Dickens’ famous line “it was the best of times, it was the
worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness” certainly rings true this
week. As citizens of a nation founded on
the principles of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, we find ourselves
in the vortex of an election season in which a candidate for the highest office
in our land exercises his right of “free speech” in a hateful, bigoted, racist
manner that is offensive to millions of people in this country and abroad. Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslim
immigration to the United States has left many of us completely breathless and
virtually speechless, so completely horrific and unthinkable is the notion of a
religious test for entry to this country.
Those of us who dedicate much of our lives to interfaith
dialogue and cooperation join the throng of politicians, citizens, and
religious leaders the world over in the chorus of condemnation of Trump’s
words. As a Christian religious leader,
I thought immediately of the words in the Christian New Testament, in the
letter of James, wherein the writer warns of the dangers of the human
tongue. “And the tongue is a fire….no
one can tame the tongue- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and
with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and
cursing. My brothers and sisters, this
ought not to be so.” (James 3:6,
8-10) The letter of James was likely
written in the late first century of Common Era. Not much has changed in the ensuing twenty
centuries it would seem.
In this season of hateful, xenophobic, racist rhetoric,
Americans of all faiths and of no faith must proclaim and embrace the
principles on which this nation was founded.
Our first amendment liberties, including free speech and the freedom to
exercise our religion are the jewels in the crown of our democracy. Mr. Trump, in the guise of “telling it like
it is” is desecrating the very foundation of our American values, not to
mention of the values of all of the world’s religions. Mr. Trump’s first amendment right to free
speech means he can say the
ridiculous things he’s been saying, but basic human decency, not to mention a
modicum of good manners, would recommend a more nuanced approach. Mr. Trump makes me embarrassed to be an
American. On the college campus where I serve
are students from many countries of the world, and of many races, religions,
and ethnicities, including Muslim students, faculty and staff, some born here,
some immigrants, some guests in our country while they pursue their
education. I am mortified that they have
to be subjected to this hateful rhetoric and the climate of fear and mistrust
that this discourse creates. Mr. Trump’s
words are indecent, inhumane and unworthy of any public figure, most
particularly one who fancies himself qualified to lead the nation. His words are also unworthy of anyone who
purports to call themselves a Christian, which I believe, if asked, Mr. Trump
would do, at least if he thought it expedient in his pursuit of public
office.
Earlier this semester I travelled with eight of our students
to the Parliament of the World’s Religions, which convened in Salt Lake City,
Utah in October. For five days we were
privileged to be among people from eighty countries and fifty different
religious traditions all of whom gathered to share with one another the work
they are doing all over the world to promote religious harmony, cooperation,
and respect and to bring peace to a world wracked with violence and war. It is a shame that this gathering did not
garner the same degree of media attention that the actions of ISIS or the words
of demagogues like Mr. Trump always manage to attract. It is time that the story of interfaith
understanding and cooperation, a story unfolding in the United States and in
countries all over the globe, be proclaimed with as much intensity as is the
unending narrative of conflict, hate and fear.
Peaceful, respectful, life giving interfaith encounter and cooperation
is happening all over the world, in churches, mosques, synagogues, temples,
gurudwaras, in small villages and big cities, on college campuses and in
countless local venues. A new future is
being birthed in those places and that is the story the media should be telling.
Mr. Trump does not represent the breath of fresh air, nor the
“change” that he and his supporters claim people want and need in our national
life. Quite the opposite. His is the
old, tired, negative, destructive narrative of fear, hate, bigotry and
“othering” that has generated centuries of wars and conflicts. The real hope for the future of humanity lies
with the young people I am privileged to work with and serve, and the mentors
who walk with them, those who are dedicating themselves to creating a future in
which racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, sexism, homophobia and
all other kinds of phobias and “isms” become a thing of the past.
At the University of
Rochester Interfaith Chapel, we affirm and celebrate the religious diversity of
our student body, our nation and of the world.
We are a cooperation circle within the United Religions Initiative,
dedicated to promoting enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to ending
religiously motivated violence and to creating cultures of peace, justice and
healing for the Earth and all living beings. And in these dark days of
December 2015 we stand in solidarity with our Muslim students, faculty and
staff, and the Muslim community here in Rochester who are our valued and
respected neighbors, as they weather the storm of hate and bigotry perpetrated
by the likes of Mr. Trump. We will continue our mission to foster
interfaith understanding and cooperation and to create a world where no person
of any religious or spiritual tradition need live in fear.
