Unraveling Democracy

I recently heard a journalist comment that democracy in America is unraveling. This comment arose midst the Covid-19 pandemic, the “Black Lives Matter” protests following the death of George Floyd, and the ever-increasing vitriolic division over the Trump presidency. Each of these catalysts could be analyzed to assess the depth of the impact upon the very heart of our democracy. That is beyond my ability. But suffice it to say, the impact runs very deep and each will have a long-lasting effect upon the psyche of this country as well as the diplomatic power of its leaders in international relations. Our democracy is unraveling. The impact may be more than long-lasting, it may portend the end. 

My views and commentary on each of the three crises, were they to be delineated, might alienate many of my conservative Christian friends. I often have to just smile, and keep quiet as I listen to their emphatic opinions.

So let me look into God’s prophetic writings to understand the unraveling of American democracy. Yes, it is prophesied. America’s role in the unfolding plan of the end of the age is no little thing. That role is spelled out by God so that we might know what is coming. How well we understand or heed what He foretells is another matter, but He does not keep His plans hidden, nor do the events of unfolding history catch Him by surprise. 

The biggest prophecy of America’s role as this age soon comes to an end is spelled out in Revelation 13. I have written much, and taught often, that the beast of Rev 13 is not the antichrist, but the seventh beast nation in a long litany of dominant and oppressive world powers. Daniel spells out four of those beasts in two different prophetic visions (Daniel 2 and 7), namely Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Two beasts preceded those, Egypt and Assyria. The seventh beast is only briefly alluded to in Daniel’s prophetic dreams. It was important to God then, and more important to spell out in John’s Apocalypse. Don’t miss it. 

The details of Daniel’s prophecies are incredible. I was recently impressed with this fact while studying Daniel 8 and 11, the precise and accurate depiction of the ruthless campaign of Antiochus Epiphanes against Jerusalem in 170-165 BC (Dan 8:23-25; 11:21-35). It is so precise and accurate that many theologians insist that these prophecies were written after the fact, then attributed to Daniel. Were I not a firm, firm believer in the inspiration of the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit, and the careful attention of God to foretell His plans, I would have to agree with those critics. But, no, I believe Daniel wrote those prophecies in the sixth century BC, 400 years prior to the events that God foretold. 

So, if the prophecies about Antiochus are that precise, I began to wonder about the prophecies of America in Daniel 2 and 7. Especially in light of the mounting evidence of the unraveling of democracy. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan 2) America is foretold in the feet and toes of mixed iron and clay (Dan 2:32-35; 41-43). In Daniel’s vision (Dan 7) America is foretold in the little horn that arises in the midst of ten nations that come out of the Roman empire, then subduing three of the ten to establish itself. (Daniel 7 :8, 11; 20-25). 

When I heard the comment that democracy in America is unraveling, I mulled it over, debating whether it could be true. Not debating the current crises, and the abounding opinions, but looking at the detail of the prophecy of the feet of clay and iron (Dan 2:41-43). There I find a precise description of the unraveling of democracy. The kingdom is divided, it is partly strong and partly brittle, and the people are a mixture and will not remain united. The division is not just Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal, religious and atheist, wealthy and poor, straight and gay, black, brown and white. Although all of those contribute to the divisiveness, the heart of it lies in the fact that we do not want to unite, we want to attack, belittle, put down, utter unbending opinions and unyielding demands. There is no seeking consensus, no centuries-old history that binds us together, no empathy or sympathy for anyone but like-minded cohorts. Need I remind you, a house divided will not stand. 

Iron is strong, clay is brittle. That is God’s word picture of American democracy. We can wield the sword around the world, displaying firepower the likes of which could never have been imagined before America took the helm. But we can’t even be logical or civil midst a pandemic, or understanding about civil rights and white privilege. 

America is a mixture that God says “will not remain united”. While I enjoy democracy and capitalism, they have their weaknesses. Our pledge of allegiance declares America to be “indivisible”, but our “liberty for all” and our inalienable rights have become a pursuit of my happiness, my opinion, my rights… my, my, my, mine.  

