Will Racist Voters Repent in Time?

Don’t say you weren’t warned: God will punish all of you who vote against Barack Obama because of the color of his skin.

It’s been 2,000 years since the Christian era began, and God has just spoken, “Time’s up, Christians! I now proclaim racism a very grave sin!” 

It won’t help that you have hidden your racism from others—and even from yourself. At the Pearly Gates, St. Peter will sniff out the rot on every racist’s soul. “You’ve been hidin’ it from yourself,” he’ll be preachin’, “but up here the devil’s to pay for self-deception.” 

If you're lucky, St. Peter will brand your cheek with an upside-down cross and give you probation in a war zone in the suburbs of Hell. There you’ll have 90 days to get to love everyone in sight (or else!). 

Maybe you do honestly view John McCain as the stronger candidate for president. If so, vote for McCain—as long as you have no fear of committing the sin of racism. Beware, though, that racism can lurk behind a person’s determination to believe falsehoods about Obama. 

Especially prone to this self-deception are those who believe that Obama is a Muslim or at least doubt that he’s a true Christian. They’re likely hiding racism behind the lesser crime of phony ignorance. Others believe that he is, somehow, not American enough, enabling them to hide their racism behind their tribal fear of strangers and primal aversion to anything unconventional. “Gotcha,” St. Peter will say, pointing to that other gate. 

Racism backfires because it blinds a person to what is good and noble in himself. This indifference to our own evolvement can also bring up in us some guilt and shame. To avoid those feelings, we also blind ourselves to the light in others. At our worst, we adamantly deny this recognition to a person of a different race. 

Most of us can recognize and applaud excellence when we see it on display in sports, the arts, and business. It’s harder for us to acknowledge excellence when it’s contained in the essence of a person. When we’re blocking a vision of excellence or greatness in ourselves, we can easily feel resentment toward someone else who is manifesting these qualities.  

That’s why many of us “resonate” with the lesser candidate when choosing our political leaders. Some of us don’t want a better leader who will challenge us to bring out the best in ourselves. Negative political ads have been effective in the past because many among us have been so ready to believe the worst about others to cover up how we are settling for less in ourselves. 

Our nation has a long, painful history with racism. Yet, we’ve also come a long way and made a lot of progress. Still, that stubborn racist in us can sulk in the background, unhappy that a man of color might become a great president. That devil in us devises “valid” reasons for voting against Obama, while squelching what’s noble in us. St. Peter has a good laugh every time he hears that the devil made us do it. 

By the way, it’s not necessarily racism when people of color vote against McCain because of the color of his skin. History and the Heavens have made allowances for their vote on this Election Day.