What Tim Scott Said

If you want to report on politics, no matter the media you choose to do it from, you are never short on material these days, so I was faced with a landslide of potential topics this past week, not the least of which was the 25^th anniversary of 9/11, which shouldn’t be politicized, but still managed to be, but I was so struck by Tim Scott’s wild speech at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas last week that I felt compelled to address it. I didn’t watch that event live, but Morning Joe ran parts of his speech the next morning, and one thing he said caught my attention as being able to encapsulate a lot of the nation’s divide. Towards the end of his remarks, as he had whipped himself up into his best Southern preacher impersonation, he said, “The Democrats, extreme candidates, won’t rip that heart out of our chest. They hate our culture. They hate what it means to be American.”

He wasn’t expressing anything new. The fear mongering of the progressive candidates who have risen up in opposition to the far-right Republicans might be a modern twist from the old McCarthy days, but the charge that anyone who leans left doesn’t love America was one I have lived with and been met with personally for decades, dating back to when I lived in the same town James Talarico hails from. Thinking I would escape that sort of jingoistic thinking when I moved to Pennsylvania was thwarted with the rise of the Tea Party and has only gotten louder and prouder with the MAGA movement. Tim Scott wasn’t the only person to level the “they hate us” charge that night. Tom Emmer, Congressman from Minnesota made remarks about socialist candidate El-Sayed that were meant to strike fear into his audience following it up with, “If you don’t love this country, if you don’t love America, if you’re not happy here, then get the hell out.” Brandon Gill turned it around and told the audience that Democrats “…will tell you that your love for America is nothing but bigotry, that our heritage is rooted in white supremacy and that your Christian faith is patriarchal and needs to be dismantled.”

All these men protesting that they love America and the rest of us don’t strikes me as a tantrum-ridden toddler telling his siblings, “Mom loves me more!”

Here’s my counter-point: those of us who are campaigning, writing, podcasting, reporting and protesting the party in power are doing so precisely because we love America. Very much. I believe in the ideal of America, even though that ideal was established by men who didn’t necessarily practice it (the founding fathers were notably all white Christian males, and many were slaveholders). I believe that their words were wiser and more noble than their actions in some cases and have attracted people of all colors and all religious faiths, which has served not just to make us diverse, but strong. What I do hate is racial and religious prejudice because that strikes me as distinctly anti-American.

The idea that liberals hate America, it seems clear to me, is rooted in the narrow lens of Christian Nationalism, so let’s look at it from a Christian lens and see if it holds up to scrutiny.

I was brought up in the Presbyterian church, which I addressed more than I originally thought I would in my book. Turns out the self-discovery I made was that it had more of an impact on me than I realized as I was growing up. It made me a Steelers fan (another story for another day), but more importantly it taught me that Jesus loved us all, and I never once heard that “us” or “all” was limited to people who looked like me or came to the same house of worship as me. Our Sunday school classes and all the sermons I attended stayed far away from the topic of homosexuality, but even if you read the Bible as a literal Word of God, Jesus did not address it specifically either. He spoke about porneia (sexual immorality), but what that includes can be debated. Angela Paxton, former wife of Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, would probably tell you he is guilty of committing porneia as Jesus spoke about it. I was taught that Jesus cautioned against passing judgment. I haven’t always lived up to that, and still don’t, but I take the wisdom of that sentiment to heart. And I think that judging someone for their sexuality seems particularly anti-Christian. The church may not have meant to teach me that, but that’s the lesson I took away from it. So, I believe that embracing the concept of “love is love” is particularly and strongly pro-American. From a Christian perspective, I think their messaging just doesn’t hold up.

Jesus did, per the Bible, give the absolutist message that “No one comes to the Father except through me.” This being despite his acceptance and kindness towards individuals from different faiths. I’ve always been a little troubled by the way I believe Evangelical Christians like Tim Scott take that statement and act on it. They believe strongly not only in their own “born-again” redemption, but in missionary work and conversion. This seems to have led them to an intolerance and misunderstanding of other religions. They’ve forgotten that many of us hail from ancestors who came to this country to escape religious persecution, and it became a cornerstone of our new nation. Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the First Amendment, which did not carve out exclusions for religions some of us don’t care for. As an example, I personally think the Church of Scientology is a crock but far be from me to say Tom Cruise can’t practice it. The Constitution tells me I can’t. Nor do I want him to tell me how I can believe or worship. I must respect his right. I do it, with some inner derision, because I love America and the freedom it grants all of us. From a Constitutional perspective, their claims don’t really hold water either.

Moving into the secular world, look, I’m not happy here right now and fully admit it. I am worried about the shocking costs of my groceries and gas. I worry about the viability of Social Security, which I’ve paid into all my working life. I feel that my rights are being squeezed. I worry that important alliances are being shattered and that makes us less secure. I don’t agree with the war with Iran. But that has nothing to do with my loyalty and love of country. What it means is I disagree with the current administration, and it is my right and even my responsibility to speak up and voice my concerns. I love that America is built on that right. I don’t plan on leaving it. I am part of the beating heart of this country. So are you.

In conclusion, the Republican's claims that Democrats don’t love America can’t be validated.

I can’t honestly believe that all the politicians who pander to a reactionary base believe what they say about their political opponents. This doesn’t make it better. It’s far worse. But I would remind them that a tenant of fundamental Christian belief is that God is omniscient and knows what they are doing and saying. Maybe they need to think more about which entity they want to answer to more: Trump or God. They are far from the same.