Unprecedented tension within the modern world: An Open Letter from a Black Minister

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].

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