You Lied to the American People. A Take from a Reverend. Any Answers? Its More Than a Feeling.
- Quote of the Week: “Leadership requires action: daring to take steps that are necessary but unpopular, challenging the status quo in order to reach a brighter future.” – Benazir Bhutto
This take discusses leadership and justice. Not politics.
Benazir Bhutto, the former two-term prime minister of Pakistan, was the first woman leader of a Muslim nation in modern history. Her action as prime minister was not always popular as she stepped into a precarious position of leadership. Her legacy: As prime minister of Pakistan, she endured frequent house arrest and went into exile from 1984 to 1986. She returned to Pakistan after martial law was lifted and soon became a leader disposing of the military dictator.
Joe Biden, the outgoing U.S President, just lost the presidential election to Donald Trump. His four years of office has been overanalyzed on a daily basis. His legacy: Unlike the leadership provided by Benazir Bhutto, Biden will be remembered for going back on his word not to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. Joe Biden ran for president on a platform of dignity and justice, and told the world that he would stand by his son’s felony conviction and not pardon him.
Again, I am only pointing out differences in true leadership. If my daughter was convicted of the same crimes and sentencing as Hunter Biden, would Joseph Biden pardon her? He would not – so why does he get to pardon his son, a convicted felon, after telling the world he would not?
Two leaders with two different levels of dignity, leadership, and legacies.
- The Reverend Dr. Kirk Oldham has been a friend of mine since the dark ages. Kirk, now retired, was an experienced Campus Minister with a demonstrated history of working in the religious institutions industry. Kirk’s focus was community building, public speaking, pastoral care, fundraising, and nonprofit management. After earning his undergraduate degree from Berry College, Kirk went on to earn two Master’s degrees from Duke University’s Divinity School, and his Doctorate from the Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Kirk is this week’s guest writer. His take is based on his experience as a grandfather, father, husband, and minister. Maybe we should all take note of Kirk’s comments:
“Woke” and the Laziness of Hate.
I don’t know where you live, but in my state this past election cycle was brutal! I have never been more thankful for streaming services that shielded me from the constant barrage of hateful political ads fraught with hyperbole and snide innuendos. It seems as if every election cycle there is some word or phrase which is spat out pejoratively at opposing candidates. Several years back it was “snowflake”. This year “weird” and “woke” were the “Insults Du Jour”. I swore if I never heard the word woke again, I’d die a happy man! Perhaps what irritated me the most was not the political one upmanship to be gained by such buzzwords, but the attitude reflected using the words, particularly “woke”.
In recent years, the term “woke” has evolved into one of the most charged and polarizing words in our cultural lexicon. Originally used to describe an awakened consciousness to social injustices—particularly related to race, inequality, and systemic oppression—the term has increasingly become a shorthand for critique, often wielded by those who oppose efforts toward social change. Whether in politics, the media, or social discourse, “woke” has become a way to dismiss, mock, and shut down conversations about equity and justice.
I believe there is an uncomfortable truth behind the use (overuse?) of this term that should give us pause. The backlash against “woke” culture, and the vitriol that accompanies it, often reflects a deeper, more troubling tendency—a laziness in how we approach others. It’s easier to dismiss, deride, or hate than it is to engage with the complexity of human experience, to listen, and to change our hearts and minds in ways that might challenge our comfortable assumptions.
At its core, the impulse to label something or someone as “woke” in a derogatory way isn’t just about ideological difference. It’s a defense mechanism that protects us from the discomfort of change. It’s easier, after all, to condemn people who advocate for fairness, inclusion, and sensitivity to injustice than it is to do the difficult work of self-reflection and empathy. Hate, in its various forms, is the path of least resistance. It requires no vulnerability, no growth, no reckoning with the pain of others’ lived experiences. Hate simply reacts—it closes off dialogue, dismisses concerns, and keeps people at a distance. Rather than taking the time to listen, learn, or reflect, it’s far simpler to dismiss the problem by labeling it as overreaction, political correctness, or moral superiority. This knee-jerk dismissal avoids the hard but necessary work of dismantling harmful biases, confronting privilege, and growing as a more just and compassionate society.
