The Cost of Silence; Where is Our Faith?

There are times when one must address the difficult questions. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. stated: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." During the past year I have encountered hundreds of individuals who daily speak about their faith. The apostle Paul describes faith in Hebrew 11-1 as: “FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, AND THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN." The question becomes ‘what are things that we hoped for’ and what are the things not seen.’
In his book, Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman characterized the love-ethic of Jesus as the foundation of faith. In recent weeks we have witness the proclamation of Pat Robertson regarding the people of Haiti selling their souls to Satan in order to gain their independence from the French. And more recently the Lt. Governor Andre Bauer of South Carolina compared giving people government assistance to “feeding stray animals.” Bauer elaborated further stating; “my grandmother was not a high educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quite feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed.” The question begs itself, where was the outcry from out religious and political leaders? The absence of any outcry by our religious or political leaders, regarding the viciousness of these men and their words is interesting when compared to the massive outcry throughout America when Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who quoted a former American Diplomat, when stated: “ God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human.” These are the activities of men and these activities are supported by the silence of religious and political leaders that make it difficult for out casted groups to live without shame and humiliation.
It is clear to me that King is correct, our silence will end our lives. Faith is more than “the substance of things hoped for.” It is the utilization of your education, formal or informal, to teach all who will listen that the Robertson’s and Bauer’s are driven by some strange urge to use cunning to get what they cannot secure by integrity. Faith is more than “the evidence of things not seen.” Faith in the words of Howard Thurman: “to love them means to recognize some deep respect and reverence for their person. But to love them does not mean to condone their way of life.”

America: Republic or Democracy

During a recent conversation with some high school students, they asked if America was a Democracy or Republic. The answer is very simple, yet very complicated. America is in fact a Democracy and Republic, however those two words are not interchangeable as they are often used by our elected representatives and our citizens. These two forms of government are dissimilar; The United States of America is a republic. The fifty (50) states are co-equal sovereign States as a representative Democracy.
The fifty (50) states all have some provision for initiative, referendum and recall, thereby providing its citizens to a direct means of participation in Democracy. It important to understand that state constitutions' are generally protecting the Majority, with few safeguards of the rights of ‘The Individual’ or ‘The Minority.’ For example, it is why there are variances in how each state treats domestic partnerships or in the sentencing of those who have been found guilty of a crime. Finally, the education of our children has always been a source of anger and mistrust by the Minority, whose children have not been protected by state Democracies.
The Federal government based upon the Constitution should protect the rights of ‘The Individuals’ and ‘The Minority.’ In theory our Republic should be free of politics; all decisions should be based upon what is good for the country. The Logical consistency and rationality of the Constitution is based upon the willingness of the people to live by it….it is what keeps people free. Similarly, Democracies are free only if the people know that freedom is for everyone. If the Majority of our citizens do not understand the importance of valuing each citizen and their needs, then a Democracy could be just as tyrannical as the worst dictator. We only have to remember Socrates’ forced suicide by the Athenian democracy.