4 Years & 70 Million Reasons to Remain Woke
It was early. The sun had not come up yet. I woke up determined to get ready and walk 1.4 miles to the YMCA nearby to work out. I stepped out of the bedroom to start changing into gym clothes with my cellphone in hand while checking the news online. The night before, I went to bed convinced that Hillary was going to win. However, the next morning The Washington Post was saying something different. In denial, I looked it up on The New York Times. “No- This is wrong!” I thought. Hoping this to be a nightmare, or the grogginess of 4:30 in the morning, I searched on Colombian newspapers. I felt like if I read it in Spanish, my eyes would read differently what had been printed in big fonts: “Trump Wins!” That was the news headline on November 9th, 2016.
I had such a hard time understanding how it was possible that this nation elected a president whose political platform was based on xenophobic and other discriminatory ideas. I witnessed a third of the U.S. population –including Christians- voting for a candidate who ended up persecuting the entire immigrant community- undocumented, Dreamers, children, refugees, TPS holders and international students. How was it possible that self-proclaimed Christians supported this clear manifestation of evil?
In the realm of God, immigrants are welcomed and honored, treated with compassion and love. I had expectations of the church of Christ that did not match with the identity of who Jesus is.
This internal predicament pushed me into a depression with an identity crisis. I was in the process of ordination as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church. I admit that up to this point, I had been numb. I had not taken seriously the importance of following a disruptive God who frees us from apathy and unjust living. In one word, from sin.
Since that Wednesday November 9th 2016, I decided to let my hair grow until president Donald J. Trump was out of office. For four years, my hair has become a permanent reminder of the pain imposed by the power holders in this nation, a learning journey for deepening my roots in faith, and a personal sign of constant anticipation for change. It has served as a commitment that re-directs my purpose, my call.
Not surprisingly, sharing the reason of my new physical appearance provoked reactions that reflected the narrowed and superficial lenses we perceive life and faith; “Why are you doing that, Carlos?”; “No matter who gets elected, everything is going to be same!”; “Trump is not going to know what you are doing”; “Carlos you look like a ‘homeless’ person”; “Your beard looks nasty, Carlos”; “Your look does not mean anything!”; “You should cut it off”; “Do not mix politics with religion”; “Do you think that you can interfere with a nation’s policy without being a citizen?”; “It looks ugly on you”; “It’s not going to change anything!”; What is it going to do?”.
I wonder if people around Trump’s life had been as strongly opinionated, whether he and his circle may have developed a level of decency. If authority figures would have stepped up throughout his entrepreneurial life as often as people excused his behaviors, maybe grabbing women’s genitals, mistreating the Native People, discriminating against people of color, separating immigrant children from their parents, and manipulating the financial and legal systems for his benefit would have been rejected from a solid moral compass. But that did not happen. We have suffered severe damage: lives lost, relationships broken and fears imposed that will last for a very long time.
Here we are today, anticipating a transition on January 20th2021; a transition that creates hope for some, brings expectation with skepticism to others and discomfort for many. Four years later, 70 million people still support a man whose deeds have been evidently unfit to lead and live with people different than from his own. After all, there was no need for a wall because the walls were already built inside the church, in schools, justice system, Boy Scouts, etc. He just made them visible.
This coming Saturday Nov. 14th at 2:00 pm (https://www.facebook.com/PenDelAC), I will be going before my Annual Conference to officially be ordained as full Deacon in my denomination whose call dances around building bridges and seeking justice. For the saints who have walked with me this path, I am thankful. Yet I look forward for the ways in which God redeems creation through justice to the oppressors and liberation to the oppressed. Surely, we are in front of a potential opportunity for change, but let’s not be naïve. Those changes will happen only if we are courageous to confront evil in all its forms while remembering the pain that this intense period has caused. There are 70 million reasons to remain woke. If we dismiss the impact of this reality, healing will be a distant dream and justice an empty word.