Red,
White, Black and Blue
Rev.
Mark Stringer
First Unitarian Church of Des Moines
10/31/04
Call
to Gather
Here we have gathered
emerging from the rumble and hum of an election
season
soon
to be complete at last.
Here we have gathered
after trampling through the leaves…
ankle-deep autumn abundance.
Here we have gathered
even in the midst of the noisy din
of our own internal struggles and concerns.
Here
we have gathered
to be with our companions on the journey
that is this life we share.
May our time together be the real deal,
may it unite us, not divide us,
And
may our presence here this morning
be a vote cast for the value of a truth-seeking
community
in a complicated world.
Meditation for 10/31/04
Oh
great spirit of all those who run for public
office,
Those
who offer themselves to the fire of public
opinion
with
the expectation that they may contribute to the
common good;
Great
spirit of public relations,
Of
well-meaning canvassers.
Care-taker
of all image massagers,
focus group pollers,
527-crafters, and political opportunists…
We
may not know for sure who or what you are,
great spirit of life and living,
but we know that if you exist,
you are also the fountain of inspiration,
the balm of possibility
for everyone else in this world, too.
You
are the great spirit of the homeless,
the
disenfranchised,
the people who do not have the luxury to care so
much
about this election.
You
are the great spirit of the soldiers, the
insurgents, and the innocent people caught in
their struggle.
You
are the great spirit of the media pundits, who
earn their living looking for easy answers to
complex questions.
You
are the spirit of all those who have benefited
from a political election season where by
November 2, two billion dollars will have been
spent on election campaigns across the U.S.
You
are also the spirit of those whose lives could
have been improved with just the tiniest sliver
of that two billion dollars.
You
are the spirit of those who see the mystery as
black and white…and those who see it as
unfolding in an ever-changing array of colors
and hues.
You
are the spirit of everyone of us….
Indeed,
you are the great spirit of all our earthly
companions,
the spirit of the eagles, the ostriches…even
the wolves.
Oh
creative spirit…whoever, whatever you are, we
call upon you…even in our disbelief and
uncertainty, even in our fear and loathing…
We
call upon you to still the winds swirling all
around us.
Still
the manipulative winds of those who use you as a
means to build support for their positions…
those who see you as a Democrat, or a
Republican.
Still
the hot-air winds of heated discourse
and overly-simplistic approaches to the complex
problems we face.
Still the brusque
winds of our increasing lack of civility
and our too-partisan understandings of issues…
Still
the swirling winds provoked by all of us who
would prefer to battle each other rather than
battle the challenging issues of our time.
Still
the winds sure to blow on November 2nd
and in the days to come.
Amen.
Reading
An
excerpt from Illinois State Senator Barack Obama’s
speech at the 2004 Democratic National
Convention
Alongside
our famous individualism, there’s another
ingredient in the American saga, a belief
that we’re all connected as one people. If
there is a child on the south side of Chicago
who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s
not my child. If there is a senior citizen
somewhere who can’t pay for their prescription
drugs, and having to choose between medicine and
the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s
not my grandparent. If there’s an Arab
American family being rounded up without benefit
of an attorney or due process, that threatens my
civil liberties.
It is that
fundamental belief…: I am my brother’s
keeper…I am my sister’s keeper that makes
this country work. It’s what allows us to
pursue our individual dreams and yet still come
together as one American family.
E pluribus
unum: "Out of many, one."
Now even as
we speak, there are those who are preparing to
divide us -- the spin masters, the negative ad
peddlers who embrace the politics of
"anything goes." Well, I say to them
tonight, there is not a liberal America and a
conservative America -- there is the United
States of America. There is not a Black America
and a White America and Latino America and Asian
America -- there’s the United States of
America.
The
pundits…like to slice-and-dice our country
into Red States and Blue States; Red States for
Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve
got news for them, too. We worship an
"awesome God" in the Blue States, and
we don’t like federal agents poking around in
our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little
League in the Blue States and yes, we’ve got
some gay friends in the Red States. There are
patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there
are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We
are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to
the stars and stripes, all of us defending the
United States of America.
