Silent Majority

In the 1960s it became increasingly less popular to be an outright racist. The Angry White Faces that marched against desegregation, intermarriage, and Civil Rights found that their positions were no longer politically acceptable. In 1968 presidential candidate Richard Nixon supplied two new, more palatable, banners under which this group of people could rally. Today I wish to address the Conservative concept of the Silent Majority.

"The Silent Majority" was a term which was used to describe suburban and rural, blue collar, white people. These people felt that their "traditional values" were being threatened by the changes in society.  With this new label, a white person could hold fast to racist tenets and be perceived as champions of wholesome American values. 

In my previous post, 'Where Did They Go?', I posited that Angry White Faces didn't GO anywhere. Sixty years after the birth of the Silent Majority, people are still championing these causes. An entire political platform is based upon these foundations. 

You can still hear White Americans lamenting the breakdown of traditional values. Conservatives will quickly cite the breakdown of the family. They'll talk about welfare and food stamps. They'll talk about abortion. Anecdotally, I can attest that all one has to do when conversing with a White Conservative about this topic, is ask to as WHO is behind these "moral failures" and the conversation is going to steer toward race fairly quickly. 

In the White American subconscious, there tends to be black and brown faces on these problems. They're, I confess, even in MINE. When I hear "food stamps" the image of an unkempt black woman with a gold tooth, dressed in sweats and a black hair rag pops into my mind. Why? The reality is that WHITE people receive SNAP benefits at a 14.5% HIGHER rate than Black Americans, and 30% higher than Hispanic Americans.  Why does my brain do that? 

In writing this post, my heart is not censure my White brothers and sisters, rather, I want to spur others to take a look at their moral foundations and ask some questions.  

• Who decides what constitutes traditional values? 

• When did they decide that? 

• Why do you subscribe to this idea of traditional values?

• Is it possible that what we consider traditional American values are not the best/only way to live? 

• Is it possible that what White Americans see as moral failure on the part of Black and Brown people is merely the harvest of sinful seeds that were sown by our White American ancestors?

• Is it possible that these morality issues are indicative of a global HUMAN heart problem and not a race specific problem? 

• If so, why is there a black face on it? 

Where Did They Go?: A Specific Reaction To The Film 'I Am Not Your Negro'

In December, my book club read the essay 'The Fire Next Time' by James Baldwin. Before picking up this book, I had never heard of James Baldwin. Initially, I just bought the Kindle edition of the book. Then, after reading it, I felt compelled to purchase the paper copy so I could underline and highlight and reread and digest this man's words. If you've never read Baldwin, I could not recommend his work more. He is both beautifully eloquent and highly relatable.

When we heard that Raoul Peck was making a film based on the writings of James Baldwin AND that it was being shown in our city, we agreed that our book club should see it. Frankly, I wasn't sure what to expect from this film. Even now, a week later, I am still working through the feelings that were stirred within me as I watched this film. Tonight I want to zero in on the imagery which left the biggest question in my mind.

'I Am Not Your Negro' is set in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The majority of the film is comprised of historical photos and footage. The images that struck me most powerfully were not the lynchings or the "Whites Only" signs. The pictures that wrenched my heart were those of Angry. White. Faces. I saw a snide smirk on a white man's lips as a black man was being mercilessly beaten in front of him. I saw cruel pride as a white man in a white t shirt poured food and milkshakes on the head of another human being...the men standing next to him were enjoying the spectacle. I saw righteous indignation on the faces of thousands of white people as they "bravely" stood up for white supremacy and segregation.

Time and again my mind was overwhelmed with this thought..."where did all of these angry white faces go?"  My PARENTS were alive during the 60s. I am not even a generation removed from these images. Surely, they didn't all just change their minds and decide not to be white supremacists. So...where did they go?

If you are a veteran of the Civil Rights and racial justice fights, please forgive my naivete. You might even chuckle now as I share this truth that dawned on me in the dark aisles of my local art house theater.

Friends...white friends specifically, *whispers* these angry white faces didn't go anywhere.  In the next few days and weeks I will explore with you what I think Angry White Faces look like in the 21st century. .

I Do Now

I used to be a proud Republican. I spent my high school AP government class fiercely defending my party. I faithfully watched the GOP convention every four years and voted almost straight Republican for my first election. My last year of college, I was a grant researcher in Republican Senator Sam Brownback's local office. I was RE-PUB-LIC-AN.  Now...not so much.

