He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;
(Isaiah 42:2)
No.
No, I do not participate in protest marches. I never have, for any cause-even those I care about deeply. This is a personal standard and I neither condemn nor cheer for those who do. I do make my voice heard, in print, from the podium, and in personal and reasonable conversation–– but I will not march in the streets.
No, I will not align myself with any group or movement that initiates, carries out, or supports violence against others or wanton destruction of the property of others in support of their cause. To protest violence against my person by committing violence against others is the pinnacle of hypocrisy and rank opportunism. To randomly and wantonly ravage whole communities, destroy the livelihood of other humans because I have been disrespected; dragging men out of their vehicles and beating them senseless does nothing but deepen the divide and drive all parties to greater anger and hatred, reducing human beings to a level little better than animals.
No, I will not attach any validity to parties who seize upon the true tragedy of human lives as an opportunity to further the cause of anarchy and the destabilization of society in general.
No, I will not dignify the cacophony of noise on social media that is being passed off as meaningful dialogue. It is not helpful. It is not productive. A dangerous cultural fire has already been lit and the name-calling, "cancelling," and accusation on social media is nothing more than gasoline for the fire.
No, I am not wounded by your accusations of racism simply because I disagree with the strategy of violence and hatred. No, I am not moved to your cause when you allow legitimate grievances to be hijacked by animals whose only goal is to destroy the peace and foment violence. And no, I am not moved by your name-calling, vile characterizations, and suggestions that I am not “woke” enough to understand. I understand perfectly what is going on in this generation; a generation that is being driven by forces so deep and so evil that it cannot be comprehended.
No, I am not insensitive or uncaring about the grave national sin of racism. However, the cause of racism in America is being buried beneath a literal trash heap of subversive or politicized purposes that will derail any meaningful dialogue to truly make things different. Looting Target, burning down neighborhood grocery stores, and randomly firing weapons into crowds does not advance the cause. Shooting policemen in the back of the head and poisoning their food at your restaurant is not justified by your mistreatment at the hands of others.
Yes, I have been accused of not supporting the cause of people of color because I do not align myself with the raised fist of defiance. I have been lectured by a long list of condescending voices––small voices trying to sound big. Nothing more than purposeless, vain noise. Rattling, vapid, pseudo-intellectuals desperately wanting to be important as bastions of instructors to the “un-woke” while providing no meaningful contribution to the true issues of the day. You are wrong. I do care. I care deeply. I simply do not support anything that is a waste of time, anything that tears down instead of building up, or anything which seeks to repair national sin by engaging in activities that only deepen the divide. I am not driven by the likes of Saul Alinsky or Karl Marx, champions of anarchy and the very embodiment of the spirit of lawlessness.
I am guided by the Prince of Peace of whom the prophet said, “He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;” (Isaiah 42:2)