My wife asked me, “what comes after an unraveled democracy?” Usually it would be either a police state or total anarchy. But in this case, it is a large stone that destroys the entire statue, by striking it at its feet of iron and clay (Dan 2:34). Unraveling of democracy will bring America to its end. The court will sit, the books opened. The little horn beast will be slain, destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. How do I know? Because it has been prophesied by the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:9-12).

 

White Privelege

George Floyd was recently killed by a white policeman in Minneapolis. It sparked protests and riots, and calls for police reform. The #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, which started in 2013, has become an appropriate slogan for the call to racial justice and equality. Although, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News would insist that BLM is a socialist and communist backed organization, and the NFL and NBA are their biggest promoters.

Depending on who you talk to, some think that racism is not a problem in this country, while others think that it is. Fact is, over the last ten years the share of those who consider racism a big problem has grown, doubling amongst both blacks and whites. Interesting, though, since 2015 the percentage of whites considering racism to be a big problem has sharply increased amongst Democrats, while decreasing amongst Republicans. This partisan divide, added to the great black-white divide, itself, is a spark waiting to ignite. We are perhaps witnessing the unraveling of democracy. Some are even warning of the signs of another civil war.

Do whites really have advantages over blacks? Consider this from a Pew Research Report (Feb, 2018). “An overwhelming majority of blacks (82%) say whites benefit at least a fair amount from advantages that blacks do not have. This includes 68% who say whites benefit a great deal. By comparison, 46% of whites say whites benefit at least a fair amount from advantages in society that blacks don’t have with just 16% saying whites benefit a great deal. As with views on racism in the US, there are wide partisan divides on this question. In addition, those who do not think white people benefit from societal advantages are more likely to say they approve of President Trump’s job performance, while those who think whites greatly benefit from these advantages are nearly unanimous in their disapproval of Trump.”

White privilege is not a radical right issue, or a liberal left issue. It is a humanitarian issue, even a moral issue for those of us who believe God’s Word.

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: Administer justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.” (Zech 7:9)

White privilege is being of European decent, not African. It is reaping the benefit and heritage of white slaveowners in the south, and industrial entrepreneurs in the North. White privilege is a history of warm coats, shoes on your feet, and plenty of food in the cupboard. It is being a part of the 60% majority rather than the 18% minority.

White privilege is growing up in a society where every possibility is mine to pursue, where I am not forbidden to ride the bus, to eat at certain restaurants, to attend certain churches, and I am not shunned just because of the color of my skin.

White privilege is being able to work at home during a pandemic rather than getting laid off or forced to work at a low-paying job with high infection risk.

White privilege is having access to good schools, well-funded schools, elite schools, and therefore having access to colleges and universities, as well. While the gap between whites and blacks graduating from HS has decreased recently, and the number of Black college graduates is increasing in proportion to whites, that has only happened in the last twenty to thirty years. But while graduation rates have improved, cognitive skills have declined.  Assessment tests indicate a decline in recent years, after improvements in the 60s. Today, black students graduating from HS are nearly 3 to 4 years behind white students in math, science, reading, and writing. What is to account for such a reversal? 

White privilege is being able to easily get a loan or a mortgage, because my address is not in the red-lined district.

White privilege is having my job application kept on the top of the stack because my name is Carl Buckingham, rather than shuffled to the bottom because my name is Laquon, Deiondre, or Jamar. White privilege is good jobs, high pay, pensions, retirement plans, health insurance, and lots of paid vacation days. The unemployment rate for blacks has stayed consistently double that of whites for fifty years. In some communities it is far worse.

White privilege is nice neighborhoods, nice cars, nice dining, great vacations, instead of HUD high-rise housing, mass transit, Sunshine food boxes, and never seeing the other side of the tracks. While white privilege is not just an issue of wealth, it is a fact that the net worth of whites is ten times greater than blacks, when all income levels are taken into account, four times greater in the middle class, alone (Pew Research, 2017). Income for the black middle class made great gains in the 1950s, 60’s, and 70’s, under the assistance of desegregation, affirmative action and racial preferences. But it has slowed down greatly and currently stands at about 35% less than white middle class.  