While I support some of the GOP platform like committing to combat human trafficking and caring for veterans, the majority of the rhetoric I heard during the last election from the Republican party left me feeling forsaken by the party I once wholeheartedly aligned myself with. Their stances on everything from tax principles to unfettered capitalism to discrimination thinly veiled as"religious liberty" to an unhealthy obsession with radical Islam did not seem, to me, to be in the best interest of myself or the diverse people of my country.

Then, of course, Republicans somehow chose to overlook the ENORMOUS list of misdeeds and character flaws regarding Donald Trump and nominated him for president. He is a revolting, mentally unstable, heartless, shamelessly selfish, wimp of a man. I couldn't get behind that nomination even a little bit.

So, finding myself utterly opposed to the direction in which Republicans were marching, I tried to find common ground with the Libertarian Party before making the switch to the Dirty Dems. Though I philosophically support many of the tenets of the Libertarian Party, the objection I hold with them, is that they are a little too hands off for my liking. In my opinion they are the equivalent of a permissive parent. While I am a HUGE proponent of freedom, handing off said freedom without at least SOME safeguards makes me nervous. Human nature does not do well with highly philosophical government. For instance... communism...sounds so good on paper...in reality it's oppressive and violent because humans, in their hearts, desire power.

So, I reluctantly found myself aligning with the Democrats. Progressive liberal Democrats seem to care about things I care about...civil rights, voting rights, supporting the middle class, fair and equitable education, and common sense immigration reform (among other things). Democrats seem to still care about ALL Americans. Conversely, in policy and in deed, Republicans seem to only care about Wealthy, White, Corporate, Conservative Christian, Americans.

Democrats have remained true to their platform in dozens of ways since Trump took office. They are standing up for immigrants, Muslims, women, fair education, and even defending the prerogative of the American people to exercise their right to peaceful assembly. On the other hand Republicans are remaining true to their platform by supporting a Secretary of Education who is against public education, an Attorney General who has a history of voter suppression and racism, a Secretary of Labor who has a long history of unfair wage distribution, an FDA director who thinks that Americans should get access to new drugs before they are tested for effectiveness, and a president who is more concerned with being made fun of on SNL or whether his daughter's brand is suffering than being a strong, well informed, commander in chief.

NOTE: Now that the election is over...I have not heard a PEEP from anyone in the Libertarian Party. They are keeping their heads down and staying out of it...which reads to me as cowardice and ambivalence. 

If what is being presented to me by the current majority government shows what it looks like to be a Republican in 2017, I want no part of it. Before this election I did not consider myself a Democrat. I do now.

To My Friends Who Are #Resist-ing

Guys, I can talk candidly here right? Everyone who thinks I'm a liberal crybaby loser has either unfollowed me by now or is not going click on the link to this blog...so I might as well just let it all out there.

I am utterly horrified by what is happening in America. Watching these new policies unfold nearly every day adds a loop to the thick, dark, knot at the pit of my stomach. I dreaded Inauguration Day for weeks because I knew that this was going to be unpleasant. But, damn, all of this is beyond anything I could have prepared myself for. Who knew? Even now, with story after story of utter incompetence and disregard for the American system of government, I still feel a little strange calling it what it is.

I am scared. Not for myself...not yet. However, the new stance toward Muslims sounds like something I've heard before...seen played out in heart wrenching, soul crushing, films. I hope against hope that I am over reacting. God, I would rather be labeled a loony tune than be right about the direction our government is taking. If I'm right...it will be to my horror.

What I am certain of is that God has stirred passion in my heart to be both a consummate helper and a fervent truth teller. I will NOT stand silent as Muslims are targeted for mistreatment by our government. I will NOT stand silent as Mexicans are targeted for mistreatment by our government. I will NOT stand for anyone being mistreated by our government.

As the coming days (days that feel like years amirite) keep bringing worse and worse news, the cost of speaking out is going to get higher. I just want you to know that I am, at my very core, in this for the long haul. But friends, my mind and my body are going to get tired. They're going to want to give in, to sit down and shut up. It will be gloriously tempting to throw my hands in the air and scream "to hell with this!" That's why I need you all.

We're all going to have our moments when we have nothing left. We collectively need to remember that this fight is going to be long...it's going to be arduous...it's going to be new and challenging to many ideas we have about how to effect change. I have no clue what standing with one another is going to look like...but I know we need to figure it out. We're going to need to prepare to pull one another up if we collapse under the weight of this #resist-ance. Also...bail money...we might need bail money.

