Think Before You Post

This weekend, in the wake of the Senate hearings held last week, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites, were ablaze with reactions.  Supporters of Christine Blasey Ford lined up on one side, while those who favored Brett Kavanaugh were on the other.

Personally and professionally, I am very careful not to publicly reveal my political
party affiliation.  It is against IRS regulations for me to promote one party or another, one candidate or another, from the pulpit.  Wanting to protect the church's not-for-profit status, I am very careful to avoid such matters.  But I am free legally--and impelled morally--to speak out about various issues, like the right of women to feel safe and respected.  And I do speak out.  But always, I hope, in a fair, non-partisan manner.

So it was that I was struck by the social media post made by someone I have known for a very long time, a former parishioner, who I suspect does not know my  party affiliation. I was struck by the fact that it was a sweeping condemnation of all those who align themselves with a particular political party.  "Don't be a ______________," he wrote, "or, I'll have to say you SUCK!!!" (The capitalization and exclamation points were part of the original post, which included the name of a specific party.)

I wonder if he would have written that if he knew I was one of the people he was demeaning?  I wonder if the second former parishioner who agreed with him would say that to my face?  Am I taking this way too personally?  Perhaps.  Yet I think such sweeping generalizations are major part of the problem.  And the crudeness of such remarks only raises the ire of those who are targeted.  Name calling, generalizations and threats do not help us resolve the challenges of the day. Indeed, the founders of our nation warned against partisanship--I suspect they would be appalled at what's going on right now.

God is a god of justice.  And as a person of faith, I am called to work for justice.  But no one party has a corner on what's right.  Not all people of integrity belong to one party or the other.  There is a bumper sticker I've always loved that says, "God is Not a Republican . . . or a Democrat."  Maybe I should hand those out at church this Sunday--and send them along to those two former parishioners as well!