One American Dream about to be realized

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

 Martin Luther King Jr. 28 August 1963

 The sad truth is, if the Democratic nominee for President this year were anybody white, the projected margin of victory in the polls might be 30+ points. But, Providence may be heavily weighted on the side of justice and equality. We may be about to elect a black man President.

Is a vote for Barack Obama a vote against our troops? No. It’s a vote against a war of choice, a war in which for the first time in its history America acted as the aggressor. Oh, you say to me, the situation in Iraq cried out for justice. Just as it does in a dozen countries in the Western hemisphere, which we have ignored for decades.

The military tradition of submitting to civilian authority, of serving with sacrifice and honor, still shines. But Gen. Colin Powell’s endorsement clearly weighs in against those who would continue to send Americans and their resources into a country that is about to cancel our status of forces agreement.

The great challenge now facing Obama is to govern. Sadly he will have to be twice as good as a white man to be accepted. Some will never accept him.

Churches need to pray for him. We need to step up in this time of crisis, providing social support to a population in turmoil, who have never been in desperate straits before.

This is a Matthew 25 moment. “Inasmuch as you’ve done it unto the least of these, you’ve done it to me.”

Churches can run support groups for the unemployed. They can operate food and clothing ministries. They can hire people for very nominal wages perhaps to run ministries.

Glenn Hinson wrote a study of how the early church evangelized the world. They did so through their charities. They simply out-loved everybody.

We need to do the same.

Electing a black man, as we’re about to do, please God, is not the same as allowing him to govern. It’s not protecting him from the nuts like Ashley Todd, only these have rifles. It’s not yet making good on America’s promise that here all are equal.

But it can be.

And moderate progressive Christians need to get off our duffs and do all in our power to make it happen.