My State of Politics...

Hello, friends!

When I was coming out of college, I had 2 job offers. One offer was to work for InterVarsity (spoiler alert: that's the job I took). The other offer was to work as a Congressional aide for Congressman William "Lacy" Clay, representing Missouri's First Congressional district. 

I don't know when I first got into politics. It was probably high school. One of the clubs I was a part of was Junior Statesmen of America, which was pretty much debating politics every week. I volunteered for my first political campaign my Junior year and protested the Iraq war my Senior year. When I got to college, the plan was simple: get my degree, get to law school, get into a congressional office, get into office myself. Even though I heard very clearly from Jesus that law school was not in the cards for me, the offer to work for Congressman Clay after interning with him my Junior year at WashU (#GoBears!) meant that the dream wasn't dead. I don't regret my decision to work for InterVarsity one bit but I've always felt the pull of politics and continue to be involved as much as I can. 

As I've grown as a follower of Jesus, I've seen how politics is intertwined into everything, especially as it pertains to issues of justice and equity. As I've mourned with my Black brothers and sisters after more and more unarmed Black men and women are shot and killed at the hands of police, as I've seen how systemic racism affects housing, schooling, heathcare, hiring, and every other part of daily life, and as I've grown in my understanding of Jesus' call to care for the poor and the oppressed, my interest in politics has only grown. 

That's why yesterday's attack on the Capitol was so devastating for me. Megan will tell you that last night I was in a bit of a funk. It took some time with Jesus to process everything that I was feeling. My current working theory is that yesterday was a confluence of a lot of factors that had been bubbling up inside of me for a long time, all converging in one event. Let's run through the list, shall we? 

- Christian nationalism: The idea that the United States was founded on Christian principles and that the United States is a special chosen nation by God is a fallacy that needs to be put to death. We are not a theocracy. The United States does not exist to make Christians feel good about themselves. We, as Christians, need to worship God, not the US flag, the White House, or the power that comes from allying ourselves with those in power.  

- American exceptionalism: I love this country. I LOVE this country. It is a myth to believe we are perfect. It is a myth to believe we were ever perfect. It is a myth to believe that we are inherently better than other countries simply because we are us. It ties into the idea of Christian nationalism. God loves us but he doesn't love us MORE than any other country and we need to be OK with that. 

- The Death of Truth: I love a debate as much as anyone (just ask my wife). However, it's impossible to debate or even talk with someone when we cannot agree on the facts. It's been so disheartening to see folk spout conspiracy theories and believe straight out lies as truth because to believe a different set of facts would mess with their current world view. Resolving cognitive dissonance is a heck of a drug. 

- Political idolatry: The cult of personality when it comes to politics is a real thing and it's scary. The idea that one man or woman could have so much sway over an entire populace and make them do and say such terrible things, is really rough to see. I recognize that as a Christian, I actually want people to follow Christ fully and worship him, but he's God and not a human, so I don't feel like there's any hypocrisy there. Worship Jesus, not man (or woman). 

- White privilege: A mob of mostly White people literally STORMED THE CAPITOL BUILDING AND WERE ALLOWED TO LEAVE. You can't tell me in good conscience that if the group was predominantly people of color that the scenario would have played out the exact same. There are plenty of people on social media who could put things more eloquently than I can but the gist of it is this: White folk can get away with more in the United States than non-White people can simply because they are White. This is more evidence of this fact.

So, where do we go from here. I'm torn and still in a bit of a funk. My heart breaks for the 4 people who died yesterday and for their families. My heart breaks for the domestic terrorists who stormed the Capitol because they have been lied to and believing this lie has caused them to commit sedition. My heart breaks for my Black brothers and sisters who were reminded yesterday that in the US, their lives don't matter as much as those of White people. My heart breaks for those of us who genuinely believe in the system and want to see our country go to a better place. I'll probably be spending some more time today praying. We'll see how it goes. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam