Don't Sweat! It's All Coming Together for the Good

As I was driving home tonight, I heard God speak so clearly that all the peace I desired rushed in at once. The concern I had regarding the 2016 Presidential Election dissipated instantly. My hope is that those who believe in the Word of God will find hope and solace in His arms.


The first thing God shared with me was that Donald Trump was the anti-Obama. This in no way is meant as an offense to Mr. Trump or celebrate the President. These are undeniable facts. President Obama comes from a middle-class family, his temperament is calmer, his demeanor is one of humbleness, he is known for compassion, and does not engage in intense verbal sparring on a more primal level. Mr. Trump, on the other hand, was raised in an extremely affluent home, his demeanor is one of harshness, his passions tend to overflow and lead to harsh expressions of his feelings. Both men clearly exhibit two different types of energy.

God said to me the following:
Nicole, do you know that it is mating season for deer? In this season, the deer are known to dash across roadways into the paths of oncoming traffic. In an effort to avoid striking the deer, drivers tend to swerve away. At times, drivers turn the wheel too hard, and their natural reaction is to overcorrect the steering wheel.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term overcorrect as "to apply a correction to in excess of that required." In other words, its to go in the extreme opposite direction of what is needed to stay on course.

There are those that were so displeased they chose to overcorrect the situation. This is the situation the country finds itself in today.

Then, God continued speaking:

There are times that I don't allow people to get what they want. I know their desires will harm them. Contrarily, there are times I do remove the hedges. I allow people to receive what they desire. I do not do this because what they desire is correct. I do this so they can learn that there are times they have no idea what they need. It is like a begging child asking to eat a lot of sugary substances. Sometimes they have to eat too much sugar to learn that what is or isn't good for them. This country, as a whole, has turned their back from me. The people believe they know what is best for themselves. They are an unbridled horse running away from me. I must allow the prodigal son to flee, so he may learn from experience. No man will meet their needs. Only I can do that.

In an instant, I was at peace. This election has nothing to do with Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. God is using this as a lesson for the people of this country. He has given us our inheritance, and we have become a wanton people. How long will we stay in the mud before we return home?

Our Choice, Our Pain: The Significance of the 2016 Presidential Election

It was Wednesday, November 9, 2016, when my students filtered into my classroom. The looks on their faces told a story of the nation. I overheard a student say, "We voted. Remember we voted last week. Didn't our votes count?" Another student chimed in the reality, "Our votes won't count until we're 18." And there it was. The moment they realized how America felt about them.

You see I work in a school district which is heavily populated with Hispanic and African-American residents. My students understood that a new narrative (to them at least) was about to be written, and it would change how they would operate in this America. They were scared and I was concerned.


All Unqualified Candidates Need Apply

On November 8, 2016, the electoral college showed that America wanted to be great again. In an effort to achieve this goal, the people voted for an individual with an interesting resume. They selected an individual who had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy six times. An individual who, along with his father, were sued by the Justice Department for exercising racial discrimination practices in the leasing of their apartment buildings. Large groups of citizens voted for an individual who categorized most Mexicans entering the United States as individuals that bring drugs, crime, and a rape culture in our communities. How many times did credible news sources deflate his imaginary facts as just out and out lies? Let us not forget the profane and violent language used at his campaign rallies. Regardless of the numerous audio and video footage of him either berating women or categorizing and ranking women as sexual objects, American citizens said that this canidate was the person for the job.


Making America Great Again

Have you ever wondered what the slogan meant? At what time was America at its apex? Who was it great for? Was it at its greatest during the colonization period? The time when the indigenous people of this land were murdered or kicked off their own land for the purpose of American expansion. Was it during the introduction of American slavery? This is the time when thousands of African slaves were shackled on the bottom of slave ships while crossing the Middle Passage. They were placed on platforms and sold as objects. For slaves, this is where the fragmented family was born. They were prevented to marry. Their significant others and children sold for profit. Was America great when the numerous slave owners climbed on top of the slave women and repeatedly and savagely raped them night after night? Of course, this produced numerous children who were ignored my their slave master fathers, and some children were brutally abused by the wives of these men. After all, these children were a reminder of their own husbands' betrayals. Was it great when the Mexicans were bullied to give up their own land like Texas, California, and Arizona?

