SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE REPUBLICANS . . . HOWEVER . . .

 During the 17 years I lived in Washington DC from 1988, I got to the point where I really hate politics and the specially was concerned about how increasingly vitriolic and nasty the Republicans reacted to any policies that led to taking care of people in need or that encouraged women and minorities to work in higher levels of government. I was raised by parents who believed in civil rights and the importance of equal opportunity for all people and who lived out the Gospel and raised us in the church. 

Nevertheless, when we moved from the Democratic bastion of a working class neighborhood on the south side of Chicago to a predominantly Republican suburb where some of the wealthiest people in the whole State of Illinois lived, we were in the minority and grew up with children of parents who voted Republican. 

Despite that, we were idealistic baby boomers, so when our high school history teachers allows us to have a mock convention and election in 1968 right before RFK was assassinated, we elected him, being rebellious against the parents of the establishment.

So during the campaigning for this last presidential, and especially since this alt rt embarrassment has moved ahead with his nasty, absurd and dangerous political agenda, I have continued to stay in touch with my Republican friends, though our conversations have so very often turned into unresolvable arguments.

And I have been "un-friended" by many of them on FB . . . sometimes because of my liberal Democratic views and sometimes because I am not a conservative Christian. It's been interesting, and also sometimes sad because of how long I have known and loved them. And the only times I have felt led to un-friend anyone has been when they would not stop making racist comments or comments that were nasty about candidates or defending gun control while denigrating me and others who believe in it.

So the most important question I have is, "How can we continue to love one another if those we love support evil and hatred that is encouraged and defended at the highest level of political power in the US?"

And if the people who insist that they should be allowed to have whatever kind of weapons they want and however many weapons they want continue to act the way the alt rt, nor-Nazi homegrown terrorists were acting in Charlottesville this weekend, are my Republican and conservative Christian friends going to continue to justify them and support them the way dt has?

I can't conscience it in good faith.

So Jesus' admonition to live our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us and spitefully use us has to come into play here. That's a kind of love that is very difficult to demonstrate. And this is not the first time the Lord has convicted me of needing to do that.

When I was ordained as a pastor in He Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1996, I was sent to love and serve the people of the congregations of three rural churches near Harpers Ferry, WV. Imagine my shock to realize that the members belonged to white supremacist organizations because their ancestors had joined them from the time right after the Civil War. 

Certainly not necessarily every member of all three churches was still connected to these racist and fascist organizations, but I saw for the first time how societies like theirs worked and perpetuated the hatred and evil characteristic in those organizations. Several times people made excuses for their society and protested that things were better than they had been in the past, but violence and the threat of violence still lingered because the society still tolerated the organizations hat were established to perpetuate hatred, fear and evil.

So now here we are, at this point in history where we have a president who supports and encourages the kind of thing that happened this weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. The racists and neo-Nazis gathered to protest moving a statue of Robert E. Lee. The Bill of Rights of our Constitution guarantees them the right to do that. And it reminded me of sickening photos of the past that I have seen of thousands of KKK members marching down Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC between the Capitol and the White House. 

Where were the protestors against them? Freedom of speech and the right to assemble are very important, but as someone pointed out on FB last night, it is against the law in Germany to display a Nazi swastika. And with good reason. 

So we are in a position where unless we want that kind of display and violence and evil to grow and engulf us, we have to do more. 

We have to pray and then act against this evil even if it costs us friendships or we have to agree to disagree with family members and loved ones.

We cannot tolerate or allow this evil to exist. It's time to stand up for what is right and protect all those targeted by hate and bigotry. We have to respond to this immediately and relentlessly.

We have our work cut out for us and with God's help we will be victorious no matter how long it takes or what it takes because the battle belongs to the Lord and He always has the victory.