Erroneous Obama influence 11/27/16

            The people of Baton Rouge are perhaps in a better position than most people in America to consider, understand and benefit from Terry Robinson’s November 11, 2016 declaration, “God is still on the throne.”[1] The throne is a standard excuse for providing "social" security rather than the civic security humans need.

Robinson lashes at Donald Trump’s victory, which surprised “democratic” America. Perhaps it was no surprise to Trump strategists in the republic that is the USA. In other words, the USA is a republic under the rule of statutory law rather than a democracy under “anything goes.” Regardless, Robinson sort of nudges some people not “to pout or get involved in senseless protests.”

Baton Rouge citizens can talk through the Christian division Robinson would impose on a civic people. Candid talk can help achieve a better future---a future with Security for private living rather than domestic war for dominant social opinion.

We know by experience and observations that most people in Baton Rouge (perhaps most people everywhere), want public-integrity as private-liberty-with-civic-morality. That loaded sentence is perhaps worth the work to contemplate. Primarily, it proposes reform from society for “the overall good” according to civil opinion---an imposed civilization. We know Baton Rouge wants civic morality, because aliens to Baton Rouge have in the past tried to influence insurrection[2] but continually failed. Baton Rouge residents have shown they want broadly-defined-civic-safety-and-security, hereafter, Security, as used above.

However, Baton Rouge heretofore has not iteratively collaborated to put civic-segregation to rest, or to civically connect. By “civic” I refer to willing human connections and transactions because we live during the same years in the same place, even though we privately segregate according to associations some neighbors do not choose. That is, each person reserves the prerogative to choose religious assembly or none, political party, fine arts, sports, profession, and other real-no-harm personal interests yet civically behave. Even black church is segregated as Baptists, Adventists, Methodists, and others (see Pew Research, referenced below). I doubt black Catholics fully integrate with black Protestants.

Members of a civic culture segregate for private interests yet associate for Security. A culture of Security can emerge from Baton Rouge, because the idea is here now. It is this generation’s privilege to establish a civic people, by encouraging the perhaps 2/3 who want Security to candidly talk about civic necessities, leaving private hopes for private pursuits. Clearly to me, a person’s real-no-harm religious preferences are not matters for either civic collaboration or public debate. No one candidly asks the public, "Are you concerned about my theism? Should I change it?"

By erroneously claiming that this republic is a cyclic democracy---to be restored in future elections for currently disappointed voters---Robinson is in good company. Secretary Clinton said, “Our nation is more deeply divided than we thought.”[3] A civic people knows we are divided. She spoke for herself and perhaps infidelity to Secretary of State, the office she held under appointment by President Obama. However, Robinson does not mention Clinton, the candidate who lost to Trump. For his reasons, Robinson laments an administration that ends by term limit on January 20, 2017 because of this constitutional republic---because of statutory law.

Robinson invokes Jeremiah Wright’s message in 2003, "Confusing God and Government,"[4] wherein Wright depicted America’s accomplishments as original lies rather than intentional reform from colonial victimization of this continent. Consider for example, voting reform and emancipation of the slaves. Under English common law in the originally colonized thirteen states, only 5% of free citizens could vote and slavery was legal. But today 100% of non-criminals may vote; 95% of the people’s factions---men who owned no land, women, and blacks---gained suffrage in a 177-year struggle. But the fact that presidential campaign strategies must be designed for the Electoral College rather than for the democratic majority is a well-developed feature to maintain the republic. Imperfect as it may be, the Electoral College perfectly disrupts democracy to save the republic. The idea that America is a democracy is a wish of people who want their personal preferences and want them now despite fidelity to the civic facts. The fact is this nation works inexorably for the rule of law rather than for dominant opinion, such as 1788’s factional Protestantism. But Wright still hopes his theism[5] will prevail over the people and still seems to guide President Obama.

In seemingly renouncing Wright’s infamous sermon, Obama pointed to slavery as American’s “original sin.”[6] Slavery is condoned in the Christian Bible, which was canonized by the year 400 AD almost 1388 years before the constitution for the USA was ratified. Christianity is without excuse:  Humankind always knew from the physics and psychology of slavery---chains, whips, brutality and rape to slaves with burdens to slave-masters---that slavery is civically immoral, regardless of Scripture.
This continent was colonized under the errors of Christianity and was a victim of "discovery" "for God and His son Jesus." The Facts may considered as a step toward establishing Security rather than to ask retribution for the erroneous past as someone sees it. In other words, having the opportunity to establish Security for people living here now, let's take the opportunity that has been neglected by past generations.

Slavery was imposed on many colonizes by the colonizers, and when patriots in the USA changed their style from colonies to states then declared and won independence, the responsibility to resolve the slave problem came to the inhabitants---all inhabitants, divided as they were. The inhabitants then and now are victims of slavery and may overcome its consequences as inhabitants. Inhabitants---citizens---can choose to be Americans. Every American can choose to trust and commit to the preamble to the constitution for the USA and make certain its articles and federal conduct fulfill the literal purposes. Resolving the slavery problem that was imposed on the USA by erroneous Christianity may be accomplished by the people.

