties, xenophobic proselytization, and a Church that lost it’s clout

Somehow, I think this post got deleted.  So here it is again:

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The politicosphere is buzzing with so much angery passion. A question I haven’t been able to get off my mind as I watch the news, look out the window to see the Tea Party protest down the street, and creep on Facebook status updates is this: why so much anger for Barry Obama? (other than his choice of Bud Light at the Beer Summit- there’s just no excuse for that… were they out of Keystone?)

The questions has been stewing on my mind over the summer, watching the health care reform (or insurance reform, or whatever they call it next week) debate devolve to shouting matches. I can’t remember a time in my life where the political scene had as much angry rhetoric. And there’s no denying that the vitriol is chiefly coming from the right wing (although I completely understand the argument from the right that it is an erosion of [insert: healthcare, liberty, America, etc.] that raises this rhetoric from them). It’s just hard to be the underdog, feeling bullied, feeling like a helpless victim watching an assailant plunder your home. There’s a visceral breakdown of civility that happens in light of that feeling.

A friend of mine and I were discussing the outburst from Senator Joe Wilson the other night, and I haven’t stopped thinking about the question since: Why is there so much anger towards Barack Obama? Earlier that day, I heard both the leftist James Carville and the right-winger Rush Limbaugh strike a seldom-reached agreement, both saying Wilson represents the mainline of the Republican Party right now, rather than the fringe. My buddy commented, and I think I agree, that there is a certain xenophobia, essentially a fear of “otherness,” at work in the hearts of many against the President. I know that for some Americans, it really is an issue of race plain and simple. But I don’t think that that’s the issue for the great majority of Americans at all. Still, xenophobia can come in many forms. Some choose to believe he is not a one of us, not a natural born citizen. Therefore, he is not one of us. A recent poll showed that around a third of Americans still believe that Obama is Muslim, despite his personal testimony in print and repeated word. How many people believe he is a socialist or communist, many of whom cannot seem to articulate a clear definition of what either model is beyond “spreading the wealth”? How many people are starkly against health care reform whom nevertheless have never realized that “universal health care” and “socialized health care” are by no means synonymous terms, nor could they explain which is a quasi-subset of the other?

It’s misinformation, sure, I’ll allow that. Politicians and pundits can be pretty crafty. But there’s more to it than that, because there is misinformation spin coming from Democrats and Republicans. What is it that is driving this anger? I think it’s a fear of “the other,” because (whether based in fact or fantasy) Obama seems very other to many of us.

But the disappointing thing to me, the thing I cannot understand for a moment, is this: why are we Christians leading the charge in xenophobic vitriol? I have a few suspicions why:

1) I suspect for some Christians, this fear of a popular world leader plays into their interpretations of Revelation, presuming that while Obama might not be the anti-Christ they had hoped for, he may be moving us down that road. Regardless of how little Scripture props up this view (and who needs the Bible when you have 12 Left Behind novels?), this view of the end of times has became unbelievably popular in 20^th century Evangelicalism. Poor Obama, he plays right into the picture so many have of an anti-Christ, presumably because he likes to talk before brandishing the sword, and the Europeans like him (which is always bad).

2) I also suspect the anger stems from a type of semi-delusional giddiness we have displayed throughout the ages at the prospects of persecution. We take pride as we latch on to a verse that will tell us we will be seen as outsiders, and then try to be as loud about out oddness as possible. Regardless of any actual persecution, we have this victim complex that many take a personal fortitude in. Though psychologically unhealthy in the long run, it makes for a great defense mechanism in the short run (and an even greater voting mechanism).

3) For some it is simply the old standards. His position on abortion, homosexual civil unions, political party, economic policy, etc. No matter the race, religion, or origin of a politician, a differing position on the hot-button issues tends to make us see the politician as, if not evil himself, then at the very least a pawn of the devil. It is so endlessly tempting to assume a President is not Christian at all (if we ever thought for a moment he was) if he is pro-choice (well, he needs to say he’s pro-life).

4) Peacemaking is a delicate craft, and a largely untried one at that. We have a stark contrast between the ideals of Bush and Obama when it comes to dealing with hateful adversaries. The sword is tempting when you hold 50% of the swords in the world. Peacemaking without the sword is seldom tried by nations, and never by powers. This ideal of talking with enemies makes Obama profoundly strange to those of us Christians who have come to associate ourselves with America and her power. Profoundly strange, but more Christian than much of what we’ve seen in recent memory (like this, or that). Still, my fear is that Obama will give in to being less and less other as his time goes, giving into the call for dominance through the sword, or as one musician put it, putting “a boot up your ass, it’s the American way.” Another singer, whom I have such respect for (mp3 at the bottom of this blog post), contrasted this desire for dominance with the lines, “Peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication.” While Obama is not the Messiah that Rush likes to call him, I’m willing to give talking a chance, even if it’s with people who would be so easy to give up as crazy, belligerent, America-hating fascists.

5) Lastly for my list, I think we Christians confuse our citizenship, and concordantly where our loyalty lies and who our enemies our. In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul essentially says that if it’s got flesh and blood on it, it’s not your enemy. People, according to the Scriptures, are not our enemy, whether we are talking about Obama, Osama, or just that guy that screwed you over that one time and you still can’t get over it. If we are Christians, I think it’s ok to call yourself an American citizen, sure, but that status takes a way, way, way backseat to our calling to love, live at peace with all men, not speak ill of people, etc. If we have two professing Christians (like you and Obama) and one is speaking all sorts of vitriol against him, then that’s really just immature. Men are not our enemies, and no country, person, or political party is worth the type of loyalty that our sinful side seems so eager to get out.

In case I’m not so clear, while this thought is somewhat a post about Obama, it’s really a post about a really sad thing in pop-American Christianity. We are so prone to anger towards someone, we misplace our loyalties, and we have destructive, victim complexes. So to everyone who thinks of themselves as Pro-Lifers, Pro-Choicers, Democrats or Republicans, pro-/anti-Obama, Capitalist or Socialist or Communist, pro-Gay marraige or pro-Traditional marriage, pro-Constitution, pro-Whatever-other-stances, or simply pro-America… be careful.

You may have a delusion at best, or at worst, an idol.

Derek Webb, My Enemies Are Men Like Me

My Enemies Are Men Like Me

i have come to give you life
and to show you how to live it
i have come to make things right
to heal their ears and show you how to forgive them

because i would rather die
i would rather die
i would rather die
than to take your life

how can i kill the ones i’m supposed to love?
my enemies are men like me
i will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well
my enemies are men like me

peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
it’s like telling someone murder is wrong
and then showing them by way of execution

when justice is bought and sold just like weapons of war
the ones who always pay are the poorest of the poor