To My Conservative Republican Christian Brothers and Sisters

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1Peter 2:10-12



Dear Christian brother and sisters,

Many of us are at a serious impasse in these early days of the Trump presidency. We are fighting against one another. We are throwing stones and condemning each other. Conservative vs Progressive. Republican vs Democrat. Winners vs Losers. 

Let me start this post by acknowledging that we are all in the same standing with Jesus. We've all sinned (and struggle against it daily) and are only righteous through the blood of Christ. We've done nothing to earn our grace and mercy and nothing we do now can elevate us in God's family. 

In my past I considered sin outward behaviors like fornication, drunkenness, and swearing. As I've aged and grown in Christ, I've come to realize that sin is something much different. Sin is trying to find my righteousness and wholeness in anything that is not God. I have sinned in trying to be a people pleaser. I have sinned by using food as a comfort. My sins are many and I repent. 

What I bring to you today are these questions: Have you used conservatism as a form of righteousness? Have you tried to find wholeness in politics? I ask this of you because I have been guilty of this myself. As a young Christian I hid behind the tenets of the Conservative Faith. Things that are coming from your lips in response to this new administration are words that I myself have uttered.

But, through the course of my life, my heart has been changed. I met people who are different than me. I befriended feminists, atheists, single moms, WIC recipients, LGBT people, black/brown people, and liberal Democrats. Through those relationships I have learned that people are not issues. 

I have learned that God cares about the hearts of all men and women and is using Christians to speak truth and love to them in relationship rather than using the rule of law. It is so much easier to shout scriptures at an issue than to look into someone's eyes as they share the experiences that led them to where they are. Frankly, a lot of their stories include being rejected and uncared for by the Church. It breaks my heart. 

Furthermore, it makes my soul cry out when I see "them" doing more to assuage the suffering in our nation than "us". People outside of the faith are looking at us and seeing a body of people who are rigid and hateful. They are accusing the Church of doing wrong...and they are right. We have allowed our politics to become a place of restriction and heavy handed law as opposed to the freedom and grace that Jesus has selflessly given to us. They want no part of whatever it means to be Christian in America. 

As I learn about other humans and as God is magnified in my heart I find that a lot of our the sociopolitical issues in our nation have been exacerbated by OUR unwillingness to let go of our comfortable, white, nuclear family filled pews. People are protesting now because for generations American Christians have been happy to let "them" fight their own battles. Some of their battles are messy and complicated and ugly and people of faith haven't wanted to get their hands or their reputations dirty. 

I want to implore you to examine your anger. I invite you to investigate your beliefs around blackness and poverty and homosexuality and whatever other political issues you champion. Ask yourself, am I trying to honor God by speaking love to people who are different than me or am I trying to control other people's behavior with the law while I enjoy Grace?

Thanks Trump

Throughout the Obama presidency, it was common to see a tweet or status post complaining about something asinine, followed by #thanksobama, As I reflect on this first week of the Trump presidency, I feel like some thanks are in order for ways that this administration is already changing my life for the better

• Because of his aggressive feud with the media I am on guard against infringements of freedom of the press #thankstrump
• Because of his fear mongering and refugee bans in Muslim nations, I am on guard against infringements of freedom of religion #thankstrump
• Because of the silencing of government agencies such as the EPA, the National Park Services, and the USDA, I am on guard against infringements of freedom of information #thankstrump
• Because his administration deleted whitehouse.org pages pertaining to LGBT rights. Civil Rights, and Climate Change science, I am on guard against executive control of citizen knowledge. #thankstrump 
• Because Trump is signing executive orders like they are going out of style, I've been forced to recall information from my high school and college government and history classes to show why these broad sweeping policies are dangerous. #thankstrump
• Because he is appointing unqualified persons of questionable character to positions of authority, I have contacted my state leaders for the first time ever to implore them to block such appointments. #thankstrump
• Because of this administrations claim that they make decisions based on " alternative facts", one of my favorite books, 1984, is once again a best seller. #thankstrump
• Because of Trump's attitudes and history of disrespect toward women, I participated in my very first protest the day after the Inauguration. #thankstrump
• Because Trump supporters are bent on making people who are speaking out against Trump look like jobless, uneducated, tantrum throwers, I have been challenged to start this new blog, which is committed to being an intelligent and nonpartisan place for me to express my outrage. #thankstrump
• Because my faith implores me to act when I see injustice, I have been challenged to become intimately familiar with the scriptures that address it. #thankstrump
• Because my heart has been so burdened for my nation and it's people, I have been compelled to regularly take my pain and sorrow to Jesus for the first time in years. #thankstrump
• Because the initial tone of  this administration has served to remind me that there really are evils to fight in this world, I am being spurred to action after too many years of being passive. #thankstrump

