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.