As you may know, I recently spoke at San Juans Summit, a gathering put together by Common Good Christians, a group of progressive faith leaders who want to reclaim their faith from the grip of the hypocritical right. If you haven’t watched my videos with Common Good Christians Executive Director Samir Selmanović, or best-selling author and pastor John Pavlovitz, please take a few minutes to do so.
I also gave a talk entitled “Vote for the Common Good” in which I outline what I think is the greatest threat to our democracy: the weaponization of the evangelical vote to destroy the gains that we have made for women, the LGBTQ community, and for people of color, and how we must take our country back by defeating this bloc at the polls in 2018 and 2020. After my talk, I spent some time with my new friend Heather Lundy, an entrepreneur, artist and therapist who took umbrage with some of what I had to say. Heather’s story is very similar to my own, in that she grew up in a leading family in the evangelical world, and I was moved by a lot of what she had to say about the language we use and the spaces we create when it comes to societal change.
Meet Heather.
https://www.facebook.com/frank.schaeffer.16/videos/1268411896622247/
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Thanks for the interview with Heather. I appreciated her comments which slightly echo your wife comment about becoming a bigger A hole about Trump’s presidency than in your old Evangelical preacher days. I disagree with Heather’s assessment of your rants and anger though. America is on fire, and it’s a five-alarm fire. Our democracy is literally burning down around us and those who don’t vote better wake up and exercise their to vote before even that is taken along with the rest of our civil liberties. Thanks for being willing to post an opposing view. All the best.
Dear Joelyn:
Have you considered WHY the working class rejected the 2016 election in tens of millions?
A tiny financial oligarchy controls both political parties at every level of government from city councils to the Presidency itself. This oligarchy accepts no impingement on its wealth and profit no matter how small the cost, or how basic and essential the needs of society.
Frank’s blog intentionally obscures this reality and seeks to perpetuate the illusion of a functional political order even as everything is ‘burning down around us.’
No less than Frank’s blog, voting perpetuates the illusion of normality as the ruling class works behind our backs to drive us all to a catastrophic third world war.
Why should we comply?
Why should we comply?
I don’t know who you are speaking for besides yourself, but I’m quite aware of what is happening to our imperfect Republic. My Black ancestors have lived under the ruling class in America for nine generations. I would never dishonor their long hard fought struggle for civil rights by not voting.
I’ve witnessed the power of the vote on the local level and the collective power of the vote is not an illusion. Frank is quite right to encourage concerned citizens to organize because it CAN make a difference. I am not interested in wasting my time having a useless debate about how the ruling class controls everything.
Like Frank, I ignore the naysayers like you because I’m not giving up on our “imperfect union.” I will join him in this fight to save our democratic institutions and civil liberties. There are more of us, then of them (ruling class) and together we can be more powerful so I’m going down voting. Woo Hoo!
Dear Joelyn:
As I’ve said before, I speak the issues of the United States proletariat, the working class, the 90%. Those are the many millions who refused to be retained as political hostages in the last fraud of an election.
I fully expect that both bourgeoisie parties will remain thoroughly ‘uninterested’ in the working class. Indeed, I’m banking on it.
The whole ruling class is engaging in a concerted effort to censor the internet and squelch the postulation of all but a handful of approved narratives. Republican or Democrat, the whole ruling class stands united against whistle blower Julian Assange.
Presenting no new grounds or anything more than circumstantial ‘evidence,’ the DNC has filed a complaint against Assange as part of a major attack on press freedom.
We know what Trump is. But your support of elections stands behind the most opportunistic layer of the ruling class whose sole motivation is to win more privilege at the expense of the 90% ‘below’ them and the 1% ‘above’ them.
A real political party would run a permanent political campaign exposing the attacks on press freedoms, civil rights, US workers, and against the good order of the state, and the peace of the world.
Elections don’t end bad governance; they perpetuate it.
Consider your ways.
Pentecost blessings!
O Yawn! And this from someone who believes in the mythology of Christianity. LOL! Practice what you preach. Consider your ways.
Dear Joelyn:
As a matter of fact, my party of preference has established a permanent campaign on these and other issues.
Moreover, as late as June 16, 2018, the Socialist Equality Party US section repeated its demand for the immediate abolition of ICE, CBP and all associated agencies responsible for the deportation of refugee and immigrant families.
Where has your party done that?
Also on June 16, the Socialist Equality Party Australian section hosted a public rally demanding the release of journalist whistle blower, Julian Assange.
Where has your party done that?
Since you deem consistency important, I invite you to publish a url where either bourgeoisie party demands the immediate dismantling of ICE, CBP and all associated agencies. Or, post a url showing where either bourgeoisie party is fighting for Julian Assange, and against internet censorship.
I look forward to your reply.
I also invite Frank Schaeffer to weigh in on these issues. And I invite him to address the teachers’ revolt, on which to my knowledge he has spoken not one, solitary word.
Frank, you and bourgeoisie parties ignore much more than ‘naysayers like you.’ You ignore the teacher rebellion across the land. You ignore the bribing of auto worker union executives. You surrendered DACA recipients and subsequently ignore them. You ignore some 1,000+ US citizens murdered annually by police. You ignore the student protest movement when corporate media and Democrat Party hacks cannot hijack their message of broad social disintegration and political criminality to focus on very narrow identity issues. You ignore the drive toward war with China and Russia. You ignore the persecution of Julian Assange.
Of course, you’re going to ignore anyone who addresses such things.
Like Frank, I ignore the naysayers like you because I’m not giving up on our “imperfect union.” But this isn’t because you haven’t ‘given us.’ The issue is that you never have stood on the right side of any of these issues. You stand as oppressor and persecutor on all these matters, and limit criticism of Trump to his insufficiently aggressive, militaristic posture toward Russia and China.
The next generation recognizes increasingly that the state has abandoned them to their own destiny. Nothing is more fitting than to abandon the bourgeoisie parties to theirs.
Pentecost blessings!
My Southern relatives lived through Black Reconstruction and my grandparents fought for the Voting Rights Acts of 1965. No amount of racial, economic or political discrimination could discourage them from exercising their right to vote. Their great-grandchildren who are far better educated as a result of the Civil Rights Movement love to complain about how powerless they are rather than do what little they can do about injustices like vote.
I’m not naïve about the deep historical roots of our country’s economic and racial divide. I just ain’t gonna roll over and play dead and fuss at someone like Frank who is trying to rouse the masses to fight back. I’ve heard enough speeches about what is wrong. I’m about doing something about it. The revolution will be televised.
Sorry, off topic, but maybe the Southern Baptists are seeing the light?
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/southern-baptists-call-off-the-culture-war/563000/
John, I believe you are right and a few Christians are seeing the light. Frank recently spoke on MSNBC, which I hope he writes about, and he said “The white evangelical voter is the problem….Are you trying to follow Jesus and if you are – you have to repent of what you have done. ” My perspective on the few evangelical Christians who are beginning to see the light is that we in the last days and decisions are being made.
Incidentally, the 16 minute MSNBC clip I am referring to is here and I very highly recommend watching it:
https://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/sessions-misuses-bible-to-justify-separating-children-from-migrant-parents-1257427011598
“I look forward to your reply.”
O Yawn again. I’m hitting the ignore the troll button on you. Your long political posts ain’t worth responding to anymore. My bad.