A couple of years ago our church, in conjunction with Albright College, hosted PRRI founder and author Dr. Robert Jones (Robbie to his friends). His presentations were thorough and provocative and insightful, and the packed house at my church was blown away by what he had to say. This week, I got a group email from him informing us that his book was banned at the Naval Academy, along with 380 others (the list is here fcc8f9ac-full.pdf). Why? They are about race, gender, and sex. It seems that the Secretary of Defense finds these topics threatening. One has to wonder why.
I suppose there are a lot of people who agree with this, and I also suppose that there are a lot of reasons/excuses why this might make sense to them. I think it is just one more step in a long process of trying to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion from this country, but what it really is about is fear. Fragile white men running away from reality, believing it will all go away if they just hide or destroy it. The problem with this approach is that diversity, equity, and inclusion are, and always have been, real. There have always been people who are not heterosexual, and there have always been different genders. People of color have done great things, and no amount of historical revisionism can change that. And racism has, and is, and will always be America’s original sin, no matter how many textbooks get rewritten. Truth is real, and so are facts, no matter how much you try to destroy science.
So, keep banning books – they will still be written and read. Keep trying to ban difference – it will always be there. In my Bible, Jesus welcomes difference in many ways, and you can change the translation of His words all you want, but it won’t change the facts. Christians are supposed to welcome diversity, work towards equity, and embrace inclusion – because Jesus did, and we are supposed to follow Him. For all those who deny these things exist, all you are doing is denying Jesus. Bad move.
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for making this diverse world, and thank You for giving us the courage to work towards equity when people commit injustices. And thank You for including all of us. Amen. Today’s art is from an article by an Oakland University graduate student, but her name is abbreviated, and no artist name is given.