When Americans love darkness more than light
When Americans love darkness more than light
“Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil,” says John 3:19. I can’t find a better text to describe what is happening now in America.
Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. — John 3:19
Condoning violence, promoting it, and exploiting it for power. These are longstanding tactics of fascism. This week happens to be the 100th anniversary of Mussolini and his fascists coming to power in Italy. Germany would follow.
From the beginning of his campaign for the presidency Donald Trump has condoned violence. Donald Trump is a fascist. And it's time to stop tiptoeing around that word. Strong men gain power by intimidating their opponents and getting others to follow them out of fear, who see their own paths to power through loyalty to the leader.
Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, was attacked with a hammer by an assailant whose confession left no doubt as to whether this violence was “political.” While he may be “deranged,” as these perpetrators of such violence often are, he was motivated by the the same hate and lies that echoed hauntingly from the halls of the Capitol on January 6, “Where’s Nancy?”
When Republican Congressman Steve Scalise was shot during a practice session for the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity in 2017, the unified condemnation was crystal clear, with some of the strongest statements coming from Pelosi and Bernie Sanders, whose campaign the shooter had once volunteered for.
We have not heard such clarity of condemnation from Republicans against this attack on an 82-year-old grandfather, who is still in intensive care. Other than a strong but siloed statement from Senator Mitch McConnell, who has distanced himself from Trump, the words of Republicans have been completely irresponsible and alarmingly clarifying.
Instead of unequivocal condemnation of the brutal assault on Paul Pelosi, we heard jokes about the attack from Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin.
"Nancy Pelosi, well, she’s got protection when she’s in D.C. — apparently her house doesn’t have a lot of protection," Lake said at a campaign event in Scottsdale, Arizona, sparking laughter from many in attendance.
Other conservatives, like Senator Ted Cruz, mocked Paul Pelosi and spread lies and conspiracy theories on social media, including Twitter, whose new owner, Elon Musk, himself shared a baseless lie about the attack on Pelosi.
Laughing, mocking, and conspiracy theories about an elderly man having his skull fractured, is a bright light, a crossing of the lines of political discourse, and a dangerous warning about the future of our politics. And the silence of most Republicans is absolutely frightening but clarifying.
To the question of why most Republicans have been silent about this violent attack and, as important, the violent talk that leads to such tragedy can be only answered by going back to the unquestionable truth that Donald Trump is a fascist. He has taken over the base of his party, and most Republicans are afraid of him. To speak out against the brutality against Paul Pelosi could make Donald Trump angry, so most Republicans stay silent. And, indeed, as many have pointed out, silence in the face of evil is complicity.
Hannah Arendt, a political philosopher, author and Holocaust survivor who understood fascism, said that strongmen “replace competency with loyalty.” Totalitarianism requires the destruction of the truth. Fascism is less an ideology than a tactic, a means and a method for obtaining power.
President Joe Biden said in a speech on Wednesday night that in the upcoming elections, democracy is on the ballot. I would say that, really, fascism is on the ballot. More than 370 Republican candidates have questioned and, at times, outright denied the results of the 2020 election despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, according to a New York Times investigation. Mr. Trump has made fealty to his false claims a litmus test for his support for Republican candidates.
“As I stand here today, there are candidates running for every level of office in America — for governor, Congress, attorney general, secretary of state — who won’t commit, they will not commit to accepting the results of the elections that they’re running in,” Mr. Biden said at Union Station, just blocks from where a mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “This is the path to chaos in America. It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful. And it’s un-American.”
“It’s a lie that fueled a dangerous rise in political violence and voter intimidation over the past two years,” Biden continued. “This intimidation, this violence against Democrats, Republicans and nonpartisan officials just doing their jobs are the consequence of lies told for power and profit, lies of conspiracy and malice, lies repeated over and over to generate a cycle of anger, hate, vitriol and even violence,” Mr. Biden said. “In this moment, we have to confront those lies with the truth. The very future of our nation depends on it.”
As former president Barack Obama said while campaigning in Arizona, “what happens when truth doesn’t matter any more?”
This is where we are in American political life. This is what the Bible calls a “sign of the times” about where our country could go – or already is.
To use religious language, there is much “darkness” in the land. This week, many of us who are training poll chaplains in critical states to stand up to whatever confronts Black and brown voters in particular, find ourselves going back to the biblical texts about darkness and light.
“Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” — John 3:19.
I can’t find a better text to describe what is happening politically now in America. Darkness and lies are trending on social media, over the facts and truth, and are being embraced by political leaders for the sake of power.
But with darkness trending upwards, it is vital to remember the opening chapter of John’s gospel where the coming of Christ is described:
“The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” —John 1:5
I need that verse this week, as we approach the elections. Several things about “light” that we need to remember: Light can’t be polled to find out what is out there. Light is not covered in the media about their continuing analysis of what the key election issues are for these midterms. Light is sometimes surprising and can come when and where you least expect it. And, while darkness may prevail in an election or even a season, our faith instructs us to believe that light will not finally be overcome by darkness.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said best:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Thanks, Jim. All of this needed to be said.
Yes, the Republican response to the vicious assault on Speaker Pelosi’s husband is despicable, as is their continued support for the lie that Trump won in 2020.
As a Christian, I’m also deeply disturbed by the silence of many Christians opposed to Christian nationalism but afraid of causing conflict in their congregations or families. I live in Texas and gave up my career as a pastor so I could speak out about the harm being done by the TX GOP and state officials here.
Here’s my latest article urging more Christians to publicly oppose the bigotry and violence being justified by invoking Jesus’ name: https://www.texasobserver.org/christian-nationalism-texas-pastors/