Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
More Annotations
A complete backup of https://balkanje.com/turske-serije/hrabar-i-lepa/
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of https://balkanje.com/latino-serije/ciganke-2005/
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of https://balkanje.com/turske-serije/majka-2016/
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of https://balkanje.com/latino-serije/judina-zena-2002/
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of https://balkanje.com/turske-serije/oluja-2006/
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of https://balkanje.com/latino-serije/bela-robinja-2016/
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of https://balkanje.com/turske-serije/male-tajne-2010/
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of https://balkanje.com/latino-serije/pod-sumnjom-2015/
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Favourite Annotations
A complete backup of sputnik-scalar.ru
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of grupposandonato.it
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of roundtableindia.co.in
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of shieldhealthcare.com
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Text
JOHN PAVLOVITZ
And that’s the sad truth here: the refusal of tens of millions of professed adults to be vaccinated despite the unthinkable death we’ve witnessed, is a symptom of a political movement that was so bereft of ideas, it needed to turn a pandemic into a war against theiropponents.
EVANGELICALS DON'T HATE CANCEL CULTURE, THEY INVENTED IT Evangelicals Don’t Hate Cancel Culture, They Invented it. Every day I see Christians lamenting the “Cancel Culture;” claiming whenever they face accountability for their words or their conduct, or for the policies or politicians they support—that they are being systematically silenced. This is irony of biblical proportions. HERE'S WHAT I KNOW ABOUT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE Yesterday, someone said to me, “Will you please say something about the violence happening right now between Israel and Palestine?” “At least tell people what side you’re on” she added. I hesitated for a moment. I knew she was asking me to speak into something so sprawling and complicated and layered with time and history, Continue Reading Here’s What I Know About Israel THE COFFEE YOU WON'T GET TO DRINK (A REFLECTION ON DYING) Seven years ago my parents went on a cruise to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday. My family and I happened to call them just as they were sailing away. We could hear the ship’s booming horn blasting out as we quickly wished dad a happy birthday and them a wonderful trip and told them to Continue Reading The Coffee You Won’t Get to Drink (A Reflection On Dying) THE CHRISTIANS WHO WOULD NOT HELP PEOPLE March 11, 2021. March 11, 2021. / John Pavlovitz. They would not help people. Not one of them. They all voted no on giving aid to Americans during the single greatest health crisis of our lifetimes: one that has taken the lives of over a half a million Americans and left millions more at the precipice of poverty and homelessness—or well IF GOD IS LOVE, DON’T BE A JERK If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk calls us to create a more just and equitable world, one that affirms the beauty in all humanity—and leaves us feeling that it is all within our hands.”. “John Pavlovitz is an artisan of words. He’s a poet and a provocateur. LET MY PEOPLE VOTE: WHY VOTER SUPPRESSION IS UNBIBLICAL In the book of Exodus, when Moses and Aaron demand Pharaoh’s release of the Israelites, they are reminding him that humanity was designed to be free; that every single human being was individually created with purpose and promise by God, to be masters of their own destiny and directors of their own path. God fiercely Continue Reading Let My People Vote: Why Voter Suppression is Unbiblical REPUBLICANS CALL DECENCY "WOKE" BECAUSE THEY'RE INDECENT The politics of fear is nothing new. We’ve seen it throughout history. It’s a well-worn playbook. When you lack actual ideas, you need an enemy. When you have nothing redemptive to offer, you have to create a monster to push back against. When you are devoid of decency, you need to vilify it and somehow Continue Reading Republicans Call Decency “Woke” Because They’re Indecent WHY I'M NEVER PUTTING A JOE BIDEN FLAG ON MY TRUCK I was talking to a coworker today. (OK, well, technically I was arguing with an anonymous Twitter troll—but hey, work is work, right?) As Patriot45FreedomGuy launched a fierce barrage of 280-character word salad salvos at me about how disgraceful the Democrats are and what a hero Donald Trump is, he declared himself a proud member Continue Reading Why I’m Never Putting a Joe Biden IT'S TRUMP'S PRIVILEGE, NOT HIS MENTAL ILLNESS THAT Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Reuters For years, people have been talking about Donald Trump’s “mental state,” throwing around the term mental illness as a lazy catch-all for his erratic behavior, inexhaustible cruelty, and inexplicable recklessness. In the wake of the election, a growing choir has assembled singing the same refrain. This has always struck me as Continue Reading It’sJOHN PAVLOVITZ
And that’s the sad truth here: the refusal of tens of millions of professed adults to be vaccinated despite the unthinkable death we’ve witnessed, is a symptom of a political movement that was so bereft of ideas, it needed to turn a pandemic into a war against theiropponents.
EVANGELICALS DON'T HATE CANCEL CULTURE, THEY INVENTED IT Evangelicals Don’t Hate Cancel Culture, They Invented it. Every day I see Christians lamenting the “Cancel Culture;” claiming whenever they face accountability for their words or their conduct, or for the policies or politicians they support—that they are being systematically silenced. This is irony of biblical proportions. HERE'S WHAT I KNOW ABOUT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE Yesterday, someone said to me, “Will you please say something about the violence happening right now between Israel and Palestine?” “At least tell people what side you’re on” she added. I hesitated for a moment. I knew she was asking me to speak into something so sprawling and complicated and layered with time and history, Continue Reading Here’s What I Know About Israel THE COFFEE YOU WON'T GET TO DRINK (A REFLECTION ON DYING) Seven years ago my parents went on a cruise to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday. My family and I happened to call them just as they were sailing away. We could hear the ship’s booming horn blasting out as we quickly wished dad a happy birthday and them a wonderful trip and told them to Continue Reading The Coffee You Won’t Get to Drink (A Reflection On Dying) THE CHRISTIANS WHO WOULD NOT HELP PEOPLE March 11, 2021. March 11, 2021. / John Pavlovitz. They would not help people. Not one of them. They all voted no on giving aid to Americans during the single greatest health crisis of our lifetimes: one that has taken the lives of over a half a million Americans and left millions more at the precipice of poverty and homelessness—or well IF GOD IS LOVE, DON’T BE A JERK If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk calls us to create a more just and equitable world, one that affirms the beauty in all humanity—and leaves us feeling that it is all within our hands.”. “John Pavlovitz is an artisan of words. He’s a poet and a provocateur. LET MY PEOPLE VOTE: WHY VOTER SUPPRESSION IS UNBIBLICAL In the book of Exodus, when Moses and Aaron demand Pharaoh’s release of the Israelites, they are reminding him that humanity was designed to be free; that every single human being was individually created with purpose and promise by God, to be masters of their own destiny and directors of their own path. God fiercely Continue Reading Let My People Vote: Why Voter Suppression is Unbiblical REPUBLICANS CALL DECENCY "WOKE" BECAUSE THEY'RE INDECENT The politics of fear is nothing new. We’ve seen it throughout history. It’s a well-worn playbook. When you lack actual ideas, you need an enemy. When you have nothing redemptive to offer, you have to create a monster to push back against. When you are devoid of decency, you need to vilify it and somehow Continue Reading Republicans Call Decency “Woke” Because They’re Indecent WHY I'M NEVER PUTTING A JOE BIDEN FLAG ON MY TRUCK I was talking to a coworker today. (OK, well, technically I was arguing with an anonymous Twitter troll—but hey, work is work, right?) As Patriot45FreedomGuy launched a fierce barrage of 280-character word salad salvos at me about how disgraceful the Democrats are and what a hero Donald Trump is, he declared himself a proud member Continue Reading Why I’m Never Putting a Joe Biden IT'S TRUMP'S PRIVILEGE, NOT HIS MENTAL ILLNESS THAT Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Reuters For years, people have been talking about Donald Trump’s “mental state,” throwing around the term mental illness as a lazy catch-all for his erratic behavior, inexhaustible cruelty, and inexplicable recklessness. In the wake of the election, a growing choir has assembled singing the same refrain. This has always struck me as Continue Reading It’s IF GOD IS LOVE, DON’T BE A JERK If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk calls us to create a more just and equitable world, one that affirms the beauty in all humanity—and leaves us feeling that it is all within our hands.”. “John Pavlovitz is an artisan of words. He’s a poet and a provocateur. THE CHRISTIANS WHO WOULD NOT HELP PEOPLE They would not help people. Not one of them. They all voted no on giving aid to Americans during the single greatest health crisis of our lifetimes: one that has taken the lives of over a half a million Americans and left millions more at the precipice of poverty and homelessness—or well beyond it.. They chose not to bring comfort or rest or peace to the assailed, harassed, and helpless inJOHN PAVLOVITZ
Stuff That Needs To Be Said. Image: nydailynews.com. It was early in 2016. The Republican politicians and the celebrity Evangelical preachers met with the devil in secret. REPUBLICANS CALL DECENCY "WOKE" BECAUSE THEY'RE INDECENT The politics of fear is nothing new. We’ve seen it throughout history. It’s a well-worn playbook. When you lack actual ideas, you need an enemy. When you have nothing redemptive to offer, you have to create a monster to push back against. When you are devoid of decency, you need to vilify it and somehow Continue Reading Republicans Call Decency “Woke” Because They’re Indecent THE PROBLEM WITH AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY ISN'T JESUS The people who have a problem with American Christianity, know that the problem with American Christianity isn’t Jesus—it’s that so many professed Christians in America simply refuse to listen to him. If they were to let the actual words of Jesus take root in the deepest recesses of their hearts, they’d transform a movement that hasJOHN PAVLOVITZ
Words can do incredible damage, but sometimes they can’t hold a candle to silence. Often it is those words that have been withheld which leave the greatest scars upon us. It is in that terrible absence that we are dealt the harshest blow by those who claim to love us. NO, I WON'T AGREE TO DISAGREE ABOUT YOU SUPPORTING TRUMP To Whom It May Concern, We recently found ourselves in a now-familiar location: hopelessly stuck in an unnavigable impasse on our respective paths, unable to find a way forward. And, as in so many times before, when the friction became too great and the exchange too heated and the tension too uncomfortable, you dropped an Continue Reading No, I Won’t Agree To Disagree About THE GRIEVING NEED YOU MOST AFTER THE FUNERAL My father died suddenly while on vacation three years ago. The event rattled the bedrock of my life in ways that are difficult to describe, and taught me lessons I couldn’t have learned any other way. One of the truths I discovered, is that when you lose someone you love—people show up. Almost immediately they surround you Continue Reading The Grieving Need You Most After the Funeral IT'S TRUMP'S PRIVILEGE, NOT HIS MENTAL ILLNESS THAT Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Reuters For years, people have been talking about Donald Trump’s “mental state,” throwing around the term mental illness as a lazy catch-all for his erratic behavior, inexhaustible cruelty, and inexplicable recklessness. In the wake of the election, a growing choir has assembled singing the same refrain. This has always struck me as Continue Reading It’s DEAR CHURCH, HERE'S WHY PEOPLE ARE LEAVING Dear Church, The Exodus has begun and it’s not going to stop. People are leaving you and they’re probably not coming back. I’ve been where you are and I know what’s happening within you right now. I know you’re panicking, scrambling to understand it all, trying to somehow stop the bleeding, to reverse the swift Continue Reading Dear Church, Here’s Why People Are LeavingJOHN PAVLOVITZ
And that’s the sad truth here: the refusal of tens of millions of professed adults to be vaccinated despite the unthinkable death we’ve witnessed, is a symptom of a political movement that was so bereft of ideas, it needed to turn a pandemic into a war against theiropponents.