If we are to move forward as a more compassionate society, which I believe is a noble and worthy cause, we must acknowledge that hate is always the easier choice—but it is also the more destructive one. It keeps us trapped in narrow, defensive viewpoints that limit our potential for growth and solidarity. To avoid this laziness, this path of least resistance will require a willingness to be uncomfortable—to challenge our assumptions, acknowledge the pain of others, and seek reconciliation where division and harm have taken root. It asks us to do the hard work of educating ourselves, to examine systems of power that perpetuate inequity. It challenges us to meet them head-on, even when it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient.
Instead of the laziness of hate reflected in backlash to “wokeness”, I would like to see us, as a society, make space for others’ experiences, to acknowledge their pain, and to work toward building a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. It’s not easy. It’s not always comfortable. But perhaps it is the only path forward that honors our shared humanity.
As we approach the holiday season, we’ll hear the hope expressed many times “peace on earth, good will toward all”. If that is simply “wokeness” then consider me awakened! This is Just MY take…. Reverend Dr. Kirk Oldham.
The What and Why for the December 8, 2024
- Did South Korea’s President completely go off the rails last week, or was his declaration of martial law warranted? The people of South Korea do not think so as the President is now facing impeachment.
- Is it time, once and for all, for the NCAA and its conferences to put a complete stop to their athletes behaving like children before, during, and after games? Okay, yes, they are children.
- Yesterday was the 83rd anniversary of when the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. This attack killed 2,403 service members, wounded 1,178 more, and sank or destroyed six U.S. ships. The attack precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II.
- Many Americans, for the right and wrong reasons, are not happy with the country’s inflation and escalating consumer prices. I do think it is important to benchmark, and when you do compare the U.S. with the Eurozone and U.K., U.S. labor productivity has grown by thirty percent since the 2008-09 financial crisis, more than 3 times the pace of the Eurozone and U.K. Americans can always complain, but when you look at our northern neighbor, Canada’s labor productivity has contracted for 14 of the last 16 quarters. Comparatively speaking…the U.S. is not so bad.
- I commented on the Tesla Cybertruck many posts ago. Tesla set up their production lines and headcount to deliver 250,000 Cybertrucks per year. Year-to-date, only 48,000 Cybertrucks have been delivered with six recalls since January. So much for forecasting.
- Understatement of the week: Sarah Silverman says she has become less political because ‘no one’ wants to hear from celebrities anymore.
- Twenty days to XMAS and 26 days to 2025. Where did 2024 go?
- I was raised in southwest Miami, Florida. If you have seen the docudrama Cocaine Cowboys III, or the movie American Made, you witnessed just a taste of the drug trafficking rampant in areas of southwest Miami. At the height of cocaine activity, the infamous Medellin cartel, led by Pablo Escobar, supplied 80% of the world’s cocaine market. Escobar designated Fabio Ochoa Vasquez to be his Miami area distributor, and by the mid-80’s Vasquez was included in Forbes’ list of billionaires. Vasquez was subsequently hunted down and arrested by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and sentenced to thirty years in prison. His was also implicated in the 1986 killing of DEA informant Barry Seal, who was the main character in American Made. For whatever reason, after twenty-five years served, Fabio Ochoa Vasquez was released from prison. Is anyone else wondering how a convicted murderer tied to the Medellin cartel was released five years early?
This forty-five minute National Geographic documentary provides a thorough explanation of the Medellin cartel from its beginnings in 1949. Informative and eye-opening to say the least.
- Pure Talent. I lean a bit too much to yesteryear, but I miss the music from the late 70’s and 80’s. Whether the genre relates to rock, grunge, funk, disco, or yacht rock, there is a wide void in today’s music. I do like some of today’s artists as they are very talented, but I do wonder if their music will resonate with us in the future, similar to a song from forty-eight years ago by the band Boston. This was one of many songs by the band, with ‘More Than a Feeling‘ climbing to number five on the Billboard charts. Boston, in its day, was Pure Talent.