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“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” Matthew 5:44 KJV.
On the road to self-discovery, I try to live my life honestly, and ethically which allows me to be open to frequent reminders that I have much more spiritual work to do. The writing of this piece has me feeling like a preacher standing at the pulpit, the idea being expressed through me is one that I am working with, but maybe somebody else out there needs to hear this.
Recently, the host of WVON1690AM radio’s “Coffee, Tea, and a Conversation with Dorothy Wright Tillman” admonished her listeners by observing that Black folks spend too much time hating Donald Trump and not enough time organizing themselves. She referenced her activism with Dr. King during the Civil Rights Movement, (I am paraphrasing) Dr. King taught us to fight against racism and second-class citizenship but never to hate a person. At that moment, while sitting in my car, I realized that I had nurtured resentment and, yes, hatred for Donald Trump. The words, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me O’ Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” came to mind.
Somebody out there needs to hear this.
Dr. King regularly sought to have rational conversations with overt racists during the period leading up to the Civil Rights Act of July 2, 1964, and until his assassination on April 4th1968.
Dorothy Tillman’s words inspired me to return to the values of fairness and to work on reasoning with people even when their ideals collide with yours.
Dr. King’s quote affirms,
“As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love. Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.” Rev. Martin Luther King
Somebody out there needs to hear this.
My judgment that President Donald Trump has made a global mockery of the presidency and is unqualified to serve is one thing, but hating him neither vanquishes him nor changes the hearts of those that revere and follow him.
Most African Americans, and a vast majority of Americans of all ethnicities, embraced Barack Obama, our brilliant, untarnished first African American President,. Yet for all his intelligence, charm, and grace-under-continuous-fire, there exists a thick slice of Americans who could never respect as President, a man that was not reflective of their whiteness. For all that Barack Hussein Obama IS he could not be a White Man. As appalled as I was by the unfounded criticism of President Obama and his family, I am guilty of that same kind of disrespect for the current President and his family. In my eyes, there is no comparison between the Obamas and the Trumps that would make the later equal to the former. I admittedly am deeply biased.
Somebody out there needs to hear this.
What does that say about me? It means I must come to grips with the fact that my disdain for the 45th elected President of the United States is not the best representation of the kind of spiritual woman I aspire to be. It says that referencing the President of the United States as Cheeto Man and other epithets, that I won’t repeat here, places me right on par with those Trump supporters that defamed and booed President Obama, many calling one of the most brilliant presidents in this country’s history, that “N” word in the White House.
I fancy myself a “good” person, and it distresses me to acknowledge my spiritual proximity to “those” awful, hate-filled persons. That is how I identify persons that consistently disparaged two-term President Barack Obama simply because he did not reflect their views, values, or, most importantly, their race.
Historically, advancements that move the needle of humanity forward are those that arise between persons from different ends of an argument who manage to push themselves toward the middle of an issue and find common ground. Love, organizing, and mobilizing our people are what we need. I am back on my spiritual square.
Thank you, Dorothy Tillman, for redirecting me to the principles of non-violence and love-in-action that Dr. King stood for. You inspired me to remember that the way we win is by organizing and mobilizing our people and not personalizing our hatred. Somebody out there needs to hear this.
Susan D. Peters, aka, Ahnydah (ah-NIE-dah) Rahm, brings a wealth of experience gained as an expatriate living in West Africa. Her memoir Sweet Liberia, Lessons from the Coal Pot, received the Black Excellence Award for Non-Fiction from the African American Alliance of Chicago and the Mate E. Palmer award for Non-Fiction from the Illinois Press Women’s Association. Broken Dolls, Susan’s second book, represents her foray into the mystery market and is the first of a series featuring Detective Joi Sommers as its heroine. Her most recent publication is Stolen Rainbow, a short story focused on the post combat recovery of a beautiful marine captain after a devastating combat injury. Her work is featured in three anthologies, Baring It All, the Ins and Outs of Publishing, Signed, Sealed, Delivered … I’m Yours, a contemporary romance anthology, and The Anthology of the Illinois Woman’s Press Association. Buy her books online and at www.SusanDPeters.com.
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