By Kim Porter

Dear Neighbor,

Many years ago I entered college with little or no specific thought as to what I should/will/want to do with my life. I knew it would be something that dealt with people, human beings; not objects, merchandise or making big bucks. I decided to be a Christian minister.

It is in this setting that the seeds for nationalism began to upset me. It’s not that nationalism started then, it just poked its head up for me to have to address. I had graduated from college, gone to graduate school and was working full time as a pastor, when I walked into my first full-time church sanctuary only to see the American flag behind the altar. Everything I had learned told me that nationalism was like quicksand. Step into it and it will consume you. It can overwhelm you with patriotism, superiority, being first, always best, never wrong, strongest, even blessed.

I remember how many letters, calls and meetings I had with parishioners trying to convince me that the Christian flag and the American flag stand as “one, not to be separated.” Everything I learned in college and graduate school told me differently. Yet many seminarians stood before their congregations praising the spirituality of our country as they participated in colonizing, raping and destroying other countries. How could we do this? What makes our constitution divine? I may have been wrong, but I didn’t feel that God/Allah/Adoni/Elohim/El Shaddai chose our country to be the chosen ones.

Have we chosen ourselves to be that? Have we raised our flag above all flags and pushed our way as the only place to live? Have we connected our religion to the government in order to feel blessed?

I am probably no longer considered religious, much less Christian, by most people, but I do feel strongly about character/ethics/principle/integrity. I feel that the growing Christian nationalism has forgotten about others, ignored injustices, deplored immigrants, devalued our neighbors and has placed the constitution in its Bible.

I have participated in this venture. I have allowed this to happen by staying quiet, not voicing my opinion. I closed my eyes when vision was needed. I have painfully allowed divisions and obstacles to dampen my passion. I let the voices of Raushenbush, Neibuhr, Bonhoeffer, King, Mandela, Chavez fade away. Sadly enough, I have participated in letting the people and the constitution be exhorted as though they were chosen by God. I stepped into the Christian nationalism quicksand.

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.