Getting Over It & Getting On With It

I'd be doing my best, however feeble, to get out of bed every morning and walk a daylight path to a different tree, picking up as many bad apples as I could carry along the way.

Mother Teresa never once had to defend herself against charges of racism, nor the Dalai Lama against charges of misogyny... on social media or anywhere else. The reason why is obvious... Those who let the Light shine in their lives don't need to tell all and sundry that they don't hate candles.

The Apostle Paul calls us not to be overcome with evil, but to overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21). It's been emblazoned ad nauseam on posters and in melodramatic pop song lyrics to the point of almost being a cliché. But that doesn't make it any less true, or in need of being repeated. No problem was ever solved, nor any tear dried by the mere assignment of blame. Here's a news flash everyone: The world doesn't need more people who are "100 percent fed up." It doesn't need more people scrambling for moral high ground, angrily accusing others of racism, misogyny, elitism, or anything else. It doesn't need more people rationalizing these things, or disavowing support for them.

What it needs is more people demonstrating something better by showing up in the lives of their victims and walking beside them.

Not an "elitist...?" Not a supporter of the status quo either...?

Then get involved in the lives of the Middle American workers it displaced. Instead of posting Facebook memes about how "stupid" they are for voting against their interests, try listening to them. Dry their tears, and hear their stories... before making up your mind as to what their interests are. Resist the cold, profit-driven offshoring that left them jobless. Support job retraining programs, economic incentive packages, food banks, and healthcare for their families. Better yet, HIRE one! and for those to whom it applies... whether you get the nominee you want or not, next time try voting instead of rioting and smashing windows!

Not a racist...?

A day or two after the polls closed, a 12-year-old girl was confronted by a boy who told her, "Now that Trump is president, I'm going to shoot you and all the blacks I can find!" A Louisiana woman was harassed by three men in a truck who shouted, "F**k your black life!" at her and drove away chanting, "Trump! Trump! Trump...!" (SPLC, 2016). Find this little girl. Find this woman. Dry their tears and show them that they aren't alone. Let them know, not your Facebook critics, that this is not what you signed up for and you won't abide it. Last month the Klu Klux Klan held their "Klavalkade Victory Parade" in North Carolina in celebration of Trump's victory and their hope for a new America under his leadership. Thousands of people turned out to protest (including friends of mine who live nearby). Next time the Klan holds a parade, show up and join the protest. Stand side-by-side with Hillary supporters and others in solidarity against their hatred.

Not a misogynist...?

Find one of the college women who was accosted by male Trump supporters trying to "[legally] grab them by the p***y." Dry her tears as well, and let her know that you didn't sign up for that either. Refuse to be part of a culture that believes perfunctory apologies for such behavior, or dismissive labels like "locker room banter" are acceptable get-out-of-jail-free cards for male leaders, and the "Christian" thing to do is to demand forgiveness from their victims instead of standing with them...