EVANGELICALS DON'T HATE CANCEL CULTURE, THEY INVENTED IT Evangelicals Don’t Hate Cancel Culture, They Invented it. Every day I see Christians lamenting the “Cancel Culture;” claiming whenever they face accountability for their words or their conduct, or for the policies or politicians they support—that they are being systematically silenced. This is irony of biblical proportions. HERE'S WHAT I KNOW ABOUT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE Yesterday, someone said to me, “Will you please say something about the violence happening right now between Israel and Palestine?” “At least tell people what side you’re on” she added. I hesitated for a moment. I knew she was asking me to speak into something so sprawling and complicated and layered with time and history, Continue Reading Here’s What I Know About Israel THE COFFEE YOU WON'T GET TO DRINK (A REFLECTION ON DYING) Seven years ago my parents went on a cruise to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday. My family and I happened to call them just as they were sailing away. We could hear the ship’s booming horn blasting out as we quickly wished dad a happy birthday and them a wonderful trip and told them to Continue Reading The Coffee You Won’t Get to Drink (A Reflection On Dying) THE CHRISTIANS WHO WOULD NOT HELP PEOPLE March 11, 2021. March 11, 2021. / John Pavlovitz. They would not help people. Not one of them. They all voted no on giving aid to Americans during the single greatest health crisis of our lifetimes: one that has taken the lives of over a half a million Americans and left millions more at the precipice of poverty and homelessness—or well IF GOD IS LOVE, DON’T BE A JERK If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk calls us to create a more just and equitable world, one that affirms the beauty in all humanity—and leaves us feeling that it is all within our hands.”. “John Pavlovitz is an artisan of words. He’s a poet and a provocateur. LET MY PEOPLE VOTE: WHY VOTER SUPPRESSION IS UNBIBLICAL In the book of Exodus, when Moses and Aaron demand Pharaoh’s release of the Israelites, they are reminding him that humanity was designed to be free; that every single human being was individually created with purpose and promise by God, to be masters of their own destiny and directors of their own path. God fiercely Continue Reading Let My People Vote: Why Voter Suppression is Unbiblical REPUBLICANS CALL DECENCY "WOKE" BECAUSE THEY'RE INDECENT The politics of fear is nothing new. We’ve seen it throughout history. It’s a well-worn playbook. When you lack actual ideas, you need an enemy. When you have nothing redemptive to offer, you have to create a monster to push back against. When you are devoid of decency, you need to vilify it and somehow Continue Reading Republicans Call Decency “Woke” Because They’re Indecent WHY I'M NEVER PUTTING A JOE BIDEN FLAG ON MY TRUCK I was talking to a coworker today. (OK, well, technically I was arguing with an anonymous Twitter troll—but hey, work is work, right?) As Patriot45FreedomGuy launched a fierce barrage of 280-character word salad salvos at me about how disgraceful the Democrats are and what a hero Donald Trump is, he declared himself a proud member Continue Reading Why I’m Never Putting a Joe Biden IT'S TRUMP'S PRIVILEGE, NOT HIS MENTAL ILLNESS THAT Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Reuters For years, people have been talking about Donald Trump’s “mental state,” throwing around the term mental illness as a lazy catch-all for his erratic behavior, inexhaustible cruelty, and inexplicable recklessness. In the wake of the election, a growing choir has assembled singing the same refrain. This has always struck me as Continue Reading It’sJOHN PAVLOVITZ
And that’s the sad truth here: the refusal of tens of millions of professed adults to be vaccinated despite the unthinkable death we’ve witnessed, is a symptom of a political movement that was so bereft of ideas, it needed to turn a pandemic into a war against theiropponents.
EVANGELICALS DON'T HATE CANCEL CULTURE, THEY INVENTED IT Evangelicals Don’t Hate Cancel Culture, They Invented it. Every day I see Christians lamenting the “Cancel Culture;” claiming whenever they face accountability for their words or their conduct, or for the policies or politicians they support—that they are being systematically silenced. This is irony of biblical proportions. HERE'S WHAT I KNOW ABOUT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE Yesterday, someone said to me, “Will you please say something about the violence happening right now between Israel and Palestine?” “At least tell people what side you’re on” she added. I hesitated for a moment. I knew she was asking me to speak into something so sprawling and complicated and layered with time and history, Continue Reading Here’s What I Know About Israel THE COFFEE YOU WON'T GET TO DRINK (A REFLECTION ON DYING) Seven years ago my parents went on a cruise to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday. My family and I happened to call them just as they were sailing away. We could hear the ship’s booming horn blasting out as we quickly wished dad a happy birthday and them a wonderful trip and told them to Continue Reading The Coffee You Won’t Get to Drink (A Reflection On Dying) THE CHRISTIANS WHO WOULD NOT HELP PEOPLE March 11, 2021. March 11, 2021. / John Pavlovitz. They would not help people. Not one of them. They all voted no on giving aid to Americans during the single greatest health crisis of our lifetimes: one that has taken the lives of over a half a million Americans and left millions more at the precipice of poverty and homelessness—or well IF GOD IS LOVE, DON’T BE A JERK If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk calls us to create a more just and equitable world, one that affirms the beauty in all humanity—and leaves us feeling that it is all within our hands.”. “John Pavlovitz is an artisan of words. He’s a poet and a provocateur. LET MY PEOPLE VOTE: WHY VOTER SUPPRESSION IS UNBIBLICAL In the book of Exodus, when Moses and Aaron demand Pharaoh’s release of the Israelites, they are reminding him that humanity was designed to be free; that every single human being was individually created with purpose and promise by God, to be masters of their own destiny and directors of their own path. God fiercely Continue Reading Let My People Vote: Why Voter Suppression is Unbiblical REPUBLICANS CALL DECENCY "WOKE" BECAUSE THEY'RE INDECENT The politics of fear is nothing new. We’ve seen it throughout history. It’s a well-worn playbook. When you lack actual ideas, you need an enemy. When you have nothing redemptive to offer, you have to create a monster to push back against. When you are devoid of decency, you need to vilify it and somehow Continue Reading Republicans Call Decency “Woke” Because They’re Indecent WHY I'M NEVER PUTTING A JOE BIDEN FLAG ON MY TRUCK I was talking to a coworker today. (OK, well, technically I was arguing with an anonymous Twitter troll—but hey, work is work, right?) As Patriot45FreedomGuy launched a fierce barrage of 280-character word salad salvos at me about how disgraceful the Democrats are and what a hero Donald Trump is, he declared himself a proud member Continue Reading Why I’m Never Putting a Joe Biden IT'S TRUMP'S PRIVILEGE, NOT HIS MENTAL ILLNESS THAT Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Reuters For years, people have been talking about Donald Trump’s “mental state,” throwing around the term mental illness as a lazy catch-all for his erratic behavior, inexhaustible cruelty, and inexplicable recklessness. In the wake of the election, a growing choir has assembled singing the same refrain. This has always struck me as Continue Reading It’s THE CHRISTIANS WHO WOULD NOT HELP PEOPLE They would not help people. Not one of them. They all voted no on giving aid to Americans during the single greatest health crisis of our lifetimes: one that has taken the lives of over a half a million Americans and left millions more at the precipice of poverty and homelessness—or well beyond it.. They chose not to bring comfort or rest or peace to the assailed, harassed, and helpless in IF GOD IS LOVE, DON’T BE A JERK If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk calls us to create a more just and equitable world, one that affirms the beauty in all humanity—and leaves us feeling that it is all within our hands.”. “John Pavlovitz is an artisan of words. He’s a poet and a provocateur. A REVOLUTION OF NOTHING History will record and quantify the events of January 6th, but it will tell a very different story than the one playing in the heads of the perpetrators and of their disgraced, emotionally bankrupt white messiah. This was an empty insurrection. It was a hollow treason. It was a meaningless rebellion. It was a deadly, costly nothingrevolution.