White privilege is having access to financial advisers, lawyers, good medical benefits, and social services.  

White privilege is being mad at the cop for stopping me for speeding, and disdain for having to pay the fine. But what white person ever worries, “Could this be how I am going to die?” Black adults are about five times as likely as whites to say they have been unfairly stopped by police because of their race or ethnicity. But then there is the issue of resisting arrest, which creates and aggravates an explosive situation. Police have my sympathy as much as blacks. Racial bias and racial fears are going to be very difficult to eliminate merely by training. Let me illustrate. I have a good friend who was consistently assailed by a gang of black youth and thrown into the fountain in the middle of a park. Try as hard as he may, sometimes he could not sneak across that park to get to his bus stop. Then one day they took him to an overpass and hung him over the freeway by his ankles. Those memories are never going away. He says, “I can fully understand why you hear the click of the door locks when a white mom sees a group of black youths walking near her car full of kids.” 

White privilege is so much more, if we think humbly, historically, and systemically, rather than my little world, this point in time. It goes back hundreds of years, and is not easy to erase from our societal psyche. For whites, we have forever reveled in our history of Manifest Destiny -- it is deeply ingrained that we have been given by God all the rights and blessings which we thoroughly enjoy. Slavery is sometimes called America’s “original sin”. This country was built on the backs of indentured slaves from Europe and black slaves from Africa. The sin was not atoned for by the founders of the Republic, by the writers of the constitution, nor by the bloodletting of the Civil war. The effects of that sin seem to still weigh heavy upon us. By the way, it was not only the blacks who suffered from white man’s Manifest Destiny, but also Native Americans. What white man did to the original Americans cannot be blotted from our history. Nor can any amount of reparations and reservations give them back what they lost. 

I have heard too many Christians suggest that the founding fathers of America who owned slaves were merely doing business the way that it was done back then. They saw no harm in it. And we should not re- write history making them out to be villains, and tear down their statues. They were the heroes of American history. But, in response, I can only compare their cold hearts to that of John Newton, a slave ship captain in the colonial days of early America. He converted, repented, became an abolitionist, and later wrote the greatest hymn in American history, “Amazing Grace”.  Don’t think for a minute that when our American forefathers penned the words, “all men are created equal”, that they had in mind all men and women -- black, brown, and white -- anyone and everyone with blood running through their veins. No, they only had in mind white landowners.  

For blacks, American history has caused a scar that may never heal. Most Americans, including 80% of black adults, say the legacy of slavery still affects black people in the US today. Having been freed from slavery, how do you then live, earn, get ahead, establish yourself? Haiti is a good example. It is the only place in the Western hemisphere where the slaves successfully revolted and won their independence from European colonists. But today, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. The population is all black, and they still live in slave-like poverty.

One more thing. White privilege is not a life without obstacles. Yes, Mr and Mrs White, you had to work hard to get ahead. But white privilege is climbing a ladder that has all the rungs, rather than a ladder with half the rungs, or more, missing. Go ahead, pat yourself on the back for all your hard work, but don’t be so arrogant as to think that blacks don’t work just as hard.  

My heart yearns to reach out to the less fortunate. But I don’t always know how. The divide is almost too great to navigate. So many are poor, outcast, blind, and oppressed (Lk 4:18), but what can I do? The biggest part of the cure to white privilege is to quit thinking of blacks (and browns) as lazy freeloaders who don’t try hard enough, who choose to live in ghettos, who are too dumb to have good jobs or to plan ahead , who are criminal and dangerous. 

I ask myself, why do I write about white privilege? To win an argument with my BLM naysayer friends? No. I don’t want to add fuel to an increasingly vitriolic debate. This is why. We cannot be a voice for justice until we see and acknowledge injustice. We cannot extend mercy unless we focus on the broken lives. And we cannot love, with outstretched arms, until we humbly admit that our black neighbors in North Portland have forever been, and still are, poor and downtrodden.