Perhaps James Meredith tacitly appeals to civic blacks to join We the People of the United States by trusting and committing to the preamble. A marcher in 1966, Meredith now says, “Citizenship is what the March Against Fear was about. Citizenship. Not only rights and privileges are part of citizenship. Duty and responsibility are an equal part, and that's the part the black race has failed to pay any attention to."[7] I do not know what Meredith meant. However, black citizens may choose to be Americans, and I want to help make that happen by helping to establish justice.

Robinson asserts, “black church can help  . . . deal with despair [without] getting involved in senseless protests.” Those are noble thoughts, but the reasons Robinson cites are religious, not civic. And, they propose that God will, in the future, justify the despair of the losing voters. However, civic justice comes from responsible people, not the church. Perhaps that is Meredith's point.

I could not confirm Robinson’s first Bible quotes---think some may be erroneous. He quotes Mary Moss, “The church's role is to live as kingdom citizens.” From my Baptist upbringing I understand “church” to mean a body of believers, but “kingdom citizens,”[8] is new to me and seems civically divisive. Not all citizens hope for afterlife. Regardless, comfort and hope for the kingdom of heaven during the afterdeath does not relate to collaborating for Security for living a full life. Lifetime Security is a civic rather than religious endeavor. Security is provided by appreciative people rather than their personal gods. An appreciative Robinson might be glad this nation operates under statutory law and encourage all voters to help establish civic morality.

Robinson springs from religious quotes to comparisons between President-elect Trump and President Obama, as though Secretary Clinton was not the losing presidential candidate. Obama nominated Clinton for Secretary of Defense, but did not execute her failures. Robinson makes the election a referendum on Obama and black church rather than administration of the constitution for the United States. If Robinson’s purpose is to maintain a black, Christian presidency, he could promote Ben Carson, for example, who controversially[9] thinks Americans are not as stupid as many in the media express.

Robinson usurps promises to Israel in Isaiah 41:10 and asserts “God’s going to take care of his people.” Of course Robinson is not alone in the ongoing Abrahamic war:  perhaps four thousand factions vie for God’s favors as His people. They beg the question:  When does a human infant become a person? Robinson seems to discount the Jewish believers to whom the Isaiah Scripture was written. Then, he quotes Christian scripture to invoke humility as the way to bargain with God: “As people of God, it’s time for us to wake up, turn to God and pray for healing in our land.” Robinson does not seem to realize he seems to rebuke perhaps what God did in the election and instruct God to reform four years hence. Again, Robinson is not alone in these thoughts, but that does not mean Baton Rouge citizens need to follow perhaps erroneous opinion. (I admit to myself and to the public I do not know about God or theism.)

The past has been partially overcome. The USA religious demographic began in 1788 with 99% factional (sectarian) Protestant Christians. Today, the traditional factions account for only 14.7% of the population and black church accounts for another 6.5%, divided 4% Baptist, 1% Pentecostal, 0.5% Methodist, and other.[10] Robinson’s black-church debate excludes the majority of the voters. Assuming most people want Security, Robinson would impose the opinion of perhaps 2% of citizens on everyone else. For this and many other reasons, we may look to a civic people to establish public–integrity, or in Abraham Lincoln’s words, “ultimate justice.”[11]

With “God on his throne,” discovered facts and history show public-integrity is entrusted to the people. In Baton Rouge, the people is us, and we may iteratively collaborate for justice.

  
 

Companion article

On the same page, The Advocate reproduced an article by Ed Stetzer[12] offering the Golden Rule (TGR) as remedy for uncivil discourse. Writers, by reading, may be aware that the Christian TGR, perhaps dated 70 AD is a late-comer to a dysfunctional rule of reciprocity.[13] A modern observation is that the rule is egocentric.[14] TGR erroneously assumes that everyone wants to be treated the way the treater wants to be treated. Revising TGR to not do what you don’t want done to you seems better, yet still egocentric. And the egocentricity is egocentric: for example, the brutal killers in the Middle East are happy to encounter TGR practitioners.

Perhaps more promising for Security is to behave so as to invite appreciation[15] and apologize if your conduct is not appreciated by a civic person; in other words, be humbly good and patiently accept the civic party’s response---rebuke if that’s his or her opinion. Behave to invite appreciation, no matter how erroneous your behavior may in fact be or how mature the other no-harm party happens to be at that time in his or her path toward psychological maturity. If he or she rebukes your behavior, accept the rebuke, consider any needed reform, and hope for future, better connection.