Sermon
Sometime
in the 1980’s, when I was an undergraduate
student at Ohio’s Ashland University, the
campus cultural events series hosted a lecture
by one of the candidates currently running for
president in 2004. I was quite taken with his
presentation. He had an extraordinary
history and shared many stories from the
trenches of working on behalf of average
citizens. He seemed to make so much sense
and had a directness about him that was
refreshing and inspiring. I was completely
engaged. Following his prepared remarks,
the floor was opened for questions. I listened
to several questions and answers before I got up
the courage to ask what seemed to be the most
obvious question of all, at least to me.
By the time I raised my hand, many of the
students and townspeople had left, but I was
still anxious to have my question
answered. “Mr. Nader,” I said, “Why
don’t you run for president?”
“I
will never run for president,” he said.
“It is merely a figurehead position with no
real power to change things. I believe the
way to effect real change is through grassroots
organizing.”
Put
this story aside for a while. I’ll come
back to it.
A
few days ago I visited with my wife’s aunt and
uncle, two very kind people who live near our
neighborhood. The next day, they were
going to be leaving to go to their winter
residence in Texas, and I had been recruited to
watch over their house. As I turned into
their driveway to get my caretaker instructions,
I was greeted by a red, white, and blue yard
sign in the shape of a “W.” This was
no surprise to me, of course. I know their
politics well enough to know that they would be
supporting our president in the upcoming
election. Soon after they welcomed me into their
kitchen, I caught sight of a bottle of ketchup
on top of the refrigerator…a bottle
labeled “W-brand Ketchup.” I
giggled to myself as I made a mental note:
Don’t forget where this bottle is. It
would be the perfect condiment if I get a
hankering for a heaping plate of freedom fries.
After
receiving my instructions and their hearty
thanks for agreeing to help, I decided to
initiate a discussion around the elephant in the
middle of the room…since, you see, they know
my politics, too. “Have you turned in
your absentee ballots?” I asked with a
smile. Susan’s aunt, who does most of
the talking for the couple, blushed a little and
said, “Oh yes.”
I
teased that I had seen the “W” sign in the
front yard and the bottle of “W” ketchup and
wondered what the W stood for (I decided to keep
the freedom fries joke to myself). These
two devoted conservative voters in the midst of
a die-hard liberal family have learned not to
engage too much in political conversations for
fear of being attacked and I try to respect
their boundaries. Still, I continued to
talk politics with them, mostly because I
believe those of us who fall on different sides
of the political fence must keep talking…especially
these days…even when we must respectfully
agree to disagree.
She
admitted that the sign and ketchup were gifts
from a neighbor…while the sign was welcomed,
she found the ketchup to be a little silly, but
she held on to it, figuring it would be a good
keepsake from a memorable election. I
agreed that it would.
It
was a relief to be able to talk and laugh about
the election with people who do not share my
political views. This hasn’t happened
much lately for me, and I know from hearing some
of your stories that it hasn’t happened much
for you either. We have heard ad nauseam
how polarized the country is right now…we’ve
heard how Bush and Kerry are locked in a dead
heat… and how extraordinary this is
considering how different the two candidates
are. And different they are.
President
Bush, God-fearing, privileged white male, Yale
graduate, with two daughters, who wants to “hunt
down and kill the terrorists,” who thinks
marriage is only for a man and a woman.
Senator
Kerry, God-fearing, privileged white male, Yale
graduate with two daughters, who wants to “hunt
down and kill the terrorists,” who thinks
marriage is only for a man and a woman.
In
all seriousness, we know that these two
candidates are, in fact, different.
President
Bush… the ultra-confident, mistake-proof
nationalist leader with what he describes as a
Divine mandate to change the world in America’s
image…no matter how much it costs or how many
lives are sacrificed in the process.
Senator
Kerry…the nuanced (if you like him)
flip-flopping (if you don’t) globalist
challenger with what he understands as a humane
mandate to take into account perspectives beyond
the borders of our country, even if he has to
change his mind to do the right thing.
To
me, in light of my faith, my belief that the
real divine mandates are in fact humane mandates—to
respect the interdependent web of which we are
all a part, to maintain an open dialogue, even
with those with whom we disagree, and to do all
we can to pursue global cooperation whenever
possible—the choice is simple.
So
simple, in fact, that, for a long time, I was
not sure what I would talk about today.
After all, I would be jeopardizing the church’s
tax-exempt status if I were to encourage you to
vote for the candidate I support. Besides,
as the saying goes, I would mostly be preaching
to the choir anyway.
