Dump Trump! That’s what protesters are screaming after Hillary Clinton lost the recent Presidential election. In many cases it has turned violent… property damaged, businesses vandalized, and objects thrown at law enforcement.
It grieves me to see our country divided. Blame is thrown around against everyone involved. I understand the anger that occurs when you don’t get what you want. Especially when you feel you have been treated wrongly or unfairly. But in society as in a family, an angry response never solves a problem. It only creates more problems and makes the situation worse, hurting relationships that often never mend.
This is not the first time that a segment of American society has objected to the decisions of government or governmental leaders. The Vietnam War, Civil Rights, Watergate, Gay Rights, Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street and others have occurred in my lifetime. It appears that freedom of speech is part of the fabric of American society.
As I said, this is not the first time people have tried to change policy in America. We can take a lesson from history. Maybe we should go back and see how Martin Luther King, Jr. reacted to mistreatment.
On Dec. 1, 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This caused great concern among African Americans. The next day, several people met at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and formed the Montgomery Improvement Association. They decided to have a one day boycott on Dec. 5 and elected the pastor, Martin Luther King Jr, as the president. The boycott ended up lasted several weeks.
On January 27, 1956 King received a phone call at his home and heard this threat: “Listen N—–, we are tired of you and your mess. If you aren’t out of this town in 3 days, we’re gonna blow your brains out and blow up your house.”
King stayed up late into the night struggling with what he should do. He recalled later that he got a sense of the presence of Jesus that encouraged him. He felt that Jesus was telling him to ‘stand up for righteousness, stand up for justice, stand up for truth. I will be with you even to the end of the world.’ He was encouraged to continue his good work. And he did.
Three days later (Jan. 30), as King was speaking at another church, he got a message that his house had been bombed. Somebody had placed a bomb under his front porch, and the front of his house was demolished. Fortunately, his wife and 11 week old daughter, Yolanda, were in the back at the time.
King immediately went to his home and as he neared he passed a crowd of over 300 angry black men with guns and knives. They were facing a group of white armed policemen. The situation was nearing the boiling point. King went into the house to make sure his wife and daughter were okay. Then he went out on the porch and spoke to the crowd.
“Don’t get panicky. Don’t do anything panicky. Don’t get your weapons. If you have weapons, take them home. He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword. Remember that is what Jesus said. We are not advocating violence. We want to love our enemies. I want you to love our enemies. Be good to them. This is what we must live by. We must meet hate with love.”
After hearing this, the crowd was calmed and eventually left peaceably.
This gentle response to violence is what made the civil rights movement so successful. Whatever you think of Martin Luther King’s morals, politics, or religion, you can at least be thankful that he is one black man who was gentle.
My prayer is that somehow all involved in our current national turmoil will respond to one another with gentleness. I also hope that you will become more gentle in your dealings with anyone to whom you have conflict.
What do you think about the protests? Are they appropriate? Or is there a better method to display disagreement?
You can read some of my other cards about gentleness: Happy are the Gentle, The Day Jesus Got Mad, Beyond Baseball – Jackie Robinson Day.
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