A Time for Choosing.

For many of us, tension in America is currently higher than at any point in our lives. It rivals the tensions of the Antebellum Era, the Progressive Era, and the 1960s. And it’s just getting started. Leaders from both parties are pointing fingers and demonizing the other side rather than creating opportunities for compromise and shaping a plan for reform.

I recently wrote about J.D. Vance and his missed opportunity for leadership (now published at The Vital Center), as well as how he perpetuates the permission structures that encourage political division and violence.

This week, Gavin Newsom was on The Colbert Show. He was attacking ICE and using fear as a motivator. He was, like Vance, perpetuating the permission structures for division and violence.

For many people, Gavin Newsom is somebody they feel can take on Trump and MAGA. He claims he’s “holding a mirror to MAGA” by trolling Trump on social media. But in doing so, he will reflect the worst of himself and his followers. Like Trump, he uses fear to rally his supporters and consolidate power.

When it comes to leadership, there is little to no difference between Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom. One may represent one set of political issues, and the other a different set of issues, but they both represent the same values of fear and division.

For those of us who have been against Donald Trump because of his behavior of division, there’s no way we can honestly follow Gavin Newsom without becoming the thing that we are against.

We’ve reached a point of division where reconciliation is difficult. Many in power now are not looking to compromise with one another. They don’t listen to understand; they listen to defend. They don’t lead, they attack. They will continue to paint the other side as the enemy and increasingly as evil. They will continue to use any means possible to bolster their power and gain control.

But I want to make something clear. They are not evil or the enemy. They reflect our choices. And if we want something different, we have to start making different choices.

As citizens, we can choose to pick a side and join them in calling our neighbors evil and casting them as the enemy. Or we can find new leaders and empower them to lead.

In times like these, we must look for the reformers. Those who study and research. Those who build coalitions, craft solutions, and those who aren’t afraid to sit down and have difficult conversations without hurling insults at each other.

We could sit idly by and watch. But the rights that we hold dear, the right to practice whatever religion we want, the right to due process, the right to speak freely. Those are all in jeopardy if we become a nation of one-party rule.

We don’t know who will win this battle for power. And whoever wins will restrict the other side’s rights. We’ve already seen it on both sides, prosecuting political enemies and silencing dissenters.

And we may think, “That won’t happen to us.” Maybe. But it might happen to our children, or our children’s children. It might happen to our neighbor, our brother, or our sister.

Ultimately, political power in a democracy starts with the individual. It’s our choices that will shape our future. We can choose to pick a side and fight. We can choose to sit idly by and watch, pretending we are powerless to stop it. Or we can choose a new path.

I’m a man of faith, and I spend a great deal of time with those who share my beliefs. And it seems that, because politics is so ugly right now, people would rather sit it out. However, our freedom of faith will be in jeopardy, regardless of who comes into power. One-party rulers are insecure. In a one-party state, no power above the party in control is allowed to exist, as that would threaten its authority. We may be able to worship, but the state would sit between us and God.

I’m reminded of an old joke I’ve heard many times, about a man who prays for God’s help but sits idly by and waits.

A massive hurricane hits a coastal town, and the floodwaters rise quickly.

A man climbs up onto his roof and prays: “God, please save me!”

A neighbor comes by in a rowboat and shouts, “Hop in, I’ll get you to safety!”

The man replies, “No, thank you. I prayed to God; He’ll save me.”

The waters rise higher. A rescue team arrives in a motorboat. “Sir, get in before it’s too late!”

The man again refuses: “No, thank you. God will save me.”

Finally, a helicopter hovers overhead, lowering a rope. The pilot yells, “Grab the rope, this is your last chance!”

The man waves them away: “No, God will save me!”

The waters keep rising, and the man drowns.

In heaven, he angrily asks God, “Lord, I prayed and prayed, why didn’t you save me?”

God replies: “I sent you a rowboat, a motorboat, and a helicopter. What more did you want?”

I’m also reminded of the Parable of the Three Servants from the book of Matthew. A master is going on a long journey. Before leaving, he entrusts his wealth to three servants: One servant receives five bags of silver, another receives two bags of silver, and the last receives one bag of silver.

The first two servants invest and double what they were given. But the third servant, out of fear, buries his silver in the ground and does nothing with it.

The message is that God expects us to look for him in each other and to use what we are given. God gave us free will. He gave us the power of choice. And he gave us a voice.

All hope is not lost. We are not powerless. We have a voice. We do not have to fight each other for control. There is a better path. There are ways we can resolve our differences civilly. However, we must speak up and take action. We must lift up and encourage others to lead a reform movement that will pull us out of this.

It won’t be one person who leads the way. No cult of personality can save us. We’re all human, flawed, and imperfect. What we need are many leaders spread across the country, working together in harmony.

God has not abandoned us. He has sent us those leaders, and they are patiently waiting for us to follow them. But, for that to happen, we must first choose who we want to be.

Do we want to be a partisan political pawn used for others’ power, an idle bystander cowering out of fear, or a citizen of a self-governing republic with rights who fulfills responsibilities?

This is a time for choosing, America. What will we do?

Peace & Love,

Jeff Mayhugh