Sunday, March 21, 2010

A Word from My Minister

I promise I will give you the rest of the Princesses' story as they search for The Perfect Day, but I had to mark this most miraculous day (as far as I am concerned) when the U.S. has finally joined the ranks of all the other Western countries in the world, taking a huge leap torwards making sure all our citizens get the healthcare that should be a natural human right (especially in a country as wealthy as ours with the resources we have). I have decided to let you hear a different sort of Christian voice (not the sort you tend to read about these days, the sort that seems to be full of hate and "othering," but rather the voice that comes from those of us who are trying our damnest to live life the way we believe we have been taught to live it) tell you how we feel about this. Thus, I am sharing a quote from an email that Bob sent to a dear friend of ours tonight. I hope it speaks volumes and will help you understand that not all Christians are about hate and condemnation and judgment of others.

The bill passed. I stayed up to see if would, and it did. I realize there
are so many hurdles still ahead, all the political shenanigans that the Right
will use to weaken what has been achieved. But tonight a good thing was done,
one that I sincerely believe that the man from Nazareth, the Lord of my soul,
would have wished. We live in a country of rampant individualism, really, I
believe, in the end selfishness. This speaks to the care of the widows, the
orphans, and the poor [those of you unfamiliar with The New Testament should
know that the widows, the orphans, and the poor come up over and over again as
those for whom we should care]. This speaks to the words of the Beatitides
[again, a piece of the The New Testament that is all about loving and caring]. I
have not been so proud of this country since an election, oh, a year and five
months ago. How wonderful that this happened just before the holiest week of the
year.

Christ's peace indeed.

And if you happen to think that's "unpatriotic," well, then, I am pretty sure that you don't know how to read and can't look up the word "patriotic" in your dictionary. Not that Bob and I give much of a damn about so-called "patriotism" anyway. God created the whole world. We are all God's children. After all, none of the stories in The Bible takes place in a country called America.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a President's speech I need to go hear.

9 comments:

litlove said...

So it's finally gone through? I'm so glad to hear it. It DOES seem fair, as even though we Brits complain bitterly about the NHS, it saves peoples lives for free day in day out.

Stefanie said...

It's a first step but it's a big one that I am so happy about and relieved. The poltics of it aren't over yet but I feel so good about getting over this hurdle, the others can't possibly be so dreadful. I hope. I always hope. And tell Bob he wrote a beautiful email :)

Anonymous said...

The email brought tears to my eyes. Religion should not be owned by the right. More of those caring voices need to be heard.

nigel paddell said...

I have never understood how keeping our country backward was supposed to be patriotic.
Finally another wee step forward.

Anne Camille said...

Bravo Bob! Brava Emily! Many of us are singing the same chorus today; we all should be.

Courtney said...

Hear, hear. What a lovely, eloquent, moving email from The Minister (which is how I think of him) - I seriously had to consider defrieding people of facebook for the hate-mongering things they posted about this - and had to keep myself from joining in the fray. I love what he says about the widows and poor - wasn't it Anne Lamott who noted that no matter what religion you practice, if you don't care for the poor you probably aren't practicing correctly?

Rebecca H. said...

It's great to hear from Bob about this. I have gotten SO infuriated at all the rhetoric around this and now I'm SO infuriated at the death threats going around. I really wonder what is going on with this country. But we can certainly be grateful and happy that the bill passed. It's not perfect, but it's so much better than the way things have been.

ZoesMom said...

I found myself looking for the Facebook "Like" for this. Me Like.

Emily Barton said...

Litlove, well it's gone through (in a modified form, but modified is better than nothing). We'll see how long it lasts...

Stef, fingers crossed we can STAY over this hurdle. Bob was very touched by your appraisal of what he wrote.

Lilian, oh, of only more of the caring voices were heard than all those hateful voices we hear now!

Cam, thank you! Let's get all our happy voices to out sing all the naysayers.

Dorr, the death threat, etc. are very scary, no? And over what? Helping others get something they need? I don't get it!

ZM, someone at blogger needs to give us the "like" button.