JOHN PAVLOVITZ
Words can do incredible damage, but sometimes they can’t hold a candle to silence. Often it is those words that have been withheld which leave the greatest scars upon us. It is in that terrible absence that we are dealt the harshest blow by those who claim to love us. REPUBLICAN CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY Republican Crimes Against Humanity. December 17, 2020. February 2, 2021. / John Pavlovitz. It’s easy to feel like we lost this entire year but that’s not exactly true. We aren’t merely a victim of this insidious virus, either. That perspective makes the collective tragedy we have experienced inevitable, but it was not.JOHN PAVLOVITZ
Stuff That Needs To Be Said. Image: nydailynews.com. It was early in 2016. The Republican politicians and the celebrity Evangelical preachers met with the devil in secret. HUMANITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BIPARTISANSHIP For months I’ve been hearing about pursuing a bipartisan America; about this nation needing to forge a new spirit of political collaboration if we ever hope to bridge the massive divides here. I’m tired of hearing that. We all know how we got here. We’ve all lived through the past five years. We saw the Continue Reading Humanity is More Important Than Bipartisanship IF MAGA CHRISTIANITY IS CHRISTIANITY—I'M NOT A CHRISTIAN I used to think I was a Christian.I’ve been a pastor in the local church for twenty-five years and a believer for most of my life. I’ve spent decades studying and teaching, working in the church, leading retreats and mission trips, caring for the needs of people, and working to emulate the Jesus I found Continue Reading If MAGA Christianity is Christianity—I’m Not a Christian and THE PROBLEM WITH AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY ISN'T JESUS The people who have a problem with American Christianity, know that the problem with American Christianity isn’t Jesus—it’s that so many professed Christians in America simply refuse to listen to him. If they were to let the actual words of Jesus take root in the deepest recesses of their hearts, they’d transform a movement that has THE GRIEVING NEED YOU MOST AFTER THE FUNERAL My father died suddenly while on vacation three years ago. The event rattled the bedrock of my life in ways that are difficult to describe, and taught me lessons I couldn’t have learned any other way. One of the truths I discovered, is that when you lose someone you love—people show up. Almost immediately they surround you Continue Reading The Grieving Need You Most After the FuneralJOHN PAVLOVITZ
I used to think I was a Christian.I’ve been a pastor in the local church for twenty-five years and a believer for most of my life. I’ve spent decades studying and teaching, working in the church, leading retreats and mission trips, caring for the needs of people, and working to emulate the Jesus I found in the Gospels. HERE'S WHAT I KNOW ABOUT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE Yesterday, someone said to me, “Will you please say something about the violence happening right now between Israel and Palestine?” “At least tell people what side you’re on” she added. I hesitated for a moment. I knew she was asking me to speak into something so sprawling and complicated and layered with time and history, Continue Reading Here’s What I Know About Israel EVANGELICALS DON'T HATE CANCEL CULTURE, THEY INVENTED IT Evangelicals Don’t Hate Cancel Culture, They Invented it. Every day I see Christians lamenting the “Cancel Culture;” claiming whenever they face accountability for their words or their conduct, or for the policies or politicians they support—that they are being systematically silenced. This is irony of biblical proportions. IF GOD IS LOVE, DON’T BE A JERK If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk calls us to create a more just and equitable world, one that affirms the beauty in all humanity—and leaves us feeling that it is all within our hands.”. “John Pavlovitz is an artisan of words. He’s a poet and a provocateur. THE COFFEE YOU WON'T GET TO DRINK (A REFLECTION ON DYING) Seven years ago my parents went on a cruise to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday. My family and I happened to call them just as they were sailing away. We could hear the ship’s booming horn blasting out as we quickly wished dad a happy birthday and them a wonderful trip and told them to Continue Reading The Coffee You Won’t Get to Drink (A Reflection On Dying) THE CHRISTIANS WHO WOULD NOT HELP PEOPLE March 11, 2021. March 11, 2021. / John Pavlovitz. They would not help people. Not one of them. They all voted no on giving aid to Americans during the single greatest health crisis of our lifetimes: one that has taken the lives of over a half a million Americans and left millions more at the precipice of poverty and homelessness—or well LET MY PEOPLE VOTE: WHY VOTER SUPPRESSION IS UNBIBLICAL In the book of Exodus, when Moses and Aaron demand Pharaoh’s release of the Israelites, they are reminding him that humanity was designed to be free; that every single human being was individually created with purpose and promise by God, to be masters of their own destiny and directors of their own path. God fiercely Continue Reading Let My People Vote: Why Voter Suppression is Unbiblical WHY I'M NEVER PUTTING A JOE BIDEN FLAG ON MY TRUCK I was talking to a coworker today. (OK, well, technically I was arguing with an anonymous Twitter troll—but hey, work is work, right?) As Patriot45FreedomGuy launched a fierce barrage of 280-character word salad salvos at me about how disgraceful the Democrats are and what a hero Donald Trump is, he declared himself a proud member Continue Reading Why I’m Never Putting a Joe Biden IF GOD IS LOVE, GOD IS FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE If God is really love, if that truly is the essence of the Divine, then God is for same-gender marriage, non-heteronormative marriages for the same reason God is for any loving, respectful union. If God is love, God is for a mutually-beneficial relationship between two adult people; where they each find connection, affection, and devotion in IT'S TRUMP'S PRIVILEGE, NOT HIS MENTAL ILLNESS THAT Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Reuters For years, people have been talking about Donald Trump’s “mental state,” throwing around the term mental illness as a lazy catch-all for his erratic behavior, inexhaustible cruelty, and inexplicable recklessness. In the wake of the election, a growing choir has assembled singing the same refrain. This has always struck me as Continue Reading It’sJOHN PAVLOVITZ
I used to think I was a Christian.I’ve been a pastor in the local church for twenty-five years and a believer for most of my life. I’ve spent decades studying and teaching, working in the church, leading retreats and mission trips, caring for the needs of people, and working to emulate the Jesus I found in the Gospels. HERE'S WHAT I KNOW ABOUT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE Yesterday, someone said to me, “Will you please say something about the violence happening right now between Israel and Palestine?” “At least tell people what side you’re on” she added. I hesitated for a moment. I knew she was asking me to speak into something so sprawling and complicated and layered with time and history, Continue Reading Here’s What I Know About Israel EVANGELICALS DON'T HATE CANCEL CULTURE, THEY INVENTED IT Evangelicals Don’t Hate Cancel Culture, They Invented it. Every day I see Christians lamenting the “Cancel Culture;” claiming whenever they face accountability for their words or their conduct, or for the policies or politicians they support—that they are being systematically silenced. This is irony of biblical proportions. IF GOD IS LOVE, DON’T BE A JERK If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk calls us to create a more just and equitable world, one that affirms the beauty in all humanity—and leaves us feeling that it is all within our hands.”. “John Pavlovitz is an artisan of words. He’s a poet and a provocateur. THE COFFEE YOU WON'T GET TO DRINK (A REFLECTION ON DYING) Seven years ago my parents went on a cruise to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday. My family and I happened to call them just as they were sailing away. We could hear the ship’s booming horn blasting out as we quickly wished dad a happy birthday and them a wonderful trip and told them to Continue Reading The Coffee You Won’t Get to Drink (A Reflection On Dying) THE CHRISTIANS WHO WOULD NOT HELP PEOPLE March 11, 2021. March 11, 2021. / John Pavlovitz. They would not help people. Not one of them. They all voted no on giving aid to Americans during the single greatest health crisis of our lifetimes: one that has taken the lives of over a half a million Americans and left millions more at the precipice of poverty and homelessness—or well LET MY PEOPLE VOTE: WHY VOTER SUPPRESSION IS UNBIBLICAL In the book of Exodus, when Moses and Aaron demand Pharaoh’s release of the Israelites, they are reminding him that humanity was designed to be free; that every single human being was individually created with purpose and promise by God, to be masters of their own destiny and directors of their own path. God fiercely Continue Reading Let My People Vote: Why Voter Suppression is Unbiblical WHY I'M NEVER PUTTING A JOE BIDEN FLAG ON MY TRUCK I was talking to a coworker today. (OK, well, technically I was arguing with an anonymous Twitter troll—but hey, work is work, right?) As Patriot45FreedomGuy launched a fierce barrage of 280-character word salad salvos at me about how disgraceful the Democrats are and what a hero Donald Trump is, he declared himself a proud member Continue Reading Why I’m Never Putting a Joe Biden IF GOD IS LOVE, GOD IS FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE If God is really love, if that truly is the essence of the Divine, then God is for same-gender marriage, non-heteronormative marriages for the same reason God is for any loving, respectful union. If God is love, God is for a mutually-beneficial relationship between two adult people; where they each find connection, affection, and devotion in IT'S TRUMP'S PRIVILEGE, NOT HIS MENTAL ILLNESS THAT Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Reuters For years, people have been talking about Donald Trump’s “mental state,” throwing around the term mental illness as a lazy catch-all for his erratic behavior, inexhaustible cruelty, and inexplicable recklessness. In the wake of the election, a growing choir has assembled singing the same refrain. This has always struck me as Continue Reading It’s I'M A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. EVANGELICALS HAVE TO BE DEFEATED I’ve been a pastor in the church for over two decades, much of that in predominantly white churches the American South. I’ve spent countless hours in church staff meetings and men’s Bible studies and youth pastor conferences. I’ve stayed connected on social media with thousands of people still there in those churches. I read what Continue Reading I’m a Christian Pastor I DON'T CARE ABOUT BIPARTISANSHIP, I CARE ABOUT HUMANITY For months I’ve been hearing about pursuing a bipartisan America; about this nation needing to forge a new spirit of political collaboration if we ever hope to bridge the massive divides here. I’m tired of hearing that. We all know how we got here. We’ve all lived through the past five years. We saw the Continue Reading I Don’t Care About Bipartisanship, I Care About Humanity REPUBLICANS CALL DECENCY "WOKE" BECAUSE THEY'RE INDECENT The politics of fear is nothing new. We’ve seen it throughout history. It’s a well-worn playbook. When you lack actual ideas, you need an enemy. When you have nothing redemptive to offer, you have to create a monster to push back against. When you are devoid of decency, you need to vilify it and somehow Continue Reading Republicans Call Decency “Woke” Because They’re Indecent THE PROBLEM WITH AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY ISN'T JESUS The people who have a problem with American Christianity, know that the problem with American Christianity isn’t Jesus—it’s that so many professed Christians in America simply refuse to listen to him. If they were to let the actual words of Jesus take root in the deepest recesses of their hearts, they’d transform a movement that hasJOHN PAVLOVITZ
Words can do incredible damage, but sometimes they can’t hold a candle to silence. Often it is those words that have been withheld which leave the greatest scars upon us. It is in that terrible absence that we are dealt the harshest blow by those who claim to love us.JOHN PAVLOVITZ
Stuff That Needs To Be Said. Image: nydailynews.com. It was early in 2016. The Republican politicians and the celebrity Evangelical preachers met with the devil in secret.JOHN PAVLOVITZ
Stuff That Needs To Be Said. Thou shalt not steal. – God. Millions of people have lost their religion but they haven’t all given it upwillingly.
