Next year, I will be celebrating my thirtieth anniversary living in Southwest Michigan. Other than four years in the United States Navy and a couple years in northern Virginia where I met my spouse, I have been a Michigander all my life.
Before I moved to Berrien County, I lived in Grand
Rapids. At the time, I lived in Gerald
Ford’s old congressional district. My
congressman at the time, who had been my state representative in the early
1980s, was Paul Henry. Mr. Henry was a
moderate Republican in the vein of President Ford. Mr. Henry’s father was a respected theologian. Henry previously had been a professor at
Calvin College. He was, as far as I know,
universally respected by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Almost everyone who spoke about Congressman
Henry used words like “integrity”, “sincerity”, and “honesty” when referring to
him. I dare say that too few members of
Congress on either side of the aisle now-a-days have garnered the same degree
of respect.
As I recall, Congressman Henry died a too young man in late July
1993. His memorial service was in August
that year, the month I moved to Berrien County.
At that service at a church in downtown Grand Rapids, a young
congressman and colleague of Paul’s was among those who offered up
eulogies. During his speech from the
pulpit, the young congressman quoted from 2 Timothy 4:7-8 when he referred to Mr.
Henry and read: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I
have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.”
The young congressman who delivered that eulogy was a fellow
named Fred Upton.
Mr. Upton has been a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus
during his tenure in Congress. Recently,
I read an article in an eastern Michigan periodical in which Mr. Upton
mentioned that he, his family, and his staff have received death threats because
of a few votes that he has taken in the House in the last couple years. How sad that any member of Congress, yet
alone a respected member who tries to bridge a gap with members on the other
side of the aisle, would be subject to such sicko nonsense.
Look, I cannot think of a single Congressman or woman who I
agree with 100 percent of the time. We
need spirited, thoughtful, and respectful debate amongst Republicans, Democrats,
and Independents. We learn from each
other in that way. We can better solve
problems when we listen rather than shout at each other.
In that regard and spirit, I wish to offer to a retiring Congressman
Upton the following: “You have fought the good fight, You have finished the
race, and have kept the faith”. Thank
you for your service. We look forward to
your sage advice in the years ahead (perhaps especially those of us who may
offer different opinions on matters at hand.)
The recent article that I read about Congressman Upton also
got me thinking about another fellow that I have met. A few years before the pandemic, I served on the
national executive committee of a non-profit board related to my denomination
with another fellow who had similar stories about having received death threