Do Something!
The Bigger Picture Got Smaller . . . and More Immediate
Maybe it was the fact that Fox News ignored the Republicans who chose to speak at the Democratic National Convention. Or the biased commentary by Hannity and the often derogatory statements that were placed as text beneath the guests that spoke at that event. Perhaps it was just the increasing frustration with major media’s avoidance of mentioning Donald’s increasingly obvious shortcomings in his run for the presidency of the USA.
Whatever the final straw, in response to a TRUMP 2024 lawn sign near his home last week, Noel ordered 10 signs (shown above) complete with the required wire stands for lawn placement to position directly across the street from the Trump sign and at other strategic spots in the neighborhood in an attempt to balance the local messaging from the Trump campaign.
“I’m a firm believer in hope” he said, “I’m just infusing it with a little action!”
Watching the Democratic Convention, we saw and heard hope, joy, exuberance, relief, euphoria, energy, laughter, and the encouragement to “do something!” The vibes at that event were like those of a May Day celebration after the worst winter ever or a Thanksgiving dinner for people who have been on restricted diet for a month. The reason for the sea change was Kamala Harris and her choice of running mate, Tim Walz. She credited her mother for her can-do attitude and added, “ She taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it.”
The major convention speakers were folks who have tried and often succeeded in doing something about injustice. Here are some of their comments that caught our attention and stayed with us.
Joe Biden: “I love my job, but I love my country more.”
Barack Obama: "We don’t need four more years of bluster and chaos. We’ve seen that movie—and we all know that the sequel’s usually worse.” Speaking of Joe Biden, he said, “At a time when the other party had turned into a cult of personality, we needed a leader who was steady and brought people together, and was selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics—putting his own ambition aside for the sake of the country.”
Michelle Obama: “Whether you’re Democrat, Republican, Independent, or none of the above, this is our time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right. Not just for our basic freedoms, but for decency and humanity, for basic respect. Dignity and empathy. For the values at the very foundation of this democracy.”
Tim Walz: “You know what, never underestimate a public school teacher. . . . We made sure that every kid in the state gets breakfast and lunch every day. So, while other states were banishing books, we were banishing hunger.”
Gus Walz: “That’s my dad!”
Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA): “We deserve a president . . . who shatters the boundaries of what’s possible, not the boundaries of what’s legal.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia: “I’m convinced tonight that we can lift the broken even as we climb. We can heal the wounds that divide us. We can heal a planet in peril. We can heal the land.”
Poet Amanda Gorman: “While we all love freedom, it is love that frees us all.”
In that spirit of love, the Democratic party is making clearer than ever before that it welcomes people of ALL faiths to bring their convictions to the table and that separation of church and state isn’t about banning religion from politics but about not privileging one religion one type of Christianity as Christian Nationalists want to do Voices on the extreme religious and political right may protest loudly that a Christian cannot be a Democrat and vice versa, but in fact there have been many devoutly Christian politicians, including some evangelicals, who have held progressive social and political views. A 2021 survey from PRRI indicated that about 70% of Democrats today are religious, and 62% claim some type of Christianity.
Indeed, quite a few politicians and social activists say they felt called to public service partly because of their faith commitments. Elizabeth Warren and Jimmy Carter have taught Sunday school. George McGovern (for whom PP&M campaigned) and Al Gore did graduate work in theology. Senator Raphael Warnock is Senior Pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the former pulpit of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Warnock earned a doctorate at Union Theological Seminary in NYC, and King also held a doctorate in theology, his from Boston University School of Theology.
Senator Elizabeth Warren explains how her Christian faith shaped her liberal politics in this Washington Post article based on her remarks at a CNN Town Hall. It reports that her favorite Bible passage is the parable of the sheep and the goats, in which Jesus urges his followers to care for the marginalized. This is the parable in which Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” [NRSV].
She sees the parable as a call to action: “It does not say, you just didn’t hurt anybody, and that’s good enough. No. It says, you saw something wrong. You saw somebody who was thirsty. You saw somebody who was in prison. You saw their face. You saw somebody who was hungry, and it moved you to act. I believe we are called on to act.”
That’s just another way of saying, “Don’t complain about injustice. Do something!” Or as Noel might say, “Infuse your hope for a more just world with action!”
Connections:
Check out the website of Christians for Kamala, and hear the remarks from progressive Christians including Bill McKibben, Diana Butler Bass, the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Brian McLaren, Sen. Cory Booker, Texas State Rep. James Talarico, and Jim Wallis.
Watch “Godless Liberals: Faith at the Democratic Convention,” on The Convocation Unscripted. In this episode, Robert P. Jones, Kristin Du Mez, and Jemar Tisbey share their reflections. The Convocation Unscripted is a podcast of The Convocation, a collaborative Substack magazine featuring writing on faith, culture, and politics from award-winning authors Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby.
Watch poet Amanda Gorman recite her new poem, “This Sacred Scene,” at the Democratic National Convention.
Vibrations:
Kevin Moore (Keb’ Mo’) and Roseanne Cash “Put a Woman in Charge”
David Mallett: YouTube video of his live performance of “North Meets South”
Resonance:
Ask yourself “What can I do?” Could the answer simply be something that resonates with a Greater Good?
Create your own hope-infused sign at Signs on the Cheap. https://www.signsonthecheap.com/
Order a yard sign online from the official campaign store:
Happy Labor Day
In honor of Labor Day, listen to Noel’s updated version of “America the Beautiful.”
Our Posting Schedule
Beginning in August we reduced our frequency of posts to at least one a month until we finish our manuscript. Thanks for your understanding.
Came here late through Diana Butler Bass, but wanted to share a thought from Eugene Peterson from Matthew 7 in The Message.
In verse 24 the idea of building a life out of Christ’s words is based on a Greek word which in other translations is rendered “do.”
This is a very active word which we get the English word poet. A poet is a person who takes words and does something with them, makes something personal and original out of them. Jesus says “Be poets. Make something of these words I’ve spoken to you. Make a life, epic and poetic. And make it beautiful. Make it a work of art.” That’s something we can all do. One well-chosen word at a time.
Thank you for this post! Fabulous signs! I loved all that I saw of the Democratic National Convention and experienced some of the rain of the spirit running from my eyes. I admire the Republicans who spoke at the convention because they recognized the importance of national principles over party affiliations. And the Harris-Walz team is positively Main Street.