February 24, 2021

I have always seen history as a collection of stories. My interest in the subject came from the skill of my fifth grade teacher. She had a natural gift for storytelling, and it wasn't long before I lost myself in the day's history lesson. I would often wonder what it was like to live during the different times when significant events were happening.

As I progressed through school and learned more things, like the World Wars and the Holocaust, I began to ask myself questions like, "How could they let this happen?" and "Surely, they knew."

Regrettably, I don't have to wonder anymore. I know the answers because I am watching several grim chapters of history unfolding before my eyes. The ramifications of the Civil War, the Crusades, the rise of an autocratic, totalitarian dictator figure, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, McCarthyism, a pandemic, and the slow death of an almighty civilization. No, these events did not happen over hundreds of years like they did the first time, and they did not happen in some far off place. They all happened within the last four to five years...in America.

Oh, America. What has happened to you? You were once the land of plenty, welcoming the desperate of the world and giving them a chance at opportunities and safety. Or so I was told and made to believe. Obviously, I, nor anybody else, can know with absolute certainty what the Founding Fathers' true intent was since they have been dead for something like 350 years, but I have a hard time believing they would be pleased or satisfied to know the work they fought for---committed treason for---has been cannibalized and used, not to support and defend the nation, but to support and defend anarchy and insurrection. We are on the edge of a knife; what happens next will determine whether democracy survives or if America is doomed to join the likes of the Egyptian and Roman Empires: the fall of a once mighty nation because of hubris, corruption, arrogance, and political ambition. It's always politics, isn't it?

To be absolutely clear, I am not firing my etymological arrows at the current president, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., or his administration. I am, however, taking direct aim at his predecessor and the so-called members of Congress who have allowed us to get to this point with their deceit, enabling, callousness, greed, and cowardice. My words are also for the failed "leaders" at the state and local levels.

HOW DARE YOU?! Once you knew the severity of COVID-19, how dare you downplay it? How dare you sow doubt about the only defenses we have against this invisible killer that, to date, has taken over 504,000 American lives and destroyed countless others? How dare you allow your citizens to run amok with bare faces when you know they could easily catch or spread the disease? How dare you plow ahead with sporting events and travel when the doctors and scientists---you know, the true experts----are begging people to buckle down? How dare you assume people know what to do or will do the right thing? You know the saying about assumptions, right? How dare you spew racist and xenophobic comments about this horrible disease knowing people always look for someone to blame? How dare you act like every citizen in your care is worth nothing because the case numbers aren't very high? How dare you endanger them?

Yes, sadly, I have either seen or heard each of the grievances laid out above. Some come from the disgrace that is the former president, others come from the governor, Bill Lee, and more still come from the county mayor. Reason and logic do not work on people like this because they have been seduced by and drawn into a massive lie. The lie has many complex layers, yet at it's core is astonishingly simple: change is bad.

America's demographics are changing, and society is evolving---for the better I might add---and people of a particular ideology can't handle it. Some of them think the biblical End of Days are here. The thing is if they would actually practice what they enforce, they would know not even Jesus Christ knows when He is coming back; any other prophecy is false. Also, if they took a moment to step outside themselves and read Exodus 20, they would find the Ten Commandments. The first says there shall be no gods other than God the Father. The second forbids idols. The ninth says not to accuse people of things you know they didn't do. The Bible also warns of false prophets.

I am writing this as a Christian, raised in the American South, who attended Baptist churches in my youth. I know I am a sinner who needs God every single day. It angers me to watch my faith be weaponized and perverted to advance unholy ideas in the sacred name of God. It also breaks my heart the people I used to respect in the church, some family members included, are falling for the false prophet and idolizing a man, a mortal man, over God. This mortal is NOT a man of God; his actions and words have made that abundantly clear. It is my belief that anyone who thinks this is a godly man is deluded. Now, I don't labor under any fantasy that I am better than the next person. I am no saint, and I struggle with sin every day. All I know is I am tired of the holier-than-thou, self-righteous garbage that seems to come from most Republicans and Southerners. Get over yourselves, and stop clutching your pearls. I understand swallowing our pride and being humbled are not our strong suits, believe me, I'm as stubborn as most of you, but this toxicity has got to stop. It has to be done.

The sad irony of it all is twofold: these are some of the very people that taught me about Christianity and how to study the Bible, and they honestly believe they are representing God. All I can say is this: God knows every heart. I am satisfied with what He knows is in mine. Can you say the same?

I also want to dispel the notion once and for all that the Confederate Battle Flag, Stars and Bar, Rebel Flag, or whatever you want to call it is representative of heritage. It is not. It is representative of the failed attempt of the Confederate States of America to break away from the United States. While it is true there were many reasons for breaking from the Union, it cannot be denied that slavery and the racism that accompanies it was part of it. Besides, the Confederates lost the war. Why would you say you're proud to be a loser? It makes no sense to me. Also ask yourselves, if it is not a symbol of hatred, why is it present every time white supremacy groups espouse their vile ideology? Born from a treasonous act, stands in part for the enslavement of human beings, symbolzes a war lost 265 years ago. Way to go, y'all. Some heritage.