just enough light

“We’re going to take our country back!” That has been a rallying cry for Republicans for the past several years. It underlies the Presidential race and was a prevalent theme of the Taylor County Republican forum a few weeks ago as candidates for county, state, and national offices introduced themselves to the eager crowd.

At the forum there was plenty of talk of what each would do if elected, lots of praise for current Republicans in office, most notably Governor Abbot, and plenty of bashing Democrats for what has been done or not done. It was energetic, uplifting, and congenial for all the like-minded people there.

While “taking our country back” certainly gets the juices going for many, what does it mean? Back from whom? Some of the answers to that question are clear, some are more illusive.

Taking our country back from a Supreme Court that gave to gays and lesbians the same civil rights enjoyed by married heterosexuals was one clear theme. Also, it’s crucial that we take it back from non-Christians who have made it illegal for us to put our Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes wherever we choose simply because of the First Amendment. We have to take it back from invaders who are seeking refuge from life-threatening situations, not unlike what many of our great grandparents did. We’re taking it back from a President who some still believe is a Muslim who hates this country. Yes, amazingly, some people still believe he’s Muslim, and one of our state candidates actually said, with a straight face, that the president is intentionally trying to ruin this country. The list of groups whom we blame for highjacking our country is long.

And back to what? Back to when? If we take back what has transpired over the past few years or the past few decades, whose civil rights should we revoke? Women? People of color? Gays and lesbians, some of whom are our family members, friends, and colleagues? Muslim citizens? The disabled?   Those who cannot afford health care? To whom will we say, “You can no longer enjoy the civil liberties you have fought so hard for. Sorry, but we want it back the way it was.”

And who is “we?” It’s people like me. White, heterosexual, male, Christian, able-bodied, born-in-America Americans. People who have the privileges that come with being born into those kinds of families. People who, compared to other kinds of families, had fewer hurdles to jump over to go to college or get a job. We who used to be in charge.

The truth is, the country we want back is a country known only to a small portion of us. Many others living within the same borders of this great land have known little or nothing of the country we want back.

However, the country we think we want back is not likely to return, and it’s not the fault of those we’d like to blame. The world has moved forward, and we are experiencing the inevitable pains of that growth and change.

For example, our country has always been multicultural and multiracial, but we just started taking that seriously the past few decades. Women have always deserved the same rights, privileges, and choices as men, but we’re still having trouble with that one.

The world’s countries are more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. While we can still boast the best military and strongest economy, we can no longer stand alone militarily or economically. The rules have changed.

We say we want to restore Christian values, but we have simplistically redefined Christian values as alignment with particular political issues. These have little resemblance to Christ-like values such as of humility, compassion, forgiveness, peace-making, and being of service to the least of these.

Are we on a slippery slope? Some use that analogy to describe what has happened in terms of our values, policies, and laws. I have to remember that what seems like a slippery slope to me may in fact be a movement toward equality. We in the majority have some privileges that put us above the fray. Any movement toward equality with those who have not shared our privileges may feel like we’re the one being oppressed.

What seems like a slippery slope may in fact simply be sliding from my position of privilege onto a level playing field with other citizens of this great country, a movement toward “justice for all.”

This opinion article was printed in the Abilene Reporter News, Sunday, February 28, 2016.