By David W. Marshall
Guest Columnist
There is an African proverb that says, “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
It is the feeling of invisibility being felt by our youth. It is where they feel disregarded or overlooked by society.
During the 2015 riot in Baltimore, the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings was walking the streets in West Baltimore to de-escalate the civil unrest that took place following the arrest and subsequent death of Freddie Gray in police custody.
The congressman was confronted and asked by a teenager why political and faith leaders were there now, but not before the protest. As a resident of Maryland, I saw first-hand how Cummings worked in the trenches on behalf of communities within his district.
The confrontation with Cummings was out of raw frustration. In what the teenager saw as political inconsistency would have been correct with many other lawmakers, but he was unknowingly off target with Cummings.
The fact that Cummings was willing to go into the midst of looting and arson with a bullhorn calling for peace says a lot about him as a community leader and as a man of character. While leaders like Cummings maintain genuine community involvement, the youth’s verbal reaction exposes a broader pattern of reactive intervention over proactive engagement.
The teenager’s mistrust of politicians and faith leaders is understandable. As a result, there needs to be more accountable public servants like Cummings and less hypocritical servants like Ohio U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno.
Sen. Moreno said that anyone who does not believe that Jesus died for their salvation is unfit to serve in the Senate and “should be nowhere near Washington.” Moreno spoke at a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he was joined by President Donald Trump and Sen. Jon Husted — all Republicans.
During his remarks, Moreno turned his focus to the race in Michigan, where Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is in a tight Senate race with former Rep. Mike Rogers. If El-Sayed wins, he would be the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate.
“This character, Abdul El-Sayed, can be nowhere near Washington, D.C.,” Moreno said. He continued by saying non-Christians have no business in the Senate.
Asserting that belief in Jesus is a prerequisite for public office directly excludes not only Muslims, but Jews, Hindus and Buddhist citizens while subverting religious diversity. This type of religious litmus test mirrors the historic Protestant resistance against Catholic leadership such as the 1928 Al Smith campaign and 1960 John F. Kennedy election.
What makes Sen. Bernie Moreno dangerous is the fact that while his hate-filled words contradict both the U.S. Constitution and the Bible, those words will be embraced by many as truth.
Moreno is dangerous because his words lead to institutional erosion. When faith is weaponized in this manner without compassion or respect, younger generations disengage from both civic institutions and religious communities.
Those who support this belief may speak about upholding the U.S. Constitution, but they don’t understand or simply ignore its meaning and purpose. Either they don’t understand or they ignore Article VI of the Constitution where it clearly says “but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
Are we to believe that Moreno never actually read the Constitution, which he is sworn to uphold? Or are we to believe he read it, but chose to dismiss any parts that poses a challenge to his personal bias and prejudices?
We need more officials like Elijah Cummings. He was a man of faith whose words and actions were a reflection of him being a “peacemaker” in his community. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
When it comes to those lawmakers who call themselves followers of Christ such as Sen. Moreno, Sen. Tim Scott and House Speaker Mike Johnson, God will hold them accountable.
David W. Marshall is the founder of the faith-based organization TRB: The Reconciled Body and author of the book “God Bless Our Divided America.” His column is provided by the Trice Edney News Wire.
