I always have a soft spot in my heart for the underdog – the minority that wants to have their voice be heard and understood. I have been part of many minority groups that seek to be heard. For example, I, following the heritage of the Civil Right Movement, had protested on the street and committed civil disobedience against nuclear arms back in the 1980s.
However, I struggle with what has been happening in the Congress of the United States this last week. On the surface it looks a lot like an underdog group acting to get their voice heard by shutting down the government. It is somewhat similar to the Occupy Wall Street movement blocking the Brooklyn Bridge, causing major inconvenience for many, in order to get national and international attention on their point of view. But there is something about this last “movement” in congress that did not sit well with me.
My understanding of the U.S. Democracy is that by
voting, the majority decides and determines who will be our leaders and what
laws to pass. We live with the result
until the next election comes around.
Meanwhile, the minority is not completely shut out; the U.S.
Constitution guarantees that the minority voices can still be heard through
their rights to assemble, and to have freedom of speech and the press. The Civil Rights Movement and those who
worked for the rights of GLBTQ community were examples of how this democratic
process has worked. The minority voice
actively spoke the truth about their experience challenging the system to
change. The truth they shared exposed how the system oppressed people by
abusing their rights resulting in psychological, physical and economical
damage. In the case of the Civil Rights
Movement, the abuse of the rights of African Americans were so severe that
urgent actions such as civil disobedience to disrupt the system was necessary
to get the people to pay attention. Over
time, the people heard the truth and began to cast their votes differently,
passing laws, electing new representatives, affecting change in the
system. It is the truth
speaking/listening in between elections that make a democratic community work—it
takes time.
When congressional members use their power to refuse to pass the government budget unless the Affordable Care Act, a 3-year-old law, which is yet to be fully implemented, is diminished, it does look a bit like the underdog trying to disrupt the system so that their voice could be heard. But on further exploration, this action does not quite fit my understanding of how our democracy works. Here we have a minority group who, no doubt, has passionate beliefs. They did not get their presidential candidate elected 5 years ago. Since then, they had used every means possible to let their voice be heard including pumping millions of dollars buying media to influence others. Then they lost again with the passing of the Affordable Care Act. Again, they continued to let their disagreement be heard, putting even more money into this effort. By this time, people would have heard their message and yet, the people voted President Obama into office for a second term. They again and again disrupted the system over this new healthcare law, and yet time and again, the people did not move.
We can interpret this in a number of ways: either the system is so corrupt that it refuses to hear the truth and change or the people have heard the concern of this minority group and decided that what they want is not what the people want. As a member of a minority group, we have a choice to make: to continue to disrupt the system or to rethink our position. There is a great difference between speaking the truth challenging the system to change and taking the system hostage forcing the system to bend to the will of a minority, causing innocent people to suffer as a result. When we move from speaking the truth to the system, to taking the system hostage in order to get our way, we move from being an activist to terrorist.
Yes, I have a soft spot in my heart for the underdog. But I lose my empathy when an underdog becomes a bully.
Here are some questions to consider: Are people being hurt as a result of the Affordable Care Act that we need to stop it at all cost? Are people’s rights so abused through the Affordable Care Act that we need to shut down the government to make the point? As the Affordable Care Act is being implemented in the coming months, who benefits from it and who is hurt by it? If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, who would benefit from it and who would be hurt?
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Reflection Questions for Proper 22 (Year C) Lamentations 1:1-6 Psalm 137 2 Timothy 1:1-14 Luke 17:5-10 |
Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org
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