I grew up when citizenship was still taught in public schools, and I learned it meant guarding the peace and security of my neighborhood against any criminal element, our American soil against a foreign adversary, and everyone’s basic human rights against government overreach. As an eighteen-year-old in 1972, I spent endless hours in discussions with friends, teachers, and religious professionals, debating how good citizens ought to respond to the tragedy that was the Vietnam war. That year, I witness a shift in my neighbors viewed the prospects of sending any more youths into that meat grinder. Good citizens demanded that the government prove its case; how did our involvement improve homeland security while guaranteeing the human rights of everyone, including the Vietnamese people.
Later that decade, I studied to become a United Methodist clergy-person, and my definition of citizenship was expanded by the quote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail). I learned to protect the basic human rights of people everywhere, regardless of whether they were members of my flock, residents of my community, or documented citizens of the United States.
Ministry, like many other professions, is a position of public trust. Throughout my career, I attended workshops on how to make my workplace — the church — a safe space, free from sexual predators, systemic racism, and warrantless search and seizure. I came to define as criminal, not only those things that could be legally proven in court but also the wink-wink, nod-nod behaviors that have allowed the United States to become one of the most abuse-abundant, racially divided, and violent countries in the free world. The motto of those who truly enter a life of public service and intentional citizenship is, “If you see something, you report it.”
Those political figures, tech executives, and public influencers who witnessed the abuses of Jeffrey Epstein and did nothing have committed a grave moral sin, and no longer deserve our trust. Those with large social media accounts who post, or repost, racist, sexually graphic, and violent content should be shamed by their colleagues, no matter what their political party. Further, those given a badge and governmental authority to detain or make arrests must be held accountable for any violation of due process or inappropriate use of force. Period. It doesn’t matter if they are the perpetrators, the enablers, or the commanders; decency and transparency must be restored before we, the citizens of this land, will trust the police (or ICE) to police their own.
Trust is something you earn. Once it’s lost, it is difficult to regain. Public sentiment has reached a tipping point. We are angry; angrier than we’ve been since 1972. The average voter assumes that everything a senator or representative says is a lie, and I am not alone in blaming the criminal element in the White House for it. The only way back is for each elected official to honor the Constitution, which protects our right to protest, guarantees fair elections, and ensures justice for all. Jesus speaks of a judgement day, which seems closer now than ever, when the sheep will be separated from the goats, and nations called into account for how they treated the hungry, the imprisoned, the stranger, and those who were victims of injustice or abuse (Matthew 25:31-46). Either wake up and come to Jesus, or dust off your resume.