At
a UU minister’s retreat I attended earlier
this month, I was present at a workshop entitled
“Election sermons and other tap dances on thin
ice.” We talked about the challenges of
preaching on the election with objective
integrity when to so many of us the choice is so
clear…and so important. As it turned
out, many of the ministers present were less
concerned with the sermon for today’s services
than they were concerned about the sermons they
would preach after the election. No
matter who wins, we decided, our country would
have a great deal of healing to do. And
there would be important work ahead for all of
us.
One
of the most important things that has to happen
regardless of who wins is we have to get back
the sense that we are all in this mess
together. And I don’t just mean the Iraq
mess. I mean the whole enchilada…our
destiny as a nation. We have to find a way
to work out our cultural differences with
respect…without polarizing ourselves. We
need some real dialogue…some real give and
take…some real creative interchange. Our
nation will only be as strong as the degree to
which we can work together for our common
interests, which, in the end, are many. We
all want to be as safe as possible. We
want to have access to good jobs and health
care. We want religious freedom. We
want good schools and opportunities for
affordable higher education. We want to be
proud of our country and what it stands for in
the world. This is why I was so moved by Barack
Obama’s speech at the Democratic National
Convention. He was calling upon all of us
to see beyond the simplistic partisan
descriptions of our nation, and to remember that
our democracy leaves us with a responsibility
for our shared destiny…a destiny only as
strong as our commitment to treating our fellow
citizens as we would want to be treated
ourselves. Parceling up our country into red and
blue states may be an effective way to talk
about which candidate is leading in a particular
region, but it does nothing for our national
psyche. It does nothing for our
democracy.
This
past week, I have seen some news networks
referring to the swing states…those states
that are too close to call…as purple
states. Now when the national electoral
map is shown with the three different colors, it
looks even more like a bruise than it did
before. And that’s what our country
feels like to me these days: one big
bruise. I know I’m not alone in
this. I see the concern on people’s
faces and I’ve heard some of your stories, how
many of you are desperate for this to be over…how
you are giving more to this presidential
campaign than you would have ever thought
possible. I’ve been caught up in it,
too. I’ve even taken to regularly
watching cable news channels, hanging on to
pundits’ opinions as though they know any more
about what’s going to happen on November 2nd
than any of the rest of us.
But
we know that the pundits won’t determine the
election. Neither will the political spin
doctors or pollsters. Not Ralph Nader nor
Michael Moore nor even Osama Bin Laden will
determine this election. The voters
will. Even with all the expectations of
voter fraud, I have to believe both sides will
be watching each other closely, and I have to
believe that, in the end, the outcome will be as
legitimate as humanly possible. Call me
naïve if you will, but I contend to believe
otherwise would be to give into fear and
paranoia that will lead nowhere other than
further divisions in an already divided
electorate.
A
few weeks ago, New York Times’
columnist Thomas Friedman expressed another
important thing that has to happen in this
country, regardless of who wins the
election. He wrote that what the country
needs most right now is what has been completely
absent, not only from this election, but from
American politics in general: We need “national
leaders who are actually ready to level with the
public and even criticize their own
constituencies.” In other words, we need
national leaders who are willing to tell the
truth…even when it is painful.
Acknowledging that “a gaffe [in American
politics] is when a politician tells the truth,”
Friedman contends that in light of some
troubling global social and economic realities,
it’s time for some really big gaffes of
honesty right about now.
Even
though I agree in essence with his point, that
our leaders need to be more courageous and
honest, I think he’s missing the bigger,
underlying problem: national leaders in
most cases are unable to tell the truth because
it would render them unelectable. And I
don’t mean telling the truth about past bad
habits, military deferments, and/or
dalliances. I mean telling the truth about
how they see this country’s future and the
sacrifices that must be made if we are to
adequately meet the needs of our own citizens
while being responsible stewards of our
environment and respectable global
neighbors. I mean telling the truth about
how they see the cultural wedge issues like
same-sex marriage, religious belief, or a woman’s
right to choose, regardless of what their base
thinks.
Let’s
imagine, for example, that I decided to run for
national office. I’d be finished before
I began. The mere fact that I am a UU
minister would render me too liberal for the
majority of Americans, no matter how moderate I
might actually be. No big loss, you may think,
and you are probably right. However, there
is a great passage in the new satirical history
textbook by the writers of “The Daily Show”
that points out who else would be left out of
office if they were to run in our current
political climate…every one of the so-called
“founding fathers.”
