Persecution

Sorry to all of my readers for not writing the last couple of days.  My grandparents came in and I politely spend the time with them instead; I hope that nobody minded too much.  All is well, mostly anyhow.

I may not get a blog in every day this coming week; I have three essays and two tests in the next six days, so I’m just slightly (read: all out, freak out) nervous and rather busy.  So patience, definitely need a bit of patience.  And prayer never hurt anybody.

Today Meme and I went to the Morton Pumpkin Festival, which is allegedly the largest Pumpkin Festival in the United States, if I understand right.  In reality it was just a community event that involved a lot of pumpkins but most of all a well-organized chamber of commerce.  The Morton Chamber of Commerce directs the event and they couldn’t do a better job with arranging all the pumpkin foods, craft show, carnival rides, and parade.  They did well, and it’s a well-oiled machine.  I give them a definite A+.

However, there was one odd moment.  When we were walking back to my car to head back to Meme and Papa’s hotel room, we went by the path of the parade.  The TEA Party float was going by and they were shouting their views and values.  As they passed by, people would clap and cheer and the head shouter-lady would scream back, “Protect our values!  Defend our constitution!  Join the TEA Party!” 

I was wearing my Ada High School Young Democrats shirt.

I carefully walked in front of the people who were cheering against my political beliefs and I felt afraid for a moment- you never know how mob mentality will work.  Seriously though, I realized for the first time that my political beliefs are more persecuted than my religious ones.  I’m not sure how to feel about that.  In one sense I am happy because it is nice to not be persecuted about one facet of myself.  However, what about liberal Muslims who live in the corn (or oil) fields? 

Chaplain Bruce was speaking about a conversation he had had recently (or maybe he had read an article) that Muslims, “Stay inside on 9/11 at all cost.  They fear being persecuted.”  Where has our society gone?  Where are the Christian values of “turning the other cheek?” Where is our moral compass with the persecuted?  Where is our love of ALL God’s children?  Where is any of Christ?

I’d like to think that the (low) percentage of terrorist Muslims is equal to the number of Christian war-hawks/bigots.  I do not know if I’m right, I hope for the sake of America and Christians as a whole that I am right.    

After all this, where do Christians stand, really?  Are we in solidarity with our neighbor or on the line with rocks in hand?