Was America at its greatest when a woman's only option was to marry, have children, and keep a tidy home? Of course, this completely ignored the other gifts, talents, and God-given dreams that a woman kept buried inside. They were left to be dependent on the man to provide which led some women to endure marriages consumed with adultery or abuse because the women had no way to financially care for themselves or their children.

Maybe America was great when minorities were prohibited from voting, sitting at a lunch counter, or going to school as their Caucasian counterparts. When Ruby Bridges had to be protected by soldiers to enter a school building. Maybe it was great when strange fruit hung from the trees- blood on the leaves and blood on the roots. Or maybe it was great when the peaceful protests by civil rights activists seeking equality as human beings were met by attack dogs, billy clubs, fire hoses, racial epithets, and imprisonment. We, as Americans, missed out on appreciating and learning from each other.

America was never Ozzie and Harriet or Leave it to Beaver. Never. From its very origin, America has dripped in the blood of the disenfranchised.


The Fine Print

Recently, I watched a documentary where a woman recounted her experience in Nazi Germany. She shared how Adolf Hitler wanted to make Germany great. How he had a plan to eliminate Germany's problems and create a great nation. The woman, a child at the time of Hitler's leadership, said that Hitler was their hero. They thought he had the solution to the vast political and economical problems Germany was facing. He promised a better life to the working class and the unemployed. He promised to make Germany great again. He used fear as his momentum in restructuring the government. By 1933, German doctors were allowed to conduct operations which prevented numerous groups ( the deaf, the blind, gypsies, and African-German children) from conceiving children. In response to what Hitler considered the truly poisonous race, the Jewish people were segregated and about three million men, women, and children were murdered in gas chambers. When we include other forms of violence against the Jewish community at this time, about six million Jews had perished for the greatness of Germany. Genocide. In an effort for improvement, one of history's greatest atrocities occurred.

Like a television sales advertisement, a nation, in desperate need of a revival of hope, refused to read the fine print of its political leader. They were brainwashed by a leader and a political party to project its difficulties upon a particular segment of their population. A nation's fear and desperation allowed millions of innocent people to be slaughtered.

Now, in 2016, we see a similar fear tactic being displayed in our country. If we just get rid of the undesirables, America will be great again. "They" stole our jobs. "They" are invading our communities. "They" are destroying our way of life. But America's "way of life" has always been based on an infusion of culture. Our own language is a melting pot of other languages. This is what makes America great. The celebration of God's creations. He gave us all a piece of Himself. And when we work together we obliterate the real Enemy.

Your Choice, Our Pain

Unfortunately, when we select a leader whose method of leadership is divisiveness, we have ignored the fine print. This belief system has never worked. More importantly, we become betrayers and hypocrites of our patriotism. For the Pledge of Allegiance's intentions are clear:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
And to the republic for which it stands,
One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

That's right. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Anything or anyone who goes against this principle is destroying the very basis of our ideology. So when we vote for a person with these ideas, we vote against our own patriotic beliefs. Our vote for a divisive candidate clearly says "I vote for me and mine, and as long as you take care of me in mine, what you do to the others is of no concern to me." Our vote becomes a vote of separation.

If we willingly vote for a person who has not shown respect for particular groups (based on gender, race, socio-economic standards, etc.) , we carry the same blood on our hands. As an educator, if I know a child is being abused and do not report it, I am just as guilty as the abuser and will be prosecuted as such. My refusal to make an effort to stop the abuse weighs the same as me committing the abuse myself. When the Ku Klux Klan endorsed the candidate, did nothing in you stir with concern? You agreed with them. Your vote agreed with them. We can not just take some of the candidate. We must send the whole person to sit at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. America voted for the whole person. Not just the part we liked.


My Prayer

My prayer is we learn from our choices. We have moved so far away from God that, as a nation, we don't hear His voice. We have become the prime example of a reprobate mind. Well, like the gentleman God is, He has given us our heart's desire. Now, we will eat the fruit there of. My hope rests in 2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." Let He who is able to change our hearts and our ways do so.

Note: I assign to no specific political party.