The Future Tense of Our Humanity

As President Obama made his way to Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, this morning, to give a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren, NPR News reported that there were parents and other adults near the school with protests signs that read “Mr. President, stay away from our kids” and “Our children serve God not the President.” The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday that  the President has been losing support among some white voters (www.latimes.com). I mention this because there has been an unusual amount of attention and criticism of President Obama that appears to be driven by the inability of some members of our society to accept the results of the last Presidential Election that for them was not a dream come true but a nightmare – America now has a black President. In their eyes, the President can do no good. Similarly, there are staunch supporters of the President who refuse to listen to any type of criticism of the President.

While running for President in 1984, Jesse Jackson remarked, in response to the media criticism that he had received, that if he walked on water a headline in the morning paper might read “Jesse Can’t Swim.”  I have not agreed with every decision that the President has made, but I have been reluctant to voice my disagreements publicly and carefully choose and craft my dissents for the fear of adding my voice to the dishonest, off-key chorus singing their awful racially motivated songs of protest. This type of dishonesty does a disservice to our country and all that have bled, fought and died to make it what it is.

In the days leading up to the President Obama’s address, a few parents and pundits accused the President of attempting to poison the minds of children (a charge also brought against Socrates). If the President was hoping to indoctrinate students, it would have been a waste of his time, others had already beaten him to it. As if it was not enough to control the minds of their own children, they mounted a campaign to keep schools from making the viewing of the speech mandatory. Towards this end some parents even threatened to keep their children home from school.  When I was in high school, Ronald Reagan was President. My parents did not vote for Reagan, but if he had chosen to travel to Lorain County, Ohio to give a talk to students at Elyria West High School, they would have purchased new clothes for me for the occasion and would have sat glued to the television hoping to spot me and praying that I would have the opportunity to ask a question.  If I had voiced a desire to stay home, I would have the student in the crowd wearing sunglasses.

For some hate is not only a religion it is their political party of choice. Many of those voicing their criticism are “baptized believers.” They align themselves with the conservative side of Christianity, flag in one hand Bible in the other; recite the pledge of allegiance immediately followed by the Ten Commandments. I would encourage them to read Paul’s First Letter to Timothy where he encourages followers to pray for their leaders even if they don’t agree with them, pray that they will do well (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

I wonder how those who opposed the President’s speech, even before hearing and reading it, felt when they saw in the words of Rev. Gardner Calvin Taylor, “the future tense of our humanity” warmly greeting him and fighting for a chance to shake his hand. There is hope yet.

-Thomas Bowen