"We Will Not Let Hate Win"
Because hate can only win when good people stand by and do nothing
We live in a world where it’s perfectly acceptable for a politician or religious figure to demonize (and fund-raise off of) someone simply because they do not share their narrow belief system. Someone will take to Twitter or send out a fundraising email and savage someone as a way to score cheap political points or add a few bucks to their political war chest.
The worst part about this is that they’ll say things they’d never say to their adversary’s face. All’s fair in war and politics, eh? Except that many of these folks happily refer to themselves as “Christian,” all while living their life in a way that in no way resonates with the teachings of Jesus Christ. They wield their Christianity to bludgeon those not “enlightened” enough to worship their flavor of Jesus, which has nothing to do His teachings.
So when Michigan State Senator Lana Theis (R) accused her colleague Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D) of “grooming and sexualizing children,” Sen. McMorrow decided enough was enough. In Theis’ mind, McMorrow’s “crime” was standing up for the LGBTQ community when Theis attempted to marginalize a community that wants only to live openly and authentically.
What followed was one of the most powerful and passionate speeches I’ve ever heard. Yet at no point did McMorrow stoop to the same sort of tactics Theis employed.
By focusing on herself, McMorrow clarified what a tiny, mean-spirited, hypocritical shrew Theis is.
The GOP’s newest tactic is accusing Democrats of “grooming” and “sexualizing” young children. It’s intended to put Democrats on the defensive and force them to detail how they’re NOT doing anything of the sort. It allows Republicans to set the tone of the debate and the rules of the game…and it IS a game. Republicans know none of their charges are true, but it’s not about the truth. It never has been.
The problem for Republicans is that pedophiles are more likely to be Republicans than Democrats, so every Republican accusation is a confession. It’s an old Nazi technique developed by Josef Goebbels- loudly accuse your adversary of doing precisely what you are, and it will put them on the defensive while you continue unimpeded.
Theis didn’t have the decency to speak to McMorrow before sending out her fundraising email accusing McMorrow of “grooming” and “sexualizing” children. As McMorrow points out, putting “Christian” in your Twitter bio doesn’t make you a follower of Jesus Christ. The “Christianity” of too many Republicans has nothing at all with Jesus Christ.
If your flavor of Christianity requires you to hate a segment of humanity, you need to reconsider your faith. It has nothing in common with the teachings of Jesus Christ. If your righteousness allows you to consider others to be “less than” and you to be superior because of your walk with the Lord, you know nothing of Christianity.
McMorrow spoke of the time when her family’s priest told her mother that he was disappointed in her because the family wasn’t in church every Sunday. Where was the family? They were working in a soup kitchen. McMorrow and her mother understood that faith without works is dead and that Christianity isn’t about how often people see you in the same pews. It’s about how you serve others.
I’m an atheist, yet even I understand that much.
I don’t know Mallory McMorrow, but what little I do know of her is that she’s a far better servant of Jesus Christ than Lana Theis could ever hope to be. McMorrow possesses more compassion, decency, and kindness in her thumbnail than Theis has in her entire body. Yet McMorrow feels no need to advertise any of that because she lives it.
Perhaps the best part of McMorrow’s speech is that she called out Theis’ cheap, performative faith for not addressing the issues she was elected to address. There are legitimate issues the Michigan Legislature needs to address. Yet, Theis seems more interested in name-calling, divisiveness, and performative outrage- none of which will improve the lives of Michiganders.
I hope Sen. Mallory McMorrow will enjoy her 15 minutes of fame because she’s likely to use it to help make things better for her constituents. She knows that Sen. Theis and people like her are of no consequence because hatred can only win if good people stand by and do nothing.
And Sen. McMorrow is not about to let hate win.
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