Chapter and Verse For Voter Rights
No Me Digas. Op-Ed: Keith Price
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”-GALATIANS 6:9
While watching The Cross Connection with Tiffany Cross on MSNBC, one of her panelists from Black Voters Matter, Cliff Albright, quoted the Bible and it really made me think. Which is weird because you know my heathen behind is the last person to be near a bible without an asbestos suit, but I digress. Growing up Baptist in Texas, I spent many Sundays in Sunday School, regular church service, afternoon programs, Baptist Training Union (B.T.U.), and then evening services. I did Vacation Bible School, Easter and Christmas pageants, too. Yet somewhere in all of that Christian training, I do not remember ever hearing this verse.
It means that if you really are fighting for the greater good, then EVENTUALLY it will come to pass through hard work and fortitude. As long as we continue the fight and not give up, we will reap the rewards of our labor. For many of us church kids, that suffering for “X amount of days , months, years, decades, and centuries” was annoying to hear then, and it really is hard to hear now. Yet, here we are watching the erosion of voting rights progress daily, and it feels like an out of control train heading for the final station of American Democracy. If it is not slowed down to a halt, then it will destroy the entire station. Sadly, Keanu Reeves is not helping us this time.
“…if we faint not” implies that we cannot stop fighting, no matter how annoyed, tired, and angry this fight makes us. I see the organizing and protesting efforts of the many minority voter rights groups across the demographic. Just watching them and how they work tires me, and I am just sending a few bucks here and there, writing stuff, talking on the radio about issues, and sharing links on social media. They are talking to the PEOPLE. They are showing up at the events. They are protesting. They are not fainting, and I know they are tired of waiting on just faith to get us all over.
I also agree with these organizations about the lack of urgency that many of the moderate, on the fence, both sides, and “still consider myself a Republican” white people are showing. In my opinion, their lack of participation in this process is really hinged upon one thing: their personal comfort. However, they do not realize that their freedoms are equally in jeopardy by not speaking out against their parents, grandparents, cousins, etc., who believe all of the propaganda, join the makeshift militias, support these crazy politicians, and/or participate in coup attempts. It makes them uncomfortable, just like they are uncomfortable with Critical Race Theory.
Pres. Biden and Sen.Schumer know that they will probably not get the votes to pass these bills, but the Senate is being forced to debate the fate of voter rights in order to put people on the historical record for their convictions. Considering the lack of respect and knowledge that this country already has for its own history, in addition to its short term memory loss when it comes to significant issues, it only matters if they vote to preserve the cornerstone of what makes our Democracy special. If they don’t vote to support it, then all is truly lost. The victors control history, so we better start journaling and creating our record, just in case. After celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. ‘s birthday and his contributions to making this movement happen, the same problem standing in the way of voter rights then is one of the same problems now: the filibuster.
Also today in inconvenient MLK quotes that Republicans and conservative Democrats won’t be tweeting out… #VotingRightsForMLK pic.twitter.com/96aJ7cLm6V
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) January 17, 2022
I am praying that these warriors continue this fight without fainting. Just in case, please carry those smelling salts and bring that Agua Florida (Google it!).
