Hatred is learned.
Rick Scott, junior senator from Florida, recently issued a travel advisory for politically left-leaning travelers to stay away from his state, claiming Floridians like freedom, liberty, and capitalism (apparently lefties don’t subscribe to these praiseworthy notions). But, he cautioned, if you believe in big government, stay away from the Sunshine state. Okay. Though his declaration may have had a touch of sarcasm, he essentially argues folks must agree with him or they should stay away from or move from Florida because Floridians don’t like anyone positioned on the political left of Benito Mussolini, leader of the Italian Republican Fascist Party. Not exactly his words, but that’s what he means. I understand. Because I don’t care much for either Scott or Il Duce, I promise to stay away from Florida. Never wanted to go there in the first place. I encourage all my friends and family members also to stay away from Texas and Idaho and Montana and other blood red states too, owing to their governments’ similar xenophobic political stance on social issues. Bless their morally shameless hearts!
Hatred is learned.
If I lived in Florida and had the authority to hand down proscriptions, I would offer a different boycott. The NAACP, along with several other human rights organizations, has issued concerns over hostility dealt to people of color and those in marginalized communities. Apparently the governor and his supporters don’t like the underclass. If you are gay or brown or black or an immigrant or politically progressive the warning is clear—stay away from Florida. According to Scott and other likeminded politicos, Floridians don’t want you there anyway. So, in a cantankerous mood, I would issue a travel advisory to all Christians and others of like-minded religions to stay away or move from Florida (and Texas). The New Testament teaches love and inclusion, not hate and divisiveness. Yes, I am aware of the incongruity of advising against going to Florida because Floridians advise against others coming there—twisted logic, I suppose. But I stand with the argument found on a sign I saw across town: “Love Your Neighbor, Asshole.” That about sums up the argument, doesn’t it?
Florida is a political outlier. The governor does not tolerate progressive thinking and is politically right of the ultra-far right MAGA crowd. Aggressive attempts to erase Black history and restrict inclusion curricula, especially as it concerns LGPTQ+ people, in all levels of education have alarmed civil rights groups. It should alarm all of us.
As I was saying, Christians ought to stay away from and/or move from Florida because the government has whitewashed slavery, claimed aspects of bondage benefited Black people, and has chosen to devalue immigrants, marginal populations, and the “Don’t Say Gay” bill CS/CS/HB 1557 targeting LGPTQ+ communities. Led by their governor, Florida should be out-of-bounds for people who choose love over hate, New Testament mercy over Old Testament retribution.
Hatred is learned.
The cultural/political divide in our country has worsened over the last few years. Entrenched and intransigent, the right and the left agree on nothing except their antipathy for one another. The result can only damage and weaken our country, as it already has. What makes the present separation different from past point-counterpoint divides is the degree of hostility, civil war savagery. Loose talk from both sides of the divide about taking up arms and seizing the power creates an explosive condition. Recently Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, said that if Donald Trump does not win the 2024 presidential election “it is going to be the last American election that will be decided by ballots rather than bullets.” Others have expressed similar ideas. Pardon me for being hypercritical, but Huckabee’s veiled threat is not a Christian point of view. Is it time to unlock the gun safe and head for the streets? Once there, how will we know whom to shoot?
Hatred is learned. And people like Huckabee are the teachers.
Under the assumption that most Americans are tired of the animus between liberals and conservatives, between Democrats and Republicans, and between cosmopolitans and ruralists, is a realistic disengagement from mutual hatred possible? Is it likely there are more peacemakers in America than troublemakers?
That’s my guess.
Hatred is learned.