            Stetzer asserts that TGR demonstrates good listening. His advice might be good for a lifetime social association or monogamous bond, but it will not suffice for habitual, iterative civic collaboration. Therein, a speaker presents a civic concern and well-grounded solution, call it Idea A. The listener questions the speech to clarify, and both speaker and listener understand when clarification is complete. Then, roles may swap if former listener, now speaker, presents Idea B that better conforms to his or her experiences and observations. The new listener questions to clarify Idea B. This process continues until the two parties have created Idea G or P or Z, or such, which both parties perceive creates needed change that better fulfills the differing needs. In other words, neither party compromises or subjugates: they collaborate.

In iterative collaboration over the past two years I have never experienced anger. Passion and rejection, yes; anger, no. There are many cases of withdrawal over both religious opinion and political ideologies. I try to invite dialogue. I think the tendency to withdraw is a product of traditional social pressure to impose 100% shared opinion rather than settling for 2/3 or so who want private-liberty-with-civic-morality. Perhaps with practice, most people will recognize that all they really want from a civic people is Security so that each person may pursue his or her real-no-harm interests. The combination civic morality among the 2/3 and statutory law to coerce the 1/3 dissidents offers a possible better future.[16] When both parties are skilled in iterative collaboration, dialogue can be rapid and seem rude by standards of argumentative dialogue to establish dominant opinion, such as “Americanism.”

            Finally, I do not promote “civil discourse,” except as a preference to abuse. I choose civicallity rather than civility. “Civil” refers to a specific standard, Christianity in Stetzer’s article. To civilize a person means imposing on him or her first principles he or she may not choose. If so, the compromising citizen is in a fixed state of conflict with his or her nation. A goal I embrace is civic discourse, wherein each person’s religious preference is left out of the discussion, unless there is cause to discuss how a religious rule must be either accommodated or reformed to maintain civic morality.[17] Public-integrity involves civic collaboration rather than civil discourse, in my opinion. I hope this helps.

Copyright©2016 by Phillip R. Beaver. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted for the publication of all or portions of this paper as long as this complete copyright notice is included. Revised on November 27, 2016, originally titled "Erroneous Wright influence."

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[1] Terry Robinson, “Faith Matters: No matter who is in the White House, God is still on the throne,” The Advocate, November 11, 2016. Online at theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/faith/article_352db590-a817-11e6-80b0-2f72bd1b6e47.html?sr_source=lift_amplify

[2] Mark H. Hunter, “Speakers rally crowd with fiery political rhetoric,” The Advocate, October 2, 2015. Online at theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/faith/article_0267ba79-4a92-552a-aaeb-ecc5df56348a.html?sr_source=lift_amplify

[3] “Watch Hillary Clinton’s full concession speech . . . “, PBS News Hour, November 9, 2016. Online at youtube.com/watch?v=EPRoAVKa2U8 at about 2’30””.

[4] Jeremiah Wright, Sermon, Trinity United Church of Christ, April 13, 2003. Online at blackpast.org/2008-rev-jeremiah-wright-confusing-god-and-government and at vimeo.com/42601818 . Wright’s message has many half-truths, such as governments change and lie but God does not change or lie. The problem is that no man has knowledge beyond the god of his own beliefs.

[5] Jarvis DeBerry, “Jeremiah Wright tells a Southern University audience to put its faith in God, not government,” The Times-Picayune, February 21, 2015. Online at nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2015/02/jeremiah_wright_tells_a_southe.html

[6] Senator Barack Obama, Speech on Race, Philadelphia, PA. March 18, 2008. Online at nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/politics/18text-obama.html

[7] Emily Wagster Pettus, “Civil rights marchers: U.S. has work to do,” Associated Press, Sunday, July 24, 2016. Online at concordmonitor.com/Civil-rights-marchers-U-S-still-needs-to-address-inequality-3635924 . As with so many black issues, I have no idea how Meredith’s statement relates to the caption of Pettus’s article.

[8] Two possible explanations are online at kingdomcitizens.org/kingdom-principles.html and wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2012602  but I could not find a Bible verse with the phrase “kingdom citizens.”

[9] Nick Gass, “Ben Carson’s 15 most controversial quotes,” politico.com, October 9, 2015. Online at politico.com/story/2015/10/ben-carson-controversial-quotes-214614 .

[10] Online at pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/

[11] Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861, “Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world?”

[12] Ed Stetzer, “3 ways to practice civility after a very uncivil election,” November 9, 2016, Religions News Service, online at http://religionnews.com/2016/11/09/3-ways-to-practice-civility-after-a-very-uncivil-election/ .

[13] “Golden Rule,” Wikipedia. Online at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule .

[14] “Is ‘The Golden Rule’ egocentric nonsense?” Online at https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090704074421AAScpmD .

[15] See Ilya Rakoshes’ comment to alton.quora.com/The-Golden-Rule-is-egocentric-outdated , online.

[16] Interestingly, these two themes seem featured in the movie “Zootopia,” Walt Disney Pictures, 2016.

[17] For example, a citizen should never be labeled “infidel” based on religious beliefs yet should always be held to statutory law. Statutory law should absolutely apply to all religions. Thereby, civic justice may be established.