So who is America?
That strapping healthy guy doing manual labor and driving a
big truck is the poster image “American”.
What about the poster boy’s older gay brother? Is he part of America? Certainly our returning veterans represent
America. What about the low paid aides taking
care of our vets? These people are
working hard to keep clothed and fed on their income, not much room for
investing. They will need the Social
Security that they are paying into. Are
they part of America? What about your
neighbor, still unemployed after 6 months.
Is he part of America? What of
the woman with only part time work, living in poverty, who finds herself
pregnant, the one many would like to deny access to both birth control and the
resources to care for a child? Is she
part of America? The banker is living
the American dream. What about the
family that had their home foreclosed? They
should have known they could not support that mortgage, but then shouldn’t the
banker have also known? Is the
defaulting family part of America too? What
about the kid still living at home, unable to find a job that can enable him to
support himself fully, and unable to afford health insurance? Is he an American? Are the Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and
Atheist people in this country part of America? What of the hungry child born into
poverty? Is she American?
Is America everyone?
Or just the people who are like us, people who don’t make us
uncomfortable? Does America only include
people whose lives reinforce our way of seeing the world?
The conservative Christian platform of today is based on
values different from those I was brought up with. I grew up in the Christian church, regularly
attending a Presbyterian church in Langhorne, PA. I went to Sunday school, joined in the youth
group, sang in the choir, and attended the classes that led to my
confirmation. I was impressed by the
example of Jesus and saw the worth of the Golden Rule. What I learned in that church was tolerance,
respect, making the time to help and care for other people. I did not learn that gays are evil. I was taught not to judge. I did not learn that poor people are indolent. I was taught to help them. I did not learn that women are to follow men
and bear and care for children. I was
taught to think for myself, to listen to my own conscience. I did not learn that going to church made me
righteous. I was taught to live by the
Golden Rule. I thank Reverend Crawford
for these lessons. Were it not for this
education in the kindness of Christianity I would be left judging the Christian
faith by the intolerance, contempt, misogyny, and greed that I see perpetrated
and justified by today’s conservative Christians.