JOHN PAVLOVITZ
Let’s be honest here: our President is not a well man. To most objective observers this isn’t really up for debate anymore. His frenetic impulsiveness, his propensity toward violent outbursts, his elementary school vocabulary, his nonsensical Twitter rants, his allergic reaction to the truth, his public bullying of judges and FBIstaff.
RELIGION ARCHIVES
Fear can make you freeze. Worse than that, it can make you silent. The first time I questioned my theology (I mean really questioned it), I was flat-out terrified. Not terrified of God, per se (because I figured God being God and all, was more than big enough to handle my assorted queries), I was terrified of the people of God.. Like many Christians, I found myself within a spiritual community CHRISTIANITY ARCHIVES So, Christian Mom or Dad, your child has come out to you as LGBTQ. Whether this news comes completely out of the blue or whether you saw it coming for a while, it’s probably accompanied by a swirling flood of conflicting emotions and fears and questions.Cookie Policy
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on ourwebsite. Learn More
DeclineAllow cookiesJOHN PAVLOVITZ
STUFF THAT NEEDS TO BE SAIDMENU
Skip to content
* Home
* Books
* Low: An Honest Advent Devotional * Hope and Other Super Powers* A Bigger Table
* Speaking
* Shop
* Email Sign Up
* Give
* About
* Contact
Search
Search for:
I THINK YOU MAY BE WASTING FREEDOM May 4, 2020May 4, 2020/ John Pavlovitz
Freedom is an unearned privilege—and you have it.If you were born here in America you inherited it. It came with your breath and your birth certificate.That freedom actually wasn’t free though—it was quite costly and someone prepaid it on your behalf.You never met them and you’ll likely never know their names.They paid for your freedom in filthy, putrid trenches decades ago and half a world away.They paid it on blackened beachfronts littered with the blood and body parts of strangers.They paid it cold and alone on frozen countrysides, in places their bodies still remain.Others paid in churches in Birmingham and on campus squares in Ohio and in streets of Chicago.Generations of Americans sacrificed family and future and body and breath, so that you could be pulled from the birth canal nestled in the warm embrace of the easy liberty you’ve come to believe you deserve.Which makes it all the more tragic and shameful how little regard you have for that freedom now, how much you’re squandering it in these eight long weeks you’ve decided are too much for you to bear and constitute an assault on your personal liberty:You’re complaining because you’re a little late getting your roots dyed and because your lawn is dying. You’re screaming in the face of police officers because you want to go to Golden Corrall and get your nails done and have a barbecue. You’re descending on capitol buildings with high-powered weapons, because it’s demanding too much of you to save someone else’s life by just staying home. You’re threatening grocery store workers because you’re being asked to simply cover your nose and mouth with a tiny piece of cloth while grocery store shopping—and that feels like oppression to you.What a stupid, selfish waste of the freedom people paid so dearly for. What a middle finger to those who gave everything. What a squandering of the gift that is this nation.Your courageous, selfless forbears were asked to fight and die on foreign soil in order to save other American lives—and they did. They braved bombs and bullets to perpetuate this place where liberty resides and you were generously handed. In times of war, people here went without for years in cause of the soldiers who were preserving the democracy we were born into. Activists here gave up security and safety for your right to vote and marry and to live unfettered by tyranny.Today, you’re being asked to simply stay home to accomplish the same noble task and you can’t manage that. You are interpreting your temporary and fleeting inconvenience as perpetual persecution—that’s how soft and sad we’ve become, how small our battles now are, what we see as worthy causes.That’s the way freedom works, though. No one gets to tell you how to wield it or what merits your indignation or what is worth your outrage. But from where I’m standing, you’re making a mockery of the lives of Americans, who in trenches and on beachfronts and countrysides and churches and campuses and street corners, spilled blood and lost limbs and sacrificed life on your behalf.That’s the thing about the “personal freedom” you seem to be missing: it was never supposed to be just about you. It wasn’t purely about independence, it was about interdependence: about loving our neighbor as ourselves, about being our brother’s keeper, about caring for one another because we’re all in this together. That’s what the anthems declare and the statues proclaim and the songs resound. You’re being asked to stay at home and to wear a mask and to sacrifice normalcy, not just for you, but for other Americans: so that vulnerable people aren’t exposed to a virus their bodies likely cannot overcome. so that already exhausted healthcare workers will not be overwhelmed by a continual flood of sick people. so that we aren’t hit with a second tidal wave of sickness and death that we will be unable to come back from.But if you feel like that’s asking too much of you, go ahead and scream and complain and protest and threaten and beat your chest like you are defending liberty: that’s what someone sacrificed so you could do.I’m just not sure your hair is a hill worth them dying on.I think you may be wasting freedom.Share this:FacebookTwitterPinterest2RedditPrintEmailLike this:LikeLoading...">
FREEDOM IS AN UNEARNED PRIVILEGE—AND YOU HAVE IT. IF YOU WERE BORN HERE IN AMERICA YOU INHERITED IT. IT CAME WITH YOUR BREATH AND YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE. THAT FREEDOM ACTUALLY WASN’T FREE THOUGH—IT WAS QUITE COSTLY AND SOMEONE PREPAID IT ON YOUR BEHALF. YOU NEVER MET THEM AND YOU’LL LIKELY NEVER KNOW THEIR NAMES. THEY PAID FOR YOUR FREEDOM IN FILTHY, PUTRID TRENCHES DECADES AGO ANDHALF A WORLD AWAY.
THEY PAID IT ON BLACKENED BEACHFRONTS LITTERED WITH THE BLOOD AND BODYPARTS OF STRANGERS.
THEY PAID IT COLD AND ALONE ON FROZEN COUNTRYSIDES, IN PLACES THEIR BODIES STILL REMAIN. OTHERS PAID IN CHURCHES IN BIRMINGHAM AND ON CAMPUS SQUARES IN OHIO AND IN STREETS OF CHICAGO. GENERATIONS OF AMERICANS SACRIFICED FAMILY AND FUTURE AND BODY AND BREATH, SO THAT YOU COULD BE PULLED FROM THE BIRTH CANAL NESTLED IN THE WARM EMBRACE OF THE EASY LIBERTY YOU’VE COME TO BELIEVE YOUDESERVE.
WHICH MAKES IT ALL THE MORE TRAGIC AND SHAMEFUL HOW LITTLE REGARD YOU HAVE FOR THAT FREEDOM NOW, HOW MUCH YOU’RE SQUANDERING IT IN THESE EIGHT LONG WEEKS YOU’VE DECIDED ARE TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO BEAR AND CONSTITUTE AN ASSAULT ON YOUR PERSONAL LIBERTY: YOU’RE COMPLAINING BECAUSE YOU’RE A LITTLE LATE GETTING YOUR ROOTS DYED AND BECAUSE YOUR LAWN IS DYING. YOU’RE SCREAMING IN THE FACE OF POLICE OFFICERS BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GO TO GOLDEN CORRALL AND GET YOUR NAILS DONE AND HAVE A BARBECUE. YOU’RE DESCENDING ON CAPITOL BUILDINGS WITH HIGH-POWERED WEAPONS, BECAUSE IT’S DEMANDING TOO MUCH OF YOU TO SAVE SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE BY JUST STAYING HOME. YOU’RE THREATENING GROCERY STORE WORKERS BECAUSE YOU’RE BEING ASKED TO SIMPLY COVER YOUR NOSE AND MOUTH WITH A TINY PIECE OF CLOTH WHILE GROCERY STORE SHOPPING—AND THAT FEELS LIKE OPPRESSION TO YOU. WHAT A STUPID, SELFISH WASTE OF THE FREEDOM PEOPLE PAID SO DEARLY FOR. WHAT A MIDDLE FINGER TO THOSE WHO GAVE EVERYTHING. WHAT A SQUANDERING OF THE GIFT THAT IS THIS NATION. Your courageous, selfless forbears were asked to fight and die on foreign soil in order to save other American lives—and they did. They braved bombs and bullets to perpetuate this place where liberty resides and you were generously handed. In times of war, people here went without for years in cause of the soldiers who were preserving the democracy we were born into. Activists here gave up security and safety for your right to vote and marry and to live unfettered by tyranny. TODAY, YOU’RE BEING ASKED TO SIMPLY STAY HOME TO ACCOMPLISH THE SAME NOBLE TASK AND YOU CAN’T MANAGE THAT. YOU ARE INTERPRETING YOUR TEMPORARY AND FLEETING INCONVENIENCE AS PERPETUAL PERSECUTION—THAT’S HOW SOFT AND SAD WE’VE BECOME, HOW SMALL OUR BATTLES NOW ARE, WHAT WE SEE AS WORTHY CAUSES. THAT’S THE WAY FREEDOM WORKS, THOUGH. NO ONE GETS TO TELL YOU HOW TO WIELD IT OR WHAT MERITS YOUR INDIGNATION OR WHAT IS WORTH YOUROUTRAGE.
BUT FROM WHERE I’M STANDING, YOU’RE MAKING A MOCKERY OF THE LIVES OF AMERICANS, WHO IN TRENCHES AND ON BEACHFRONTS AND COUNTRYSIDES AND CHURCHES AND CAMPUSES AND STREET CORNERS, SPILLED BLOOD AND LOST LIMBS AND SACRIFICED LIFE ON YOUR BEHALF. THAT’S THE THING ABOUT THE “PERSONAL FREEDOM” YOU SEEM TO BE MISSING: IT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE JUST ABOUT YOU. IT WASN’T PURELY ABOUT INDEPENDENCE, IT WAS ABOUT _INTERDEPENDENCE_: ABOUT LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES, ABOUT BEING OUR BROTHER’S KEEPER, ABOUT CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER BECAUSE WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. THAT’S WHAT THE ANTHEMS DECLARE AND THE STATUES PROCLAIM AND THESONGS RESOUND.
