Prescient parrots and silent lambs

THE EDITOR, Madam:

During Barack Obama’s presidency, local Christian groups regularly submitted letters and commentaries to the press, vigorously condemning his policies as contrary to Christian family values. Among the more vocal were the Lawyers Christian Fellowship and the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society.

Their critiques often echoed the rhetoric of the American culture wars, featuring phrases like “the need to guard against judicial activism”, “speaking truth to power”, and citations from right-wing think tanks like the Heritage Foundation. Obama’s stance on abortion and the Defence of Marriage Act were frequent targets, though not their sole concern.

At times, it was unclear whether these groups were prescient, prophetic – or simply parroting imported talking points.

Since Obama’s departure, however, the world has witnessed in the United States unprecedented levels of judicial overreach, open hostility towards the judiciary and rule of law, flagrant racism in public policy, and an administration steeped in spite and vindictiveness. Yet, the once-vocal lambs have fallen silent.

Perhaps they are heeding the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3:7 – that there is “a time to keep silence.” Or, perhaps this is a case of selective moral outrage.

On Sunday, May 11, The New York Times reported inter alia:

“ A US-funded charter plane carrying dozens of white South Africans who claim to have been victims of discrimination in their home country left Johannesburg on Sunday, heading for the United States, where the Trump administration is welcoming them as refugees.

Mr Trump has halted virtually all refugee admissions for people fleeing famine and war from places like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. But he has created an expedited path into the country for Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that created and led the brutal apartheid regime in South Africa.

The refugee process often takes years. But only three months have passed from the time Mr Trump signed an executive order establishing refugee status for Afrikaners to the first cohort making its way to America.”

This is but the flipside of the coin with the vulgar attempts to whitewash the history of black people in the United States. Its government, of course, has the right to determine its own immigration policy. However, given the moral indignation once so freely expressed by these Christian advocates, one might expect at least a whisper of concern.

Does one dare to hope?

C. W. STEER