No Patriotism, Christianity to Be Found
Some supporters of the current occupant of the White House do not have a patriotic bone in their body.
Some supporters of the outgoing president do not have an ounce of Christianity in them despite what some might say.
Obviously, some supporters of the one-term president have been misled to think that their White supremacy was just patriotism or Christianity.
Many led those same people to believe that their anger was just passion and came from a righteous place.
Nevertheless, the world got to see what happens when those same people saw their White supremacy, entitlement and arrogance slipping out of their grasp.
The world saw a violent and angry attempted coup that made a mockery of our country and democracy.
Let’s take a look at the definition of patriotism first.
Webster’s defines patriotism as “a love and loyalty to one’s country.”
How can people call themselves patriots after they attempt to destroy the very country that they claim to love?
To show their patriotism, some of my family members and friends put their lives on the line to serve this country.
Those patriots fought in wars like World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the War on Terrorism just to preserve our democracy at home and promote democracy abroad.
Some even came back to a country that still treated them like second class citizens because of the color of their skin even after risking their lives for old glory.
That is true patriotism.
Some saw that America was not living up to its creed.
Some saw that America could not truly live up to that creed until all men, and women, were truly treated as equals.
Therefore, those people put their careers, health and livelihood on the line to make sure that America treated its minority citizens in the same way that she treated mainstream America.
After protesting for and winning civil rights, some like the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) entered the halls of Congress to have a seat at America’s power table to ensure that all that he had protested for would be protected via legislation.
However, somehow that former reality TV star convinced his cult followers that patriotism meant pledging their blind loyalty to him.
Somehow, this individual convinced his cult followers to overthrow democracy with a violent coup, or revolution as Elizabeth from Knoxville, Tenn. called it, so that America could become a dictatorship like North Korea or Nazi Germany.
Somehow, the man that sits in the Oval Office convinced his cult followers that patriotism meant storming the United States Capitol, destroying and stealing property, and putting the lives of all U.S. lawmakers at risk just because he did not get the desired result he wanted from the 2020 presidential election.
And somehow, some of these types of people are the same type of people that said former NFL star quarterback Colin Kaepernick had disrespected the flag and the country by taking a knee during the national anthem as a way to protest systemic racism and police brutality.
Some of these same type of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol, or cheered them on via social media, are the same people that say they will not support the NBA, NFL, NHL or Major League Baseball because players made political statements during games on their jersey or on the field, court or ice.
Many supporters of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) rioters seemed to condone their treasonous and seditious coup by comparing it to Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that unfortunately turned violent.
While no one should advocate violence, comparing those two movements are like comparing apples to watermelons, not oranges.
Some Black Lives Matter protests turned violent, and the people who participated in such violence should face condemnation.
However, the Black Lives Matter protests turned violent after over 400 years of African-American leaders leading nonviolent protests and seeing very little progress.
Those BLM protests erupted because African-Americans have endured 402 years of systemic racism, oppression and brutality while in this land now known as America.
While their anger was sadly misguided, their anger was righteous.
Even Jesus Christ got angry with the disciples and flipped tables over.
However, the MAGA thugs that stormed the capitol in a despicable and failed insurrection did so because their feelings were hurt because their candidate lost an election, and that person lied to them about voter fraud and a stolen election.
Four hundred and two years of oppression versus a person’s preferred political candidate losing a fair election: how can anyone in their right mind compare the two movements?
Additionally, the fact that many Capitol Police officers treated MAGA protestors humanely, but the National Guard looked like they were prepared for war during BLM protests is why people protest police brutality in the first place.
Most importantly, let’s debunk this myth that the occupant of the White House represents Christianity in any shape, form or fashion.
Just because a Republican political candidate comes out against abortion and/or against same sex marriage does not make them a true believer.
Some White “Christians” believe in their Whiteness, arrogance and sense of entitlement more than they believe in Christ’s teachings because if they felt otherwise they would be scared to treat their brothers and sisters of a darker hue as if they were less than because the Bible says treat your neighbor, as you would want to be treated.
If they truly cared about Christ’s teachings, some of these politicians would do more to help the poor than to help big businesses and billionaires who donate to their campaigns.
The Bible says you know what type of person someone is by the fruit that they bear.
The current leader of this country can just show rotten fruit because he has only produced mayhem, chaos, disruption, division and the destruction of our democracy.
How is that patriotic?
How is that Christian?
It is not.