YOU’RE BEING ASKED TO STAY AT HOME AND TO WEAR A MASK AND TO SACRIFICE NORMALCY, NOT JUST FOR YOU, BUT FOR OTHER AMERICANS: SO THAT VULNERABLE PEOPLE AREN’T EXPOSED TO A VIRUS THEIR BODIES LIKELY CANNOT OVERCOME. SO THAT ALREADY EXHAUSTED HEALTHCARE WORKERS WILL NOT BE OVERWHELMED BY A CONTINUAL FLOOD OF SICK PEOPLE. SO THAT WE AREN’T HIT WITH A SECOND TIDAL WAVE OF SICKNESS AND DEATH THAT WE WILL BE UNABLE TO COME BACK FROM. BUT IF YOU FEEL LIKE THAT’S ASKING TOO MUCH OF YOU, GO AHEAD AND SCREAM AND COMPLAIN AND PROTEST AND THREATEN AND BEAT YOUR CHEST LIKE YOU ARE DEFENDING LIBERTY: THAT’S WHAT SOMEONE SACRIFICED SO YOUCOULD DO.
I’M JUST NOT SURE YOUR HAIR IS A HILL WORTH THEM DYING ON. I THINK YOU MAY BE WASTING FREEDOM.SHARE THIS:
* Pinterest2
*
LIKE THIS:
Like Loading...
THE WHITE PRIVILEGE TO TERRORIZE May 1, 2020May 2, 2020/ John Pavlovitz
Photo AFP via Getty Images.As a white man watching the Michigan protests of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders, all I could think was: Black people don’t get to do this. Muslims don’t get to do this. Latinos don’t get to do this. People who don’t look like this don’t get to do this.They don’t get to swarm American capitol buildings in tactical gear with high-powered weapons, screaming in close proximity to police officers. They don’t get to dress up like Call of Duty cosplayers and attempt to physically intimidate politicians into bending to their wills. They don’t get to get to stop traffic in city streets decked out like they work at the Death Star and brazenly wield semi-automatic rifles. They don’t get to terrorize decent people and walk away.Only white people get to do this. This violence is a singular privilege afforded to caucasian men in America. People of color aren’t afforded this luxury. They can’t even get close to such ugliness. Heck, they barely get to breathe.No, they’re shot as 12-year olds walking through the park with toy guns. They’re choked out selling cigarettes on street corners. They’re assassinated while unarmed in their cars during routine traffic stops. They’re gunned down in their homes by uninvited police officers. They’re driven into the pavement by overzealous security guards. They’re demonized as mothers declaring that their murdered children’s lives mattered. They’re publicly vilified by white presidents for silently kneeling on NFL sidelines.Black people don’t get to wear menacing masks or flash handguns on courthouse steps or accost strangers looking like dollar store stormtroopers, in an attempt to frighten people.They frighten jittery white people by simply existing in their blackness.They frighten them by lingering in coffee shops. They frighten them by eating lunch in their cars. They frighten them by standing in front of their own homes.In those places where they are simply and lawfully living, they are met with disapproving side-eye glances, greeted with clutched purses, and assailed by an army of terrified Karens, whose itchy text trigger fingers easily dial 911 when non-white young people congregate in a park or crowd their favorite Chick-Fil-A dining room.This privilege has always existed, but it’s been decades since it’s been afforded this wide a berth, this long a leash, and such kid gloves from leaders. The threatening displays of white rage around the country lately, are happening with such frequency and ferocity, because participants know that they have in this president, a dedicated advocate, a willing partner, a powerful accomplice. It’s no coincidence that in the middle of the fight to oppose stay-at-home protections by Blue governors choosing humanity over commerce, Trump tweeted out seeming non sequitur invocations to LIBERATE several cities and warned of second amendment encroachment. Though on their surface the subjects seemed unrelated to stopping the spread of the virus, these tweets were clear dog whistles for his snarling white base to suit up, strap on weapons, and provide the free muscle in his reckless push to reopen American in the throes of a pandemic, knowing they’d never be held accountable.This is MAGA America in its dawning renaissance of outward racism, showing us what is at stake as we approach another election. We aren’t just choosing a president or party to steward us through the coming years, we’re making a statement on what we will and will not tolerate as a people.What we witnessed in Michigan was an act of terrorism, by the very definition of the word. We have seen many such acts this week, and if November allows this malevolence another four years, they will seem tame. The self-appointed soldiers in the army of the lord will grow more brazen and become more violent in their holy war to make America whiter—so decent white people need to resist them in the streets, on social media, and at the polls.I fully suspect people of color will oppose this presidency in large numbers, because they see the disparity. What I hope and pray, is that more white people, especially those who claim to be Christian, will also stand to reject the supremacy and racism that yields such willful homegrown terrorism; that we will use the unearned currency of our privilege to declare this violence un-American and inhuman and unacceptable.White terrorists can no longer have a friend in the White House—not if we really want to make America great. Order book ‘HOPE AND OTHER SUPERPOWERS” here! Share this:FacebookTwitterPinterest25RedditPrintEmailLike this:LikeLoading...">
Photo AFP via Getty Images. AS A WHITE MAN WATCHING THE MICHIGAN PROTESTS OF GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER’S STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS, ALL I COULD THINK WAS: BLACK PEOPLE DON’T GET TO DO THIS. MUSLIMS DON’T GET TO DO THIS. LATINOS DON’T GET TO DO THIS. PEOPLE WHO DON’T LOOK LIKE THIS DON’T GET TO DO THIS. THEY DON’T GET TO SWARM AMERICAN CAPITOL BUILDINGS IN TACTICAL GEAR WITH HIGH-POWERED WEAPONS, SCREAMING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO POLICEOFFICERS.
THEY DON’T GET TO DRESS UP LIKE _CALL OF DUTY_ COSPLAYERS AND ATTEMPT TO PHYSICALLY INTIMIDATE POLITICIANS INTO BENDING TO THEIRWILLS.
THEY DON’T GET TO GET TO STOP TRAFFIC IN CITY STREETS DECKED OUT LIKE THEY WORK AT THE DEATH STAR AND BRAZENLY WIELD SEMI-AUTOMATICRIFLES.
THEY DON’T GET TO TERRORIZE DECENT PEOPLE AND WALK AWAY. ONLY WHITE PEOPLE GET TO DO THIS. THIS VIOLENCE IS A SINGULAR PRIVILEGE AFFORDED TO CAUCASIAN MEN INAMERICA.
PEOPLE OF COLOR AREN’T AFFORDED THIS LUXURY. THEY CAN’T EVEN GET CLOSE TO SUCH UGLINESS. HECK, THEY BARELY GET TO BREATHE. NO, THEY’RE SHOT AS 12-YEAR OLDS WALKING THROUGH THE PARK WITH TOYGUNS.
THEY’RE CHOKED OUT SELLING CIGARETTES ON STREET CORNERS. THEY’RE ASSASSINATED WHILE UNARMED IN THEIR CARS DURING ROUTINETRAFFIC STOPS.
THEY’RE GUNNED DOWN IN THEIR HOMES BY UNINVITED POLICE OFFICERS. THEY’RE DRIVEN INTO THE PAVEMENT BY OVERZEALOUS SECURITY GUARDS. THEY’RE DEMONIZED AS MOTHERS DECLARING THAT THEIR MURDERED CHILDREN’S LIVES MATTERED. THEY’RE PUBLICLY VILIFIED BY WHITE PRESIDENTS FOR SILENTLY KNEELINGON NFL SIDELINES.
BLACK PEOPLE DON’T GET TO WEAR MENACING MASKS OR FLASH HANDGUNS ON COURTHOUSE STEPS OR ACCOST STRANGERS LOOKING LIKE DOLLAR STORE STORMTROOPERS, IN AN ATTEMPT TO FRIGHTEN PEOPLE. THEY FRIGHTEN JITTERY WHITE PEOPLE BY SIMPLY EXISTING IN THEIRBLACKNESS.
