The Coronacation Diaries, Episode 88

Sometimes You Gotta Burn it Down

You know what doesn't dismantle a corrupt system? Staying silent. Silence is complicity.

You know what also doesn't dismantle a corrupt system? Peaceful protests. Peaceful protests can make a statement; they can heighten awareness; they can highlight a movement. But peaceful protests aren't enough. They can only go so far.

During a peaceful protest in 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. announced that he had a dream. In 1968, he was murdered. 50 years later, we live in a country where racial profiling literally judges us by the color of our skin, not by the content of our character. King's words were thoughtful and profound. We've all listened to them. We've all been amazed by their eloquence and their power. But have we really listened? Have we actually changed our ways? Are we truly different, as a country, than we were in 1963? Sometimes words aren't enough. They can only go so far.

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

2000 years ago, Jesus tore up the temple when the money changers had turned it into a shopping mall. He flipped tables and chairs; he poured the money out on the ground. He carried a freakin' whip up in there. He didn't stand silently, he didn't protest peacefully, and he definitely didn't take a knee. Had he been respectful and nice, sung "Kumbaya," or just prayed for them, would anything have changed? Would that story even have made it into John 2 and Mark 11? Thoughts and prayers aren't enough. They don't go very far at all.

If you want to dismantle a corrupt system, you can't do it on your knees. You can't do it silently. You can't even do it with fancy words. You have to forcefully get around the barriers. You have to throw bricks. You have to flip the tables and chairs. You have to destroy the foundation from inside. You have to burn it down.

It's not enough to hope for reform. We have to demand to defund.

We have been silent for far too long.