Where I'm Coming From

Every writer comes into the realm of creation with a context, a perspective, a lens. I come into the world of social justice as:

• A woman
• A white woman
• A white middle class woman
• A white midde class educated woman
• A white middle class educated Christian woman
• A white middle class educated evangelical Christian woman
• A white middle class educated evangelical Christian married woman
• A white middle class educated Christian married woman with children
• A white middle class educated Christian married woman with children who lives in Middle America
• A white middle class educated Christian married woman with children who lives in a Middle American city 
• A white middle class educated Christian married woman with children who lives in a Middle American city that is racially divided
• A white middle class educated Christian married woman with children who lives in a Middle American city that is racially divided by a street
• A white middle class educated Christian married woman with children who lives in a Middle American city that is racially divided by a street that I live next to

I could go on, but I don't wish to belabor the point. Swigart Speaks Out is written from MY perspective. My perspective has context. 

That lens is going to effect why and how I write about the things I choose to write about. I just wanted to acknowledge that before we dig into this thing. 

The Inagural Post

I attended junior high school in a very small town. There were so few of us that each person was gifted his or her own superlative in the 8th grade year book. Superlatives given to my peers were "most likely to succeed" "nicest smile"...those sort of things. But, it was 8th grade, so the superlative choices could be a little sillier. For example, I was voted "most likely to host a talk show called Swigart Speaks Out." (Swigart is my maiden name, FYI) Clearly, I've been a little outspoken for a good portion of my life.

On my other blog Life Less Sweet, I wrote a post detailing why, as an adult, I have learned to temper my opinions by engaging in people's lives and not simply having a battle of ideals with them. Generally, I still support this form of discourse. You can't change people's hearts if you don't know their hearts first.

However, the recent shift of power in these United States has stirred my passion for speaking out anew. On January 20th, Donald J. Trump came into power. I'd dreaded that day since he won the election in November, but, like my conservative Republican brethren asked, I kept (mostly) quiet and waited to see what this president would do. Within his first week he began shredding the fabric of America with dozens of executive orders. I've seen what he wants to do. And I refuse to stay silent while he gleefully oppresses our country and our world.

My Facebook page is flooded with articles that I've shared decrying injustices that the POTUS has already wrought upon Americans. I am sick to my stomach, my heart hurts, and my mind is trying to wrap itself around the surreality of the things that are happening.

One of the things that popped up in my feed was this ARTICLE, which is titled How to #stayoutraged Without Losing Your Mind. You better believe I clicked on that puppy. While it is filled with helpful tips on self care for the new activist, two things really resonated with me.

#1. Play to your strengths. 

I am a writer. My passions come alive in the dark black letters of the written word. It's part of who I am and it's what I can skillfully contribute. So, as to free up my poor Facebook page, I've decided to begin this new blog. I plan to use it as a tool to communicate my thoughts and opinions and groanings surrounding injustices that I see spilling out of the Trump administration. In addition it's my intention to use my blog as a tool of education for people who don't know what they don't know.

#2. Focus your energy on one or two issues.

I've decided to narrow the focus of this blog to the following two topics: racial justice and violations of basic American freedoms. These are the issues I naturally gravitate toward. Does that mean that I won't occasionally broach other topics? No. Does that mean I don't care about the Environment, Healthcare, or LGBT and Women's Rights? I absolutely DO care about those things and so very many more. But, I am ONE person. I cannot fight all of the battles and it will inevitably cause spiritual and emotional burnout if I try to.

On this blog I welcome civil disagreement and differing opinions. This is not, however, a place for name calling, broad stereotyping, or incendiary rhetoric...and I expect the same from my readers. LOL. But seriously, I don't want to create another echo chamber. I commit to doing my very best to be respectful of others, even if we disagree.

So, please join me as I step into the waters of #resistance.

Welcome to Swigart Speaks Out.