THEY FRIGHTEN THEM BY LINGERING IN COFFEE SHOPS. THEY FRIGHTEN THEM BY EATING LUNCH IN THEIR CARS. THEY FRIGHTEN THEM BY STANDING IN FRONT OF THEIR OWN HOMES. IN THOSE PLACES WHERE THEY ARE SIMPLY AND LAWFULLY LIVING, THEY ARE MET WITH DISAPPROVING SIDE-EYE GLANCES, GREETED WITH CLUTCHED PURSES, AND ASSAILED BY AN ARMY OF TERRIFIED _KARENS,_ WHOSE ITCHY TEXT TRIGGER FINGERS EASILY DIAL 911 WHEN NON-WHITE YOUNG PEOPLE CONGREGATE IN A PARK OR CROWD THEIR FAVORITE CHICK-FIL-A DINING ROOM. THIS PRIVILEGE HAS ALWAYS EXISTED, BUT IT’S BEEN DECADES SINCE IT’S BEEN AFFORDED THIS WIDE A BERTH, THIS LONG A LEASH, AND SUCH KID GLOVES FROM LEADERS. THE THREATENING DISPLAYS OF WHITE RAGE AROUND THE COUNTRY LATELY, ARE HAPPENING WITH SUCH FREQUENCY AND FEROCITY, BECAUSE PARTICIPANTS KNOW THAT THEY HAVE IN THIS PRESIDENT, A DEDICATED ADVOCATE, A WILLING PARTNER, A POWERFUL ACCOMPLICE. IT’S NO COINCIDENCE THAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIGHT TO OPPOSE STAY-AT-HOME PROTECTIONS BY BLUE GOVERNORS CHOOSING HUMANITY OVER COMMERCE, TRUMP TWEETED OUT SEEMING NON SEQUITUR INVOCATIONS TO LIBERATE SEVERAL CITIES AND WARNED OF SECOND AMENDMENT ENCROACHMENT. THOUGH ON THEIR SURFACE THE SUBJECTS SEEMED UNRELATED TO STOPPING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS, THESE TWEETS WERE CLEAR DOG WHISTLES FOR HIS SNARLING WHITE BASE TO SUIT UP, STRAP ON WEAPONS, AND PROVIDE THE FREE MUSCLE IN HIS RECKLESS PUSH TO REOPEN AMERICAN IN THE THROES OF A PANDEMIC, KNOWING THEY’D NEVER BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. THIS IS MAGA AMERICA IN ITS DAWNING RENAISSANCE OF OUTWARD RACISM, SHOWING US WHAT IS AT STAKE AS WE APPROACH ANOTHER ELECTION. WE AREN’T JUST CHOOSING A PRESIDENT OR PARTY TO STEWARD US THROUGH THE COMING YEARS, WE’RE MAKING A STATEMENT ON WHAT WE WILL AND WILL NOT TOLERATE AS A PEOPLE. WHAT WE WITNESSED IN MICHIGAN WAS AN ACT OF TERRORISM, BY THE VERY DEFINITION OF THE WORD. WE HAVE SEEN MANY SUCH ACTS THIS WEEK, AND IF NOVEMBER ALLOWS THIS MALEVOLENCE ANOTHER FOUR YEARS, THEY WILL SEEM TAME. THE SELF-APPOINTED SOLDIERS IN THE ARMY OF THE LORD WILL GROW MORE BRAZEN AND BECOME MORE VIOLENT IN THEIR HOLY WAR TO MAKE AMERICA WHITER—SO DECENT WHITE PEOPLE NEED TO RESIST THEM IN THE STREETS, ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND AT THE POLLS. I FULLY SUSPECT PEOPLE OF COLOR WILL OPPOSE THIS PRESIDENCY IN LARGE NUMBERS, BECAUSE THEY SEE THE DISPARITY. WHAT I HOPE AND PRAY, IS THAT MORE WHITE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIAN, WILL ALSO STAND TO REJECT THE SUPREMACY AND RACISM THAT YIELDS SUCH WILLFUL HOMEGROWN TERRORISM; THAT WE WILL USE THE UNEARNED CURRENCY OF OUR PRIVILEGE TO DECLARE THIS VIOLENCE UN-AMERICAN AND INHUMAN AND UNACCEPTABLE. WHITE TERRORISTS CAN NO LONGER HAVE A FRIEND IN THE WHITE HOUSE—NOT IF WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT. Order book ‘HOPE AND OTHER SUPERPOWERS” here!
SHARE THIS:
* Pinterest25
*
LIKE THIS:
Like Loading...
PLEASE GET OFF THE FENCE, WHITE MODERATE CHRISTIANS April 28, 2020May 4, 2020/ John Pavlovitz
A friend of mine shared a social media post from a white Christian woman confessing that she was “torn” because of the side-choosing right now in America; saying “we’re all on the same side,” and that we shouldn’t fall into divisiveness or politicizing because of this pandemic. I hear this a lot from white moderate Christians right now—and I disagree with it every time.I disagreed with it when families were being separated at the border. I disagreed with it after the violent racism of the Charlottesville march. I disagreed with it after Tamir Rice’s execution. I disagreed with it while anti-transgender bathroom bills were being created. I disagreed with it after the murder of Trayvon Martin.Sometimes it’s not okay to be “torn.” Sometimes that torn-ness is a sign of our privilege. Sometimes it yields silence in matters of justice. Sometimes false equivalencies are deadly. Sometimes the fence is a deeply dangerous place to reside.In my Christian tradition, Jesus shows us this over and over. I love the image of him as the Good Shepherd with which you may be familiar whether you’re a person of faith or not. Moderate Christians tend to overlook the implications of this description. Yes, he was compassionate caregiver to the harassed and helpless sheep—but to those he saw as the wolves he was bold, public adversary. That was a redemptive position: to protect some people and rebuke others, to have a loud, unambiguous stance.Often morality requires a voice that says, “This is a threat to humanity and this is wrong.”Humanity becomes “the side,” and violence toward it, its opposing side—while the fence becomes a place of conscientious objection in that war. The fights for justice and equality always work this way. Yes, we see individuals and we respect stories—but we challenge the systems that impact those stories, even if that places us in the uncomfortable spaces of confrontation. There are quantifiable realities here in America right now: We have a pandemic that has infected one million people and killed 56,000 in two months. We make up nearly thirty percent of the world’s cases, while only four percent of the population. Numbers of cases are still growing in large portions of the country, and we have a shortage of tests and masks. We have no system of mass testing and we’re still months, if not a year away from a viable vaccine. People still can’t get toilet paper or hand sanitizer in stores.We have had politicians suggesting elderly people should/would willingly die for the economy.We have a leader who a few weeks ago was calling it a “Democratic hoax,” who has lied dozens of times in front of the nation, who shows no compassion for the dead, and who only days ago suggested injecting bleach was a possible option—while simultaneously pushing governors to open the economy without testing for everyone and without the possibility of a vaccine for months.As a result, we have people protesting to be allowed to be public carriers of a virus to other people so they can get haircuts and go golfing. They are carrying signs that say “Sacrifice the Weak.” They are shouting in the faces of nurses. They are rushing us back into harmful proximity with one another for the sake of the money Jesus said we could not serve, if we really love God. These very real objective realities require a decisive response from people of faith, morality, and conscience, and that often means defining our moral dealbreakers; things that transcend “differences of opinion.” For me:White supremacy is a side. Nationalism is a side.Homophobia is a side. Contempt for immigrants is a side. Ignoring science is a side.People going out and spreading a deadly virus is a side. A president generating medical misinformation is a side.These positions are not simply differing perspectives meriting quiet coexistence. They are acts of violence against already vulnerable people based on unchangeable parts of who they are—and we either confront that violence or we abide it.The coming election will be yet another opportunity for us to take a side, and be certain, there are only two: nurturing this vile movement in our nation or opposing it. We can talk around it with false equivalencies or try and cloud it with semantics or dodge it with decorum—but it is that simple. With our votes or our abstinence, we will speak clearly and eloquently, whether or not what we are seeing from our leadership right now is acceptable—because there will be more humanitarian crises, more national emergencies, more natural disasters.Sometimes life necessitates a decisive choice; something that pushes you to a side because humanity demands it, and to not make that choice isn’t an act of tolerance or maturity, but of cowardice.To claim that we’re all on the same side and that there are complexities at work is often true. I believe in the uniqueness of individuals, the nuance of our perspectives, and the complexities of issues—but when people at the top of the political and religious institutions are perpetuating a binary us and them over and over again—especially when it puts lives in direct peril as it is right now, championing our oneness means calling that out. White moderates, especially those of faith, it’s time to get off the fence.It’s time to choose a side and to do it loudly, confrontation and discomfort and relational collateral damage be damned.Our tradition declares that humanity is worth it.I leave you with the words of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr:“First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direct action;’ who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a ‘more convenient season.’Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”May we not be lukewarm fence-sitters in these days. Share this:FacebookTwitterPinterest3RedditPrintEmailLike this:Like Loading..."> A FRIEND OF MINE SHARED A SOCIAL MEDIA POST FROM A WHITE CHRISTIAN WOMAN CONFESSING THAT SHE WAS “TORN” BECAUSE OF THE SIDE-CHOOSING RIGHT NOW IN AMERICA; SAYING “WE’RE ALL ON THE SAME SIDE,” AND THAT WE SHOULDN’T FALL INTO DIVISIVENESS OR POLITICIZING BECAUSE OFTHIS PANDEMIC.
I HEAR THIS A LOT FROM WHITE MODERATE CHRISTIANS RIGHT NOW—AND I DISAGREE WITH IT EVERY TIME. I DISAGREED WITH IT WHEN FAMILIES WERE BEING SEPARATED AT THE BORDER. I DISAGREED WITH IT AFTER THE VIOLENT RACISM OF THE CHARLOTTESVILLEMARCH.
I DISAGREED WITH IT AFTER TAMIR RICE’S EXECUTION. I DISAGREED WITH IT WHILE ANTI-TRANSGENDER BATHROOM BILLS WERE BEINGCREATED.
I DISAGREED WITH IT AFTER THE MURDER OF TRAYVON MARTIN. SOMETIMES IT’S NOT OKAY TO BE “TORN.” SOMETIMES THAT TORN-NESS IS A SIGN OF OUR PRIVILEGE. SOMETIMES IT YIELDS SILENCE IN MATTERS OF JUSTICE. SOMETIMES FALSE EQUIVALENCIES ARE DEADLY. SOMETIMES THE FENCE IS A DEEPLY DANGEROUS PLACE TO RESIDE. IN MY CHRISTIAN TRADITION, JESUS SHOWS US THIS OVER AND OVER. I LOVE THE IMAGE OF HIM AS THE_ GOOD SHEPHERD _WITH WHICH YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WHETHER YOU’RE A PERSON OF FAITH OR NOT. MODERATE CHRISTIANS TEND TO OVERLOOK THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS DESCRIPTION. YES, HE WAS COMPASSIONATE CAREGIVER TO THE HARASSED AND HELPLESS SHEEP—BUT TO THOSE HE SAW AS THE WOLVES HE WAS BOLD, PUBLIC ADVERSARY. THAT WAS A REDEMPTIVE POSITION: TO PROTECT SOME PEOPLE AND REBUKE OTHERS, TO HAVE A LOUD, UNAMBIGUOUS STANCE. OFTEN MORALITY REQUIRES A VOICE THAT SAYS, “_THIS_ IS A THREAT TO HUMANITY AND_ THIS_ IS WRONG.” HUMANITY BECOMES “THE SIDE,” AND VIOLENCE TOWARD IT, ITS OPPOSING SIDE—WHILE THE FENCE BECOMES A PLACE OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION INTHAT WAR.
