Some things never compare to childhood learnings.<\/p>\n
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I was perhaps barely a teenager… in that age when you\u2019re growing up, observing adults, aware of when things just aren\u2019t pure and good, but also not quite certain how to process the lack of purity and goodness.<\/p>\n
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My family attended a small midwestern church.\u00a0 It was a special place to my family; but during this particular time, we had a pastor who seemed to be struggling.\u00a0 It was obvious from my teenage perspective that his leadership was questionable.\u00a0 Some seemed to revere him; others, well, were seemingly unoffensive with their words, but yet, I knew something was off.\u00a0 Even at a young age, I discerned that our pastor\u2019s authority was questioned by a significant many.\u00a0 His leadership was not entirely effective; in fact, it seemed only effective with somewhere near half the congregation.<\/p>\n
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Sometime thereafter, I remember our pastor making several emphatic, controversial statements from the pulpit.\u00a0 Again, something seemed off.\u00a0 Then through a series of events that were somehow hidden from an observant teen\u2019s eyes, the pastor did something that to me \u2014 simply put, even in my elementary understanding \u2014 felt wrong.\u00a0 In order to continue his professional tenure \u2014 knowing his leadership was significantly questioned and arguably effective with only, at most half the body, he articulated a refusal to resign.\u00a0 Granted, as a kid, I\u2019m not sure it was necessary he resigned; he was an honorable man.\u00a0 But what happened next was also not necessary…<\/p>\n
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He asked us to vote.\u00a0 To vote on whether he should stay… or he should go.<\/p>\n
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Friends, that vote served one purpose and one purpose only; it divided the people.<\/p>\n
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This post is not about my childhood pastor.\u00a0 It\u2019s also not about how the contemporary American church is obviously often an imperfect reflection of who God is.\u00a0 This post is about how and why sometimes our leaders intentionally employ division.\u00a0 Just like my childhood pastor, he chose to divide the people in order to survive.\u00a0 I wonder if that is happening again now.<\/p>\n
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As Pres. Obama said recently on \u201c60 Minutes, \u201cI\u2019m the first one to confess that the spirit that I brought to Washington, that I wanted to see instituted, where we weren\u2019t constantly in a political slugfest… I haven\u2019t fully accomplished that.\u00a0 Haven\u2019t even come close in some cases…\u00a0 My biggest disappointment is that we haven\u2019t changed the tone in Washington as much as I would have liked.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some days I wonder if Pres. Obama has increased the division.\u00a0 I must thus also wonder, just like my old pastor, if the division has been intentional.\u00a0 A few observations…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One, Pres. Obama\u2019s 2008 campaign rhetoric regarding unifying our country was so inflated, it has been impossible to obtain…\u00a0 \u201cThere is not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America \u2014 there is the United States of America\u201d…\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m in this race not just to hold an office, but to gather with you to transform a nation\u201d…\u00a0 \u201cWe will remember that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea: \u00a0yes, we can.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And yet, it is no secret that at times the President has pointed out what divides us…\u00a0 Black vs. White… Republican vs. Democrat… Wealthy vs. All Other Classes.\u00a0 He also has pursued divisive policy.\u00a0 For example, as he prioritized health care reform even when our economy was flailing, he did so behind closed doors on a partisan basis with no majority, public support.\u00a0 Unity was irrelevant.\u00a0 Hence, from my limited perspective, division has often been encouraged in the past four years, especially nearing elections.\u00a0 I thus ask why.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Truthfully, I can\u2019t answer that question.\u00a0 When Obama came to office with a contagious message of hope and change, I was impressed.\u00a0 I wanted the tone to change.\u00a0 I wanted us to change our spending patterns; and I wanted to change the divisiveness that has existed in the USA ever since lobbyist restrictions were eased during the Carter administration.\u00a0 I looked forward to greater unification, lesser partisanship, and decreased government intrusion.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not what hope and change have evolved to be.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I can only surmise that just like my childhood pastor, the President believes the division is somehow necessary to maintain his current professional tenure.\u00a0 Knowing his leadership is significantly questioned and arguably effective with only, at most half the nation, something must be done to spark his supporters\u2019 passion \u2014 even if that means intentionally dividing the United States of America.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Intramuralist will always be seriously disappointed \u2014 regardless of party \u2014 in any<\/em><\/strong> who utilizes a strategy that intentionally divides in order to propel one\u2019s own election… as some things never compare to childhood learnings.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Respectfully,<\/p>\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some things never compare to childhood learnings. I was perhaps barely a teenager… in that age when you\u2019re growing up, observing adults, aware of when things just aren\u2019t pure and good, but also not quite certain how to process the lack of purity and goodness. My family attended a small midwestern church.\u00a0 It … <\/p>\n