Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 09/27/23

From the You Can’t Make It Up File: This is the bizarre backdrop for tonight’s second GOP presidential candidate debate simulcasting tonight on Fox Business and Fox News Channel.

Meanwhile, a Democrat-leaning African-American minister offers his take on the issues. Movement Forward CEO Rev. Markel Hutchins joins me once again to discuss how he sees the state of the American union as the 2024 campaign for the White House gets underway, why (despite the polls) he simply won’t support the GOP candidate, the country’s progress toward the Promised Land famously foretold by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.  and his organization’s Fourth Annual National Faith & Blue Weekend set to begin Friday, October 6th.

JWK: With the second GOP debate coming up (tonight), what issues would you like to see the candidates grapple with?

Rev. Markel Hutchins: I think it’s important that they contemplate the economy, contemplate civility, the rule of law (and) the existence of the pending criminal charges against the former president who is the presidential front-runner…The Republican Party has been proud historically of its commitment law and order. I think it’s going to be really important for the American people to hear where the candidates stand with regard to all of the pending criminal charges against the front-runner in their party…And, obviously, the rise in crime and violence that has happened over the last several years. I think those are some of the key and critical issues that the people in this country is interested in hearing (about) from the candidates.

JWK: Do you have any thoughts that you’d like to express on those issue – particularly the prosecution of the former president and the rise in crime?

MH: Obviously, everyone is presumed – and should be presumed – innocent until proven guilty but the varied and numerous allegations of criminal activity from the former president really are a distraction from the issues that the American people care most about. I don’t think that there would be any way that the former president would be able to effectively govern and lead the world’s strongest nation under all of those criminal accusations – but I think there are some opportunities that some of the Republican candidates have to really elevate the conversation away from the distractions and the divisiveness and really focus on the things that the Republican Party has been known to advocate. That is, a sense of fiscal responsibility, support for law enforcement and the rule of law and making sure that conservative values are at the center of the discussion. The Republican Party has gotten away from those things.

I don’t identify as Republican but I certainly recognize the need for balance in our political discourse in Washington and in cities and states across this country. Unfortunately, over the last several years, because of the distraction that Donald Trump has delivered to the Republican Party, their party has gotten away from some of those central things. For the sake of all Americans, it’s time for the Republican Party to get back to itself and get back to advocating the positions that they should care about and that they historically have cared about.

With regard to the economy, we’re seeing rising interest rates. We’re seeing inflation. I think this president, under the circumstances that we’ve been given, has done a respectable job but the challenge is the White House and the Congress should be doing more to put more money in the pockets of the American people to ensure that working people are able to earn a livable wage and support, sustain and grow their family and their future. I think those are the kinds of things that people want politicians in Washington to be concerned about now.

Then, obviously, with regard to crime and violence, we’ve seen increases in violent crimes that are terrifying to a lot of communities and that is not unrelated to the challenges that face law enforcement in this country. If you look at everything from the death of George Floyd to the attack  and assault on the police officers in Washington on January 6th, we’ve got to put respect for law enforcement and support for our nation’s men and women that serve and protect our communities back at the forefront of our discourse in this country.

JWK: How do you feel about the border situation?

MH: I think, whether our politics are red or blue, we have to consider what is happening at the border as a crisis. There are people who yearn to be free, yearn to be a part of our country and we should welcome them with open arms when they (enter) legally. We’ve got to get a handle on what is happening at the border. We have to offer a pathway to citizenship to people that are already in this country and we should establish a process for people to come here and to be integrated into our society and become Americans – but it’s got to happen within the confines of the laws that that we established in this country.

What is happening at the border is not fair to the American people and it is not fair to the people that are seeking to come here. We’ve got to protect life and we have to protect our borders – but we have to do so with a sense of humanity. One of the differences I think in what we’re seeing now and what we saw in the previous administration is in this delicate balance. Maybe we’re not doing the best job (but) we’ve never done a wonderful job of balancing the need for border security with the need to be an America that welcomes people here and that allows for folks to come to this country legally – but to allow folks to come to this country.

JWK: Watching the campaign so far, have any of the candidates impressed you?

MH: You know, here’s the truth. I will be supporting Joe Biden for reelection if he’s the Democratic (Party) presidential nominee. I say that not because of partisanship but because I’m ultra and uber-concerned that the Republican Party has strayed away from common decency in their discourse and in their governing.

We see gridlock even on the Republican side where the far right seemingly is hellbent on hijacking not just the Republican Party but the legislative process and the governing process in Washington overall. There’s just this negativity, there’s just this visceral animus and viciousness that seems to be so part and parcel to the Republican Party at this moment.

So, I don’t see any Republican candidates that are willing to take on the demagoguery, to take on the demonization forthrightly within their own ranks. If I had to choose, I think people like Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott and others who are seeking to elevate the discussion beyond just Trumpism offer some hope but when you look at Trump and Ron DeSantis and some of the others who are just seeking to go as low as they can and sink the discourse away from substantive issues and toward a cultural war, I’m really concerned about that.

