Gods' Country- USA

June approaches and this pandemic continues to dictate our daily routines, conversations and behaviours. We grow tired of unanswered questions coupled with chaotic responses. The current political arena bears a close resemblance to a badly choreographed mud wrestling event. They don’t care anymore if we see all the lies. As November approaches, the upcoming American presidential election reads like the promise of a Resurrection or, the End of Days. Salvation being sold by the loudest choir singing gospels of stimulus checks, imaginary jobs and a re-opened economy.

 In July 1956 President Eisenhower ditched the motto “E pluribus Unium” in favour of a more spiritual “In God We Trust”. He threw down the gauntlet between faith and the law ensuring that marketing God became a primary tool in American politics. Church and State crossed the line previously drawn between them. God may have stepped in by political decree, but where you live dictates if His mantel is blue or, red. His House is divided down party lines. In the next 6 months, the faith of America will be tested both as a single population and as a united country. Who will lead us by temptation?

On Friday the White House trumpeted an order that churches and houses of worship be immediately opened as “essential”. The chorus of Hallelujah fades as we are again forced to define what “essential” actually means. Former Senior Justice Department Attorney General Zachary Terwillinger noted that “If we’re in a situation where we’ve got Wal-Mart open with social distancing, why not church? This is essential for some people…. This is as essential as a liquor store, as essential as a tattoo parlor.” He does have a point. If I can tattoo God on my butt, I should be able to confess to it in Church right after.

The question is, who gets to decide whether God hears us at home or at church? Who is in charge of our sins? As neighbours, grandparents and children die during this pandemic, Gods' Plan is as equally confusing as our governments’.

State vs Federal government outrage surged with renewed religious fervour across the political divide after this presidential announcement. The wall between them grows higher by the day. Press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, valiantly sought to explain how a president could actually implement this order. Eventually she retreated behind her God and lashed out at White House reporters for their lack of faith. In the ensuing melee, our nations legal bible, aka “The Constitution”, was briefly forgotten and despite a lack of lightning bolts, it was not clear whether God agreed with her. 

Amidst these new political, pre-election jinks, like Jesus cleansing the Temple, the voice of law stepped in and released some doves disguised as the Fourteenth Amendment.

 “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” In very simple terms, this tells the Federal government that if it does not have specific powers already under the Constitution, it can’t go willy-nilly and grab them from either the States or especially, the people. We may trust in God, but the Constitution is a useful backup when politicians forget we hired them, not the other way around. Politicians may need to re-think "at will employment" laws and see how getting fired or laid-off actually feels.

America is a big country with big ideas. The distance between any two points in the contiguous 48 states is about 2,901 miles. Miles and hours that stretch to differing local cultures, language styles, values and, priorities. Colin Woodard writes in "American Nations," that there are as many as 11 distinct cultures in North America. Washington DC may be the Capitol, but it’s pulse beats to a drummer far away from the heart of rural America.

Our forefathers had faith in God in addition to a solid experience on the repercussions of distant politicians. When they tossed King George out with his tea, they gave us a future of coffee drinkers and also firm ground rules to curtail corruption and protect local communities from the interference of possible distant and tyrannical leaders.  

The pandemic has forced this country to re-examine its fundamental beliefs and processes. Both as individual States and, as a nation. Does this idea of a United States work for us? We have faced this question before. In April of 1861 at Fort Sumpter civil war was declared. The nation went to war over the economy and the rights of individual states. More than 625,000 lives were lost in the American Civil War. Almost as many American soldiers as died in all the other wars in which this country has since fought combined. 

In addition to the loss of lives, four years of civil war drained the economy. The U.S. government was forced to spend about $1 million every week in the early 1850s. In the first year of the Civil War, the Federal government was spending $1.5 million every day, and the amount continued to grow. Fully two-thirds of the federal government revenue came from bond sales, leaving the cost of that war to be paid off in a distant future. 

To date, we have lost over 100,000 Americans to Covid-19. The Churches are not full, but the graveyards are. Red and Blue face off with a dogged stubbornness that leaves little room for viable solutions. Angered by a lack of cohesive government, protesters march on state capitols and the grumbled words of "civil war" grow louder. Flags are flying. Is this the end of our united nation and democratic experiment? Are we “Americans” or merely “Californians”, “Texans” and “Virginians”? 

Does God, the State or the Federal Government dictate how we pray, work or die? In who should we, The People, Trust? Both God and our government are silent as we pray for answers.

Luke 1:28: “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!”