For the Women Marching

On Jan. 21, 2017, I woke up at 5:30 without the aid of an alarm. I had been fighting with myself for days about whether or not to do it, but my conscience kept nagging — You have to go. I drove to the metro, and made my way into Washington, D.C.

Out of the station and into daylight, I headed for the rallying point amid a sea of people. Vendors hawked T-shirts, and volunteers from different organizations handed out stickers. I stopped to take a few pictures of the crowd and of signs, but the crowd was so big I couldn’t even get close to the rallying point. It was an introvert’s nightmare, but it was a dissident’s dream.

I marched in the Women's March because I am a person of faith. And this weekend, Women’s March organizers are holding a “Power to the Polls” kickoff rally in Las Vegas, N.V., with satellite anniversary marches and national voter registration-focused rallies being held around the country. While I won't be able to march on Saturday, I still hold these truths one year later — and offer them to others marching this weekend.

I marched in the Women's March because I serve the Creator. Climate change is real, and must be addressed. Appointing a climate change denier to lead the EPA is an affront to science and to God, who mandates we care for God’s creation.

I marched because I serve a God who created women in God’s image. Yet women are still objectified, rape culture still exists, and now, the leader of the United States is a man who brags about sexual assault. The multiple women who have come forward to accuse him of assault have been harassed and threatened into silence, as so many victims are. The normalization of sexual assault must stop, now.

I marched because I serve a great Rabbi. All children deserve equal access to quality education, and public schools must be supported. Appointing as Secretary of Education someone who has no experience working in the field of education, who doesn’t believe students with disabilities should have their federally mandated rights upheld, who thinks guns belong in schools, and who has worked toward the destruction of public schools by promoting voucher systems is a direct threat, not only to me as a public school educator, but to the children, and therefore future, of our country.

I marched because I serve a Master whose yoke is easy, whose burden is light. Labor rights are essential to the health and well-being of the country, both economically and spiritually. The decline of the middle class is a result of the decline of union membership and influence. Appointing as Secretary of Labor a CEO who opposes overtime pay and increasing the minimum wage is an attack on working people.

I marched because I serve the Prince of Peace. Yet the president has gone on record as wanting to “bomb the shit” out of our enemies. He is thin-skinned and rash and now is in charge of nuclear weapons.

I marched because I serve a Lord who was himself a refugee/immigrant in the land of Egypt. Immigrants make our nation great. I am the descendent of immigrants, and so are you. Albert Einstein, I.M. Pei, Madeline Albright, Joseph Pulitzer, Irving Berlin, Andrew Carnegie, Nikola Tesla, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and myriad others are immigrants who enriched our country. Xenophobia is not an attractive trait in democracy or among Christians — who should be blind to nationality, and rather see people as Jesus does.

I marched because I serve the Great Physician. Health care is a human right. Jesus spent his ministry not only addressing people’s spiritual problems, but also healing their physical ones. Matthew 25 is clear about how we should treat the poor and the sick. Repealing the ACA will result in death for some simply because they will be unable to get proper health care. I am not willing to be culpable in that. 

I marched because I serve the Lord of Life, and am pro-life. Defunding Planned Parenthood, eliminating the Affordable Care Act, and attacking education will lead to an increase, not a decrease, in abortion rates.

I marched because I serve the Light of the World. All nations and all peoples are loved by God, created in God's image, and redeemable through Christ. But the rhetoric and attitudes surrounding Trump’s campaign has emboldened racists and contributed to a rise in open white nationalism and racially motivated attacks. The appointment of a white supremacist as a White House advisor is indefensibly vile. Because of the current socio-political climate, my friends who are black, Latino, LGBTQ, and Muslim fear for their own personal safety and the safety of their families. No one should fear for their safety in what is supposedly the greatest country on earth.

I marched because of the great cloud of witnesses who came before us, setting an example of righteous resistance: Esther, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, John the Baptist; William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many others.

There is a time to keep silent and a time to speak. Now is the time to speak.

As the anniversary of the march approaches, and thousands around the country assemble to march again, it is encouraging to see that the momentum it created continues on in movements like #metoo and #timesup. But still there is too much silence, too much apathy, and too much resistance from the church.

To those who have yet to join in the fight for equality, I ask: Whom do you serve?