To my dear Brothers and Sisters,
I write this letter to you in a spirit of love and
concern for you and all humanity.
We live in dangerous times. Military action, fragile
relationships between nations, and hostilities and misunderstandings
between the world’s religions have created an unprecedented tension
within the modern world.
I am afraid for the future. I have always wondered,
had she lived past 11 months, the kind of world my beloved Cameron
would inherit. Considering the existence of Bush’s immoral regime
and his conservative minions the answer would be that I would be
leaving her with a fearful, ignorant, racist regime rife with a
disdain for individual freedoms. Because of my love for Cameron
and our children and our children’s children I choose to fight this
abomination.
President Bush is embarking on a path that endangers
humankind. His proposed June 2nd nuclear testing which,
according to The Nuclear
Information Project, is “readying the Nevada Test Site for a
large-scale, open-air, high explosive detonation on a tunnel complex”
as a means of rattling its saber before the world and particularly
Iran. Furthermore, this test shows that the Bush administration
is not beyond using completely devastating weapons of mass destruction.
The Nuclear Information Project also informs us that the test, called
“Divine Strake,” “is not a nuclear blast and the Russian government
reportedly has been notified to avoid misunderstanding about the
event.” The suggestion that this test is not nuclear is an outright
lie. Moreover, the test implies several things: that the test could
be interpreted as an act of aggression, it is something that the
world should not be overly concerned about because it is just a
conventional trial, and that it is implicitly ordained by God or,
better yet, his god. Bush’s god is the complete antithesis of candidate
Bush’s god when, during the 2000 presidential campaign, he boldly
announced that Jesus Christ was his favorite philosopher. Jesus
believed in peace and love, not the love of bombs.
Bush’s warmongering is nothing new; as I stated
in a previous BC
article, Bush and his cronies have embarked
on a self-appointed, Koran-desecrating, Christian “ministry” of
hate and are instigating a religious/social/cultural Armageddon
with the premise that “our" (“Christian,” conservative, white)
God is better than your God (insert your choice here).” Fortunately,
the American public has seen through his lies as he has a mind-boggling
32% approval rating. Among African-Americans his approval rating
is much lower; in the wake of last year’s Hurricane Katrina Bush’s
approval rating was at 2%!
Bush’s policies and plans
to detonate this bomb will create or inspire the most dangerous
of events: endgame. In chess, endgame is the stage
of a chess game after most of the pieces have been removed from
the board. Consider the possible ramifications
of his actions. If Bush detonates a similar bomb in Iran it will
further destabilize the Middle East and bring in Iran’s allies which
would antagonize countries such as Israel and so on and so on.
The chess pieces leave the board; endgame ensues. The result could
be the end of humanity.
In conclusion, it is not only important that we see
the inherent evil of Bush’s policies. It is important that we do
something – organize local protests like our Latino brothers and
sisters, write letters to your local newspaper’s editor, wear a
t-shirt of protest – anything to get the word out about this test
and the utter godlessness of the Bush administration. We must also
write our congressional representatives immediately to highlight
Bush’s lies and dangerous policies and implore Bush to ban this
nuclear test. I beg you to even write to the devil himself, Bush,
to reconsider this “test.” Granted, he would probably ignore us
(a la Hurricane Katrina) but, maybe, if enough people write him
he would change his mind, or his masters’ (Cheney, Rove, corporations)
mind. Time is running out. I propose that you even discuss this
issue with those that usually disagree with you, progressive ministers
and Imams, or Reverend “I’m basking in the glow of getting a piece
of grant from Bush” to do sermons regarding the dangers of a potential
nuclear holocaust. I know this would be a challenge but, as Carmichael
and Hamilton argue in the classic work Black Power, when
you challenge oppressive systems (or in Bush’s case, regimes) jobs
and friends may be lost. Such is the life of revolutionaries.
There is a moral imperative for this activism to take place.
May the Creator bless you richly. May the Creator
bless us all. I pray that we do not see the frightening sight of
a massive mushroom cloud.
Respectfully Submitted,
Reverend Reynard N. Blake, Jr.
Reverend Reynard Blake, Jr. is a Baptist minister
from East Lansing, Michigan and president of Community Development
Associates, a firm committed to faith-based and nonprofit training
and research. He serves as minister of community development
at Tried Stone Baptist Church in Detroit. He is also a graduate
student in Pastoral Ministry at Marygrove College in Detroit.
He can be reached at [email protected]. |