Our country is looking for moral leadership. President Trump is failing us.
Instead the president encourages white supremacy, which denies equality of races and freedom of religion and promotes hate and violent acts. He insists on a false moral equivalency between white supremacy and protest. His failure of leadership condones hate, sows division among people, demeans our country, and diminishes hope.
The violence directed at people of color, Jewish people, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and their allies in Charlottesville this weekend is reprehensible. We all have a responsibility to stand up and speak out against expressions of hatred in its many evil forms – especially because of the president’s failure to name that violence as unequivocally wrong.
President Trump’s actions are reflecting, magnifying, and elevating the brokenness in our country in horrifying and violent ways. As so many people have said, however, we’ve lived all along in a country built on oppression and violence, whether white, Christian Americans realized it or not.
Fostering a society that creates opportunity for all and a world where peace can prevail requires constant vigilance. It requires statements and actions from our elected leaders demonstrating their commitment to equality and their resolve to counter injustice. And it requires us to acknowledge when we fall short of what we aspire to do and be and continue to learn and grow.
As Friends, we believe that every person contains the light of God, regardless of their identity, background, or beliefs. This fundamental truth that all life is precious and valuable is a foundation of FCNL’s advocacy. The violence and hatred that broke to the surface in Charlottesville is a call for us all – individually and corporately – to rededicate ourselves to action stemming from our belief in that of God in every person. Through our actions, words, and prayers, we must work to stand for justice and love, promoting the free exercise of religion and equality for all.
