I cleaned up my desk, to improve my ability to work on different projects including assembling my father's stories, when I ran across a letter to the editor that I had prepared in November 2002. This was after a particularly nasty election in which the forces of Christian right wing conservatism took a strong choke hold of Pierce County. It was a difficult time here, where you made to feel threatened and unchristian if you didn't follow suit. A picture was published in the paper with a group of Blackshear people holding up a sign that said "Election 2002: A God-Sized Miracle" . Some of the people in the photo were closely connected to Alison and me.
I wrote a letter to the editor of the Blackshear Times that I don't believe I submitted. Yes, times were that bad that even I was afraid to speak out. Here is that letter:
November 2002
Dear Sirs:
I would like to ask some questions of those standing in front of the 'Election 2002: A God-Sized Miracle" sign on page two of last week's paper.
Does God want to bring back a flag that is repugnant to many African-Americans, progressives and others in the state, a flag originally imposed on Georgia by segregationists in the 50s?
Does God want to see the Hope scholarship reduced in scope and eventually eliminated?
Does God want our health care system to have fifty million uninsured? Does he want our health care to be dependent upon how much money we have or who we're lucky enough to have as an employer?
Does God want to see the gap between rich and poor continue to grow? Does he want to see a handful of us living in mansions while those who work for them live in run-down trailers?
Was God involved in the horrible tragedy of the plane crash that took the life of Senator Wellstone and that of his wife and daughter? A caller on CSPAN called it "the hand of providence? That wasn't part of your 'god sized miracle', was it?
We could argue all day long about God's intent, particularly if we debate bible verse versus bible verse. The bible can be used to justify almost anything. Instead, I prefer to go to very root of Christ's message to us. What did Christ teach?
Love God.
Love your neighbor.
Assist the poor.
Heal the sick.
Those who have should give to those who haven't.
Doesn't sound much like a Republican, does it? Come to think of it, I wouldn't call it a Democrat either. But those who believe this are Christians, and I kinda suspect they could show up on either side, depending on how they want to get things done.
I know most of the people in that picture, and I know them to be decent, hard-working folks. I just think they got swept up into using our Lord and Savior as nothing more than a political marketing tool. How cynical and distasteful. Shame on you.
Sincerely,
T. M. Strait
In many ways, things have not improved in the last eleven years, at least not in Pierce County. It's voting is turning more and more red with each subsequent election. Many of the same issues mentioned still exist. I don't feel personally as threatened because their political opinion no longer dominates the country as a whole, and I have found through facebook a number of local progressives. And my home church is very accepting of Christian progressives. I have not had much intimidation recently, although my son Benjamin was verbally attacked and physically threatened for supporting Obama last year.
I am a short-term pessimist and a long-term optimist. These are good and decent people here,and I can't help but feel that eventually things will swing the other way here concerning politics.
But so far that hasn't happened..
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