Just
a few examples:
Benjamin
Franklin, would be unelectable today because he
wrote that he had doubts about the divinity of
Jesus. Once word got out about his
disbelief, he would have to “kiss the red
states goodbye.” Incidentally, Thomas
Jefferson, who put together his own version of
the Bible with all the miracle stories taken
out, would have similar trouble.
James
Madison, would be unelectable because “he was
5’4” and would weigh 108 pounds even after
the camera added ten pounds.” He would never
look good enough on David Letterman and his
diminutive stature would always give the
impression that he was soft on crime.
John
Adams, would be unelectable “not because he
claimed he could make principled, unpopular
decisions, but because he actually did make
principled, unpopular decisions.”
Last
year, in the build up to the caucuses, I got
fired up about a Democratic candidate for
president, Howard Dean. I didn’t agree
with him on all issues, but I saw in his
candidacy a real passion for what he perceived
to be the truth. Back in December, at a
forum held in this very room, he spoke about how
most politicians tell you what they think you
want to hear and not what they really
think. Implying, in the process, that he
was different. Maybe he was, for just a
few short weeks later, he was soundly defeated
in the Iowa caucuses and plummeted in the
national polls.
At
the caucus I attended, I was disappointed by
Dean’s poor showing. I was curious what
had motivated people in their decision. On
the way out into the winter cold, I struck up a
conversation with a woman. “Who did you
caucus for?” I asked. “John Edwards,”
she replied. “Yeah, Edwards is an
interesting candidate, isn’t he?” I offered,
trying to be positive. “Well, he’s the
best looking at least,” she said. “I
figure if I have to look at someone the next
four years, it might as well be him.”
Now,
it’s been said that every nation has the
government it deserves.
If this is correct, what might we glean from the
current state of our political climate, in which
image can often outweigh almost everything else,
and in which our leaders are, by necessity,
reluctant to speak frankly with the people they
serve? I think it points up the general
unwillingness of the citizens of our country to
see things as they really are. How else
can we explain the fact that until very
recently, against all evidence to the contrary,
the majority of Americans believed that Iraq was
in some way responsible for the tragedy of
9/11? How else can we explain the fact
that on the day the casualties of American
soldiers in Iraq reached 1000, the Des Moines
Register featured a colorful salute and
article with not one mention of the fact that at
least 14,000 innocent Iraqis had also perished
in the war…not one word…? How else can we
accept the fact that there is not nationwide
outrage at the report this week of a new survey
of deaths in Iraqi households estimating that as
many as 100,000 more people may have died
throughout the country in the 18 months since
the U.S.-led invasion than would be expected
based on the death rate before the war? Is
this what “freedom on the move” is all
about?
OK,
so where is the good news in all this?
Where is the hope? Well, believe it or
not, I still think it resides in the democratic
process…the system of governance that
ultimately holds each of its citizens
responsible for the state of the country.
No matter how many times we get it wrong, we
still have to eventually get it right…or
perish trying. I like how Abraham Lincoln put it. He said, “Elections
belong to the people. It is their decision. If
they decide to turn their back on the fire and
burn their behinds, then they will just have to
sit on their blisters.”
Maybe
we’ve still got some blister sitting to
do. But I rest assured in the hope that
eventually those blisters will hurt bad enough
to get us up and moving toward a better
tomorrow. I think that’s the good side
of all this current unease in our country.
People on both sides are engaged in this
election more than any time in the past thirty
years. They are anxious to give direction
to our leaders and to reclaim their citizenship,
their country, and just maybe, the truth.
That’s
why I started with the story of Ralph Nader
visiting my college. Despite his apparent
change in attitude about running for president,
I believe Ralph Nader was right those many years
ago…at least about the need for all of us who
want to see change to organize ourselves around
the things that really matter, for this is the
only way to effect real change…lasting change…the
kind of change that will meet the needs of the
masses…that can get us comfortable with the
truth again, comfortable enough that we can
elect candidates who can challenge us to be more
than we are…the kind of change that will teach
us to reach out and work with our brothers and
sisters no matter what their political
affiliation might be.
And
know that regardless of what happens on November
2nd and the days to follow, the sun
will continue to rise in the morning and set in
the evening, our companions will still need our
affection, attention and care, and our country
will only be as beautiful and strong as the
degree to which we can work together to make it
so.