Message through the coronavirus

It seems that whenever the United States undergoes any trauma — take the war in Iraq and 9/11 as examples — folks who belong to the “religious right” try to tell people that the presence of gays and legal abortion were to blame. The same is being said today with the coronavirus pandemic.

It could be that the situation in which we find ourselves today is indeed the result of God’s judgment, but not in the way they believe. Rather, I suspect that He is judging much of the church on how we have always regarded the poor and powerless, which by the way is the second-most addressed issue in the Scriptures. Mind you, I’m not talking about “charity”; I’m referring to a general sense of empowerment, which would include adjusting the political system to allow folks to make their way without charity.

And guess what they would call that? “Socialism.” Which indicates to me that their own addiction to power, often practiced in the name of religion, sabotages the very spiritual awakening they say they want.

Let’s go back to the history of Israel, which remained in the Promised Land for 490 years but was exiled for 70. The number of years in both cases are significant — part of the Levitical law included returning parcels of land to their original clans every 50 years at part of the Year of Jubilee, but there’s no indication that Israel ever practiced that, the result being rampant economic and social inequality.

Today we have a president, supported by a majority of evangelical Christians who believe that “fake news” about the virus is designed to hurt him politically. This same president has shown no empathy toward those infected with the virus, insisting that his chief priority is getting the economy — that is, the stock market — going again and even saying recently that he wanted to see packed churches on Easter Sunday, which of course is just two weeks away. (Medical experts are saying that things will get worse, not better, over the next few weeks and likely beyond.)

And look just whom the quarantine is primarily affecting — folks who work in service industries such as restaurants and taverns, especially those that support live music (which means that many of my fellow musicians are out of work) as well as many retail outlets. And then you have overworked medical paraprofessionals, grocery store workers and warehouse employees, many of whom don’t make that much money in the first place and thus don’t own any stock.

I learned a couple of years ago that what we know today as the “religious right” was originally funded by industry groups. While there’s nothing wrong in itself with having money, even a lot of it, we seem to forget that whatever we have ultimately belongs to God and should be used for His purposes. It thus could be that depressing the stock market due to the coronavirus is another of His ways to let us know that we’re on the wrong track.

Sadly, I don’t think that message will be heeded.

Explaining and understanding Biden’s ‘invitation to the cookout’

One of the biggest surprises of the recent election season was former Vice-President Joe Biden’s improbably strong showing, winning 10 states, during last week’s “Super Tuesday” primaries propelled largely by African-American voters in the South — places where he didn’t even campaign in part due to lack of funds.

The suspicion is that Biden was bolstered by his association with former President Barack Obama, which is likely true but not for the reasons often suspected. The following piece by a Laurie Goff has been making its way online:

“This old rich white man played second fiddle to a black man. Not just any black man, but a younger black man, a smart black man. Not just for a day. Not [one], not [two] but eight years. He took his cues from this black man who had more power than [he] and was virtually unknown when he took the presidency, and Joe Biden had been around forever.

“He was willing and proud to be his [wingman]. Not once did he try to undermine him, this black man. Instead Joe walked in lockstep with him, he respected him, he loved and trusted him. He was led by him and he learned from him. And Joe did not have a problem with it.

“You tell me what 40+ year ‘establishment’ white politician has ever done that. Joe Biden is cut from a different cloth. And black folks understand that and for good reason. He has shown it.

“This is what showing up and being an ally looks like. When black people say they know Joe, this is how we know.” (Emphasis mine.)

The term “invited to the cookout” in African-American parlance refers to being in sync with the political goals and aspirations of the African-American community. And one of those goals is the ability to wield authority in the greater society without having to defer to what’s often considered the fragility of white society in general. It isn’t about specific programs targeted to us; it’s about self-determination as to what policies benefit not just us but America as a whole.

To put another way, blacks simply won’t be tokens or mere window-dressing. We demand and expect to be taken seriously.

This is why, for example, the Republican Party and the right-wing conservatives who run it have no chance of ever getting African-Americans to vote for them — they have never had any interest in sharing power with those with whom they disagree regardless of color. While we’re not always happy with the Democrats, in the words of Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr., “At least our needs are on the table.” And it surely isn’t the Democrats trying to keep us from voting in the first place.

More to the point, however, in response to Obama’s election the year before, in 2009 the Republican Party elected Michael Steele to its presidency, but he ended up being forced out not long afterwards because of meddling. And just how many black conservatives are actually involved in crafting overall policy? Not. A. Single. One. (Window dressing, as I mentioned above.)

Why did Biden win despite what might be considered problematic political positions in his past? He as Vice President acted as though we were equal — and that means more than you might appreciate.