THE FIGHTS FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY ALWAYS WORK THIS WAY. YES, WE SEE INDIVIDUALS AND WE RESPECT STORIES—BUT WE CHALLENGE THE SYSTEMS THAT IMPACT THOSE STORIES, EVEN IF THAT PLACES US IN THE UNCOMFORTABLE SPACES OF CONFRONTATION. THERE ARE QUANTIFIABLE REALITIES HERE IN AMERICA RIGHT NOW: WE HAVE A PANDEMIC THAT HAS INFECTED ONE MILLION PEOPLE AND KILLED 56,000 IN TWO MONTHS. WE MAKE UP NEARLY THIRTY PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S CASES, WHILE ONLY FOUR PERCENT OF THE POPULATION. NUMBERS OF CASES ARE STILL GROWING IN LARGE PORTIONS OF THE COUNTRY, AND WE HAVE A SHORTAGE OF TESTS AND MASKS. WE HAVE NO SYSTEM OF MASS TESTING AND WE’RE STILL MONTHS, IF NOT A YEAR AWAY FROM A VIABLE VACCINE. PEOPLE STILL CAN’T GET TOILET PAPER OR HAND SANITIZER IN STORES. WE HAVE HAD POLITICIANS SUGGESTING ELDERLY PEOPLE SHOULD/WOULD WILLINGLY DIE FOR THE ECONOMY. WE HAVE A LEADER WHO A FEW WEEKS AGO WAS CALLING IT A “DEMOCRATIC HOAX,” WHO HAS LIED DOZENS OF TIMES IN FRONT OF THE NATION, WHO SHOWS NO COMPASSION FOR THE DEAD, AND WHO ONLY DAYS AGO SUGGESTED INJECTING BLEACH WAS A POSSIBLE OPTION—WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY PUSHING GOVERNORS TO OPEN THE ECONOMY WITHOUT TESTING FOR EVERYONE AND WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF A VACCINE FOR MONTHS. AS A RESULT, WE HAVE PEOPLE PROTESTING TO BE ALLOWED TO BE PUBLIC CARRIERS OF A VIRUS TO OTHER PEOPLE SO THEY CAN GET HAIRCUTS AND GO GOLFING. THEY ARE CARRYING SIGNS THAT SAY “SACRIFICE THE WEAK.” THEY ARE SHOUTING IN THE FACES OF NURSES. THEY ARE RUSHING US BACK INTO HARMFUL PROXIMITY WITH ONE ANOTHER FOR THE SAKE OF THE MONEY JESUS SAID WE COULD NOT SERVE, IF WE REALLY LOVE GOD. THESE VERY REAL OBJECTIVE REALITIES REQUIRE A DECISIVE RESPONSE FROM PEOPLE OF FAITH, MORALITY, AND CONSCIENCE, AND THAT OFTEN MEANS DEFINING OUR MORAL DEALBREAKERS; THINGS THAT TRANSCEND “DIFFERENCESOF OPINION.”
FOR ME:
WHITE SUPREMACY IS A SIDE. NATIONALISM IS A SIDE. HOMOPHOBIA IS A SIDE. CONTEMPT FOR IMMIGRANTS IS A SIDE. IGNORING SCIENCE IS A SIDE. PEOPLE GOING OUT AND SPREADING A DEADLY VIRUS IS A SIDE. A PRESIDENT GENERATING MEDICAL MISINFORMATION IS A SIDE. THESE POSITIONS ARE NOT SIMPLY DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES MERITING QUIET COEXISTENCE. THEY ARE ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST ALREADY VULNERABLE PEOPLE BASED ON UNCHANGEABLE PARTS OF WHO THEY ARE—AND WE EITHER CONFRONT THAT VIOLENCE OR WE ABIDE IT. THE COMING ELECTION WILL BE YET ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TAKE A SIDE, AND BE CERTAIN, THERE ARE ONLY TWO: NURTURING THIS VILE MOVEMENT IN OUR NATION OR OPPOSING IT. WE CAN TALK AROUND IT WITH FALSE EQUIVALENCIES OR TRY AND CLOUD IT WITH SEMANTICS OR DODGE IT WITH DECORUM—BUT IT IS THAT SIMPLE. WITH OUR VOTES OR OUR ABSTINENCE, WE WILL SPEAK CLEARLY AND ELOQUENTLY, WHETHER OR NOT WHAT WE ARE SEEING FROM OUR LEADERSHIP RIGHT NOW IS ACCEPTABLE—BECAUSE THERE WILL BE MORE HUMANITARIAN CRISES, MORE NATIONAL EMERGENCIES, MORE NATURALDISASTERS.
SOMETIMES LIFE NECESSITATES A DECISIVE CHOICE; SOMETHING THAT PUSHES YOU TO A SIDE BECAUSE HUMANITY DEMANDS IT, AND TO _NOT_ MAKE THAT CHOICE ISN’T AN ACT OF TOLERANCE OR MATURITY, BUT OF COWARDICE. TO CLAIM THAT WE’RE ALL ON THE SAME SIDE AND THAT THERE ARE COMPLEXITIES AT WORK IS OFTEN TRUE. I BELIEVE IN THE UNIQUENESS OF INDIVIDUALS, THE NUANCE OF OUR PERSPECTIVES, AND THE COMPLEXITIES OF ISSUES—BUT WHEN PEOPLE AT THE TOP OF THE POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS ARE PERPETUATING A BINARY _US AND THEM_ OVER AND OVER AGAIN—ESPECIALLY WHEN IT PUTS LIVES IN DIRECT PERIL AS IT IS RIGHT NOW, CHAMPIONING OUR ONENESS MEANS CALLING THAT OUT. WHITE MODERATES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF FAITH, IT’S TIME TO GET OFF THEFENCE.
IT’S TIME TO CHOOSE A SIDE AND TO DO IT LOUDLY, CONFRONTATION AND DISCOMFORT AND RELATIONAL COLLATERAL DAMAGE BE DAMNED. OUR TRADITION DECLARES THAT HUMANITY IS WORTH IT. I LEAVE YOU WITH THE WORDS OF REVEREND MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: “FIRST, I MUST CONFESS THAT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS I HAVE BEEN GRAVELY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE WHITE MODERATE. I HAVE ALMOST REACHED THE REGRETTABLE CONCLUSION THAT THE NEGRO’S GREAT STUMBLING BLOCK IN THE STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM IS NOT THE WHITE CITIZEN’S COUNCIL-ER OR THE KU KLUX KLANNER, BUT THE WHITE MODERATE WHO IS MORE DEVOTED TO “ORDER” THAN TO JUSTICE; WHO PREFERS A NEGATIVE PEACE WHICH IS THE ABSENCE OF TENSION TO A POSITIVE PEACE WHICH IS THE PRESENCE OF JUSTICE; WHO CONSTANTLY SAYS ‘I AGREE WITH YOU IN THE GOAL YOU SEEK, BUT I CAN’T AGREE WITH YOUR METHODS OF DIRECT ACTION;’ WHO PATERNALISTICALLY FEELS HE CAN SET THE TIMETABLE FOR ANOTHER MAN’S FREEDOM; WHO LIVES BY THE MYTH OF TIME AND WHO CONSTANTLY ADVISES THE NEGRO TO WAIT UNTIL A ‘MORE CONVENIENT SEASON.’ SHALLOW UNDERSTANDING FROM PEOPLE OF GOODWILL IS MORE FRUSTRATING THAN ABSOLUTE MISUNDERSTANDING FROM PEOPLE OF ILL WILL. LUKEWARM ACCEPTANCE IS MUCH MORE BEWILDERING THAN OUTRIGHT REJECTION.” MAY WE NOT BE LUKEWARM FENCE-SITTERS IN THESE DAYS.SHARE THIS:
* Pinterest3
*
LIKE THIS:
Like Loading...
DISINFECT AMERICA WITH GOODNESS April 24, 2020May 4, 2020/ John Pavlovitz
I have no illusions about America.I see it clearly with the sober eyes that have little use for nostalgia.I don’t pine for some long-forgotten time of supposed greatness that never really existed, except in the minds of white romantics with hand-me-down, redacted dreams. I don’t imagine some mythical perfect season where freedom rang out loudly for everyone and where disparate humanity was fully at home. I don’t pretend that it was ever the radiant, shimmering land of the anthems and songs and statues, but I do know one thing:I know that we have been better than we are today.Yes, America was always terribly flawed—but it was never this.It was never steered by something this openly malicious, this intentionally cruel, this unapologetically ignorant. It was never led by such a toxic cocktail of arrogance and incompetence. It was never consistently trying to be harmful to itself.For all our collective flaws and corporate sins, we were always an aspirational nation; a people appealing to our better angels, straining on tiptoe for the lofty ideas that difference makes us better, that the table of opportunity is ever-widening, that more voices yield a greater song.We were never a people daily seeking bottom, precipitously descending as we are in these moments.America has been deeply marred by grotesque legacies of dehumanization and racism and nationalism, but those were always ill-gotten inheritances we were presently living with discomfort in; the blood money and grievous sins of our fathers that we were doing all we could do to disavow and make amends for in real time. Our sickness was something we were diagnosing with horror and resolving to remedy.Which is why today has to be a day we refuse to ignore how sick we’ve become, how broken we are, how afflicted with unkindness we’ve grown. We cannot keep a tenuous peace with this darkness and illness a single day more. We need to declare our independence from this cancerous hatred by eradicating it within our hearts, within our communities, and in the voting booth.This has to be the day where We The People, those of every hue, affiliation, and delineation—decide in concert, that we will again seek the elevation of our higher collective calling; that we will declare this enmity unacceptable, this untruth insufferable, this intolerance intolerable. It has to be this day, because there are so very few days left where we will get to choose.Every nation reaches a tipping point in its story, where it either pulls itself from the brink or teeters wildly into the abyss.This is that moment for us. We are not in the small, inconsequential battles for political real estate or theological kingdom-making, we are in the brutal, bloody war for our collective humanity—and we alone get to claim victory or defeat. We are in our own hands, America.We alone can cleanse ourselves of this ravenous, insidious heart cancer that cannot survive without destroying something else. We can kill it with the brilliant, raking light of liberty, equality, and justice allowed to become our lifeblood again. We will disinfect ourselves from this corporate sickness, not by excluding or removing people, or by locking ourselves down, or by becoming a gated community of sameness, not even by defeating a person or a party—we will do it by together remembering that we are supposed to be a towering beacon for the disparate world; a place of refuge for tired, poor, huddled masses choking on the acrid fumes of bigotry and craving the fresh air that freedom carries.That is our higher calling.Together, we can rebuild ourselves into something resembling the songs and the anthems and the statues; a nation that belongs to everyone, a nation trying to be better, a nation grasping for the good.America, we are not helpless victims in the fight for our best selves, we are the sole combatants. It is up to us whether we rise to this occasion or find ourselves free falling.May we become a nation that shuns the toxic fool’s gold of greatness and reaches for the invaluable medicinal riches of goodness. Share this:FacebookTwitterPinterest9RedditPrintEmailLike this:LikeLoading...">
I HAVE NO ILLUSIONS ABOUT AMERICA. I SEE IT CLEARLY WITH THE SOBER EYES THAT HAVE LITTLE USE FORNOSTALGIA.