Having said all that, I think it’s a sad state of affairs that we will likely have two people who are in their late seventies (and beyond) as our only choices for President of the United States of America. That, I think, speaks to everything that is wrong with the body politic in Washington.

JWK: Obviously, you’re going to be supporting the Democratic Party candidate – but I gather President Biden is not your top choice. What would you like to see happen on their side?

MH: You know, I have an enormous respect for President Biden and his history and legacy. He has made an incredible contribution to our nation over the last five decades really – but I think we’re at a place in time where if I had my druthers – and I won’t because Biden will likely be the Democratic nominee – we’d be looking at some fresh faces and new voices that have the foreign policy experience, that have the governing experience, that know Washington (and) that know America well. I’d rather not get into naming specific names (but) if it’s Biden or Trump I’m going with Biden 100 times a day, no question about it, but it would not be my preference to have our choices limited to two men who are in their seventies and early eighties. That’s not a best-case scenario for me.

JWK: What do you think about Kamala Harris?

MH: I like Vice President Harris but she won’t be at the top of the ticket. I think that there are some challenges that she has. I think the polling suggests that she’s not as popular with the American people as she may be with me. I think that presents a problem. Unfortunately, we have not seen a true kind of galvanizing figure since Barack Obama. Both Trump and President Biden unfortunately have been polarizing for very different reasons. We need an infusion, not just in the White House but also in the Congress of the United States of America. We need an infusion of new thoughts, new ideas (and) new dispositions towards the challenges that face our nation and the globe.

JWK: You know, it’s interesting. While I was on hold waiting for you, instead of music you have Martin Luther King’s speech about reaching the mountaintop and seeing the Promised Land playing. How close do you think we are – all these year’s later – to reaching the Promised Land?

MH: In so many ways we have made so much progress towards what Dr. King referred to as “the beloved community.”…Actually, it was his final public speech in Memphis where he said “I have been to the mountaintop. I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land.” In so many ways African-Americans, and the whole of America, have made so much progress toward that Promised Land – but, in so many ways, we’re still yet so far away. Jim Crow has died but his son James Crow Jr. has taken up where his father left off in so many instances.

We’ve made so much progress but we have such a distance to go when we look at the imbalances in our criminal justice system, when we look at the healthcare disparities, when we look at the food desserts that exist in a lot of communities of color and other disadvantaged communities, when we see an ever-increasing assault on the rights of some Americans who may believe, love or worship differently than you or I. We’ve made a lot of progress in this country but we still have a long way to go to get to that Promised Land.

We look at the Prison Industrial Complex, for example. There are too many people who are incarcerated in this country for nonviolent offenses that have more to do with their mental health than their criminal choices, if you will. We need to do more to level the playing field, to address the continuing vestiges of 400 years of legalized oppression, slavery, Jim Crow and so many things. We need to continue to expand opportunities for minorities, women, the poor (and others) in this country – but I’m optimistic. We’ve made a lot of progress since 1968 when Dr. King was killed but we still have a long way to go.

JWK: Finally, bringing this full circle to our first conversation, your organization has the Fourth Annual National Faith & Blue Weekend in early October. Care to talk about that as we wrap up?

MH: Perhaps more than anything the relationship between law enforcement and communities has been utilized and misused to divide Americans politically, even racially and ideologically.

As you probably know, John, I have been mentored by many of the icons that worked with Dr. King, including his wife Coretta Scott King. I’ve been in the forefront of social justice and civil rights the entirety of my adult life – but marching and protesting alone will not deliver more just and equitable communities.

The number-one civil rights issue in America today is crime and violence. More young African-American men – and more young African-Americans period – are losing their lives to violent crime in our local communities. So, as we balance the need to address police misbehavior – like the deaths of George Floyd and Brionna Taylor and other (incidents) – with the vast numbers of African-Americans who are not dying at the hands of police violence but dying at the hands of community violence, I decided that it was time for this country to stop simply cursing the darkness and start lighting the candle.

So, we created National Faith & Blue Weekend three-and-a-half years ago. It is now the largest police community outreach project in American history. There will be somewhere around 4000 different community engagements across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The whole premise behind Faith & Blue is – despite whatever differences we might have, despite whatever biases we might have –  if we can sit together, reason together and get to know one another on a human level then there’s no limit to the good that we can achieve and no limit to the barriers that we can break.

Faith & Blue Weekend is specifically designed to draw law enforcement and communities closer together – not just to celebrate police but to celebrate the fact that we have to find a pathway forward that focuses on the things that we have in common and not just continue to focus on the things that divide us. We can continue to march, protest and shout at one another but we’ve seen that that has led to an increase in crime. It has lead to police officers leaving the profession. It has led to communities being more volatile, less safe, less inclusive and less peaceful. We’ve got to try a different path. That’s what Faith & Blue Weekend gives community organizations – at the community local neighborhood level – the opportunity to do.

Faith & Blue ’23 is October 6th through the 9th. We hope that every faith-based organization and every law enforcement agency will find a way to work together to benefit the community at large.

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.