The matter of Senator Elizabeth Warren invoking the persona of a civil rights icon to make a point is a recently trending form of tricky political ploys. It’s bad enough that Senator Warren’s voice was silenced while her male counterparts were allowed to speak; apparently by a collaborative approach across the aisle. Now there’s the nasty sting of both Bible-baiting and race-baiting.
Race-baiting is “the unfair use of statements about race to try to influence the actions or attitudes of a particular group of people,” according to Miriam-Webster.
Using skin color or ethnicity as an emotional trigger to stir up the public and distract people from reasonably understanding and responding to pertinent issues is a deceptive and counterproductive political practice.
Another equally dangerous distraction that is used to distract the American people is Bible-baiting, which takes scriptural context and twists it around to fit a particular political message. Both are deadly traps, enemies to civil rights and human rights.
In the meantime, it’s important to resist shutting down honest conversations about racism, sexism and religion while confronting the problem of using such conversations for manipulation of questionable agendas.
See these race-related quotes from politicians; they are from Democrats or Republicans. Most have apologized for their words since.
Each of these quotes, in their own way, caused political firestorms. Across the congressional aisles, race-baiting, Bible-baiting and sexism have clouded one of the major civil rights issues of our times—the right to be born. People become so distracted by the racial, gender and religious posturing that they forget just how many Americans are dying from abortion, sickness, poverty, violence and other forms of genocide and eugenics in our nation.
Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, was a race-baiter’s dream, wanting fewer of those she called “unfit.” She wanted what she called “a cleaner race.”
Yet Acts 17:26a teaches us that there is no “cleaner” or more “fit” race, only one human race. “[God] has made from one blood every nation of mankind to live on the entire face of the earth …”
Those who use ethnicity, skin color, political preference, religion, income, gender, physical ability or lack of such or any other classification to divide our communities for their own political gain ultimately do not care for us. They care for themselves and their power.
The next time a self-proclaimed progressive from any political party uses sexism, Bible-baiting or race-baiting to say that abortion benefits the African-American community, ask how the termination of 17 million black babies since Roe v. Wade of 1973 helps anyone.
Moving forward, let’s pray, then continue to purpose within our own heart to examine our motives and act for the highest good. {eoa}
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