I DON’T PINE FOR SOME LONG-FORGOTTEN TIME OF SUPPOSED GREATNESS THAT NEVER REALLY EXISTED, EXCEPT IN THE MINDS OF WHITE ROMANTICS WITH HAND-ME-DOWN, REDACTED DREAMS. I DON’T IMAGINE SOME MYTHICAL PERFECT SEASON WHERE FREEDOM RANG OUT LOUDLY FOR EVERYONE AND WHERE DISPARATE HUMANITY WAS FULLY AT HOME. I DON’T PRETEND THAT IT WAS EVER THE RADIANT, SHIMMERING LAND OF THE ANTHEMS AND SONGS AND STATUES, BUT I DO KNOW ONE THING: I KNOW THAT WE HAVE BEEN BETTER THAN WE ARE TODAY. YES, AMERICA WAS ALWAYS TERRIBLY FLAWED—BUT IT WAS NEVER THIS. IT WAS NEVER STEERED BY SOMETHING THIS OPENLY MALICIOUS, THIS INTENTIONALLY CRUEL, THIS UNAPOLOGETICALLY IGNORANT. IT WAS NEVER LED BY SUCH A TOXIC COCKTAIL OF ARROGANCE ANDINCOMPETENCE.
IT WAS NEVER CONSISTENTLY TRYING TO BE HARMFUL TO ITSELF. FOR ALL OUR COLLECTIVE FLAWS AND CORPORATE SINS, WE WERE ALWAYS AN ASPIRATIONAL NATION; A PEOPLE APPEALING TO OUR BETTER ANGELS, STRAINING ON TIPTOE FOR THE LOFTY IDEAS THAT DIFFERENCE MAKES US BETTER, THAT THE TABLE OF OPPORTUNITY IS EVER-WIDENING, THAT MORE VOICES YIELD A GREATER SONG. WE WERE NEVER A PEOPLE DAILY SEEKING BOTTOM, PRECIPITOUSLY DESCENDING AS WE ARE IN THESE MOMENTS. AMERICA HAS BEEN DEEPLY MARRED BY GROTESQUE LEGACIES OF DEHUMANIZATION AND RACISM AND NATIONALISM, BUT THOSE WERE ALWAYS ILL-GOTTEN INHERITANCES WE WERE PRESENTLY LIVING WITH DISCOMFORT IN; THE BLOOD MONEY AND GRIEVOUS SINS OF OUR FATHERS THAT WE WERE DOING ALL WE COULD DO TO DISAVOW AND MAKE AMENDS FOR IN REAL TIME. OUR SICKNESS WAS SOMETHING WE WERE DIAGNOSING WITH HORROR AND RESOLVING TO REMEDY. WHICH IS WHY TODAY HAS TO BE A DAY WE REFUSE TO IGNORE HOW SICK WE’VE BECOME, HOW BROKEN WE ARE, HOW AFFLICTED WITH UNKINDNESSWE’VE GROWN.
WE CANNOT KEEP A TENUOUS PEACE WITH THIS DARKNESS AND ILLNESS A SINGLEDAY MORE.
WE NEED TO DECLARE OUR INDEPENDENCE FROM THIS CANCEROUS HATRED BY ERADICATING IT WITHIN OUR HEARTS, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES, AND IN THEVOTING BOOTH.
THIS HAS TO BE THE DAY WHERE WE THE PEOPLE, THOSE OF EVERY HUE, AFFILIATION, AND DELINEATION—DECIDE IN CONCERT, THAT WE WILL AGAIN SEEK THE ELEVATION OF OUR HIGHER COLLECTIVE CALLING; THAT WE WILL DECLARE THIS ENMITY UNACCEPTABLE, THIS UNTRUTH INSUFFERABLE, THIS INTOLERANCE INTOLERABLE. IT HAS TO BE THIS DAY, BECAUSE THERE ARE SO VERY FEW DAYS LEFT WHERE WE WILL GET TO CHOOSE. EVERY NATION REACHES A TIPPING POINT IN ITS STORY, WHERE IT EITHER PULLS ITSELF FROM THE BRINK OR TEETERS WILDLY INTO THE ABYSS. THIS IS THAT MOMENT FOR US. WE ARE NOT IN THE SMALL, INCONSEQUENTIAL BATTLES FOR POLITICAL REAL ESTATE OR THEOLOGICAL KINGDOM-MAKING, WE ARE IN THE BRUTAL, BLOODY WAR FOR OUR COLLECTIVE HUMANITY—AND WE ALONE GET TO CLAIM VICTORY ORDEFEAT.
WE ARE IN OUR OWN HANDS, AMERICA. WE ALONE CAN CLEANSE OURSELVES OF THIS RAVENOUS, INSIDIOUS HEART CANCER THAT CANNOT SURVIVE WITHOUT DESTROYING SOMETHING ELSE. WE CAN KILL IT WITH THE BRILLIANT, RAKING LIGHT OF LIBERTY, EQUALITY, AND JUSTICE ALLOWED TO BECOME OUR LIFEBLOOD AGAIN. WE WILL DISINFECT OURSELVES FROM THIS CORPORATE SICKNESS, NOT BY EXCLUDING OR REMOVING PEOPLE, OR BY LOCKING OURSELVES DOWN, OR BY BECOMING A GATED COMMUNITY OF SAMENESS, NOT EVEN BY DEFEATING A PERSON OR A PARTY—WE WILL DO IT BY TOGETHER REMEMBERING THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A TOWERING BEACON FOR THE DISPARATE WORLD; A PLACE OF REFUGE FOR TIRED, POOR, HUDDLED MASSES CHOKING ON THE ACRID FUMES OF BIGOTRY AND CRAVING THE FRESH AIR THAT FREEDOM CARRIES. _THAT_ IS OUR HIGHER CALLING. TOGETHER, WE CAN REBUILD OURSELVES INTO SOMETHING RESEMBLING THE SONGS AND THE ANTHEMS AND THE STATUES; A NATION THAT BELONGS TO EVERYONE, A NATION TRYING TO BE BETTER, A NATION GRASPING FOR THE GOOD. AMERICA, WE ARE NOT HELPLESS VICTIMS IN THE FIGHT FOR OUR BEST SELVES, WE ARE THE SOLE COMBATANTS. IT IS UP TO US WHETHER WE RISE TO THIS OCCASION OR FIND OURSELVES FREEFALLING.
MAY WE BECOME A NATION THAT SHUNS THE TOXIC FOOL’S GOLD OF GREATNESS AND REACHES FOR THE INVALUABLE MEDICINAL RICHES OF GOODNESS.SHARE THIS:
* Pinterest9
*
LIKE THIS:
Like Loading...
POSTS NAVIGATION
← Older posts
BUY NOW AT:
SIGN UP FOR JOHN’S EMAIL NEWSLETTER AND RECEIVE A FREE GIFT Get updates with speaking dates, media links, book launches, and regular content regarding _stuff that needs to be said_. You will also receive a free gift: a digital collection of John’s writings on grief.Search for:
ARCHIVES
Archives Select Month May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March2012
CATEGORIES
CategoriesSelect CategoryAngerBullyingChildhoodChristian CultureChristianityCompassionCultureDeathDepressionDoubtFaithFamilyFearForgivenessGender IssuesGODGratitudeGriefGunsIdentityJesusJoyLeadershipLGBTLGBTQLifeLoveMarriageMinistryMourningParentingPastoringPoliticsPop CulturePrayerRaceRacial IssuesRelationshipsReligionSexSexualitySocial mediaSpiritual LifeSpiritualityTeenagersThe BibleThe ChurchTheologyUncategorizedViolenceWritingYouth Ministry SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL Receive notifications of new posts by email. Join 15,992 other subscribersEmail Address
Subscribe to Blog
JOHN’S TOP POSTS
* The White Privilege to Terrorize * I Think You May Be Wasting Freedom * Why Do You Stand Behind Cruelty? * The Terrible Waste of This Presidency * Good People Don't Defend A Bad Man SIGN UP FOR JOHN’S EMAIL NEWSLETTER AND RECEIVE A FREE GIFT Get updates with speaking dates, media links, book launches, and regular content regarding _stuff that needs to be said_. You will also receive a free gift: a digital collection of John’s writings on grief.CLOSE
2020 john pavlovitz %d bloggers like this: Send to Email Address Your Name Your Email AddressCancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Email check failed, please try again Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.Details
Copyright © 2024 ArchiveBay.com. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | DMCA | 2021 | Feedback | Advertising | RSS 2.0