Jesus would probably punch you in the face

I started Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice today. Cleaver was a founding father of the Black Panthers. The depth of emotion felt by the men and women who led the civil rights movement always amazes me. Those folks hated injustice and racism at the core of their beings. For many of them oppression provided a unique opportunity to be able to identify and attack evil in a way many people will never experience. Likewise, equality and freedom was a tangible manifestation of the greatest good. As real to them as the hem of Christ’s garment to the woman with the aliment of blood, they fought social norms and each other for a chance to simply touch an unimaginable good.

I wonder sometimes about the discrepancy between civil right’s leaders’ passion for equality and Christians’ passion to live for Christ. I think of Jesus and his disciples as social radicals. It doesn’t seem that hard to do. Like many revolutionaries what Jesus said had an uncanny way of pissing everyone off. Jesus met people with marital problems and he told them to quit sleeping around. He met religious leaders, who could have been his greatest allies, and he calls them liars and cheats. I often imagine Peter having talks with Jesus that go something like:

Peter: Hey Jesus, man I need you to chill out on the “you brood of vipers” and “if you love me you’ll eat me,” talk. You’re gonna get us all killed.

Jesus: Um Peter, last time I checked I was the head of this deal right?

Peter: Right.

Jesus: Kay thanks – just checkin. If you’re not cool with the program, you don’t have to follow me around the desert. There’s plenty of fish in the sea, if you know what I mean.

I bet Jesus was pushy. But not in the way we think of Evangelicals asking for money on TV. He was the kind of guy that would get himself killed making speeches convincing workers to strike for unfair wages. Who wouldn’t wear clothes made by Ralph Lauren or the Gap because they were made in sweatshops. The kind of Guy that wouldn’t be a nationalist even if it cost him his life, because it would be an affront to his citizenship in heaven.

When Jesus comes back I bet he’s going to be pissed at a lot of Christians the way Stokely Carmikle was pissed at the Klan. He’s going to ride in on his white horse in white robes and cuss us all out, Christians and non-Christians alike. He’s going to swing his big sword and say “Yesterday 30,000 people starved to death while you were arguing about whether gay people can get married in churches,” and then he’s going to punch somebody in the stomach. And a little poor kid is going to cry and say a prayer of thanks.

I read today that Condoleezza Rice’s name is derived from an Italian musical expression that means - to play with sweetness. Somehow this bit of information changed how I saw her. Unlike many Black democrats, I have never been against Ms. Rice. In fact due in large part to my history as a recovering Black Republican, I still somewhat look up to her. Her rise to power has been one marked by many important firsts. She was the first female and minority Provost at Stanford. She was the first female National Security Advisor and subsequently became the first Black female Secretary of State. I heavily sympathize with both her and Colin Powell’s roles supporting Bush’s policies concerning race. She works for a man whose policies she, at times, disagrees with. As such, she may be forced to be a team player rather than a vocal proponent of other strategies.
Ms. Rice deserves more credit than having achieved lap dog status for a soon to be ill-remembered president. Ms. Rice is a survivor of Bull Connors racist Birmingham of the 60’s. She felt personally the bomb threats levied at integrated schools. Her father, a Presbyterian minister, stood as a armed guard in their house (reminiscent of Malcolm X) when it became know that he had contacted Civil Right leaders at the time. It seems to me that a woman who has achieved and been a part of so much black history deservers more credit from her own people than she tends to receive. Though I agree with Rev. Al Sharpton (a rare occurrence), that we can never assume that because she is black we will agree politically on any issue. I think it would be beneficial for all people to remember that for a woman from humble beginnings to have achieved so much is worthy of all peoples’ respect. To have navigated the complex world of the White Boys Club that is Republican politics and come out ahead, could not have been accomplished had she not moved eloquently and elegantly with sweetness we all could stand to learn from.

Few things are better left Unsaid

I started a blog because people I respect blog. I started a blog because it's good practice writing. I started a blog because I did not get enough hugs as a child. I start a blog so you'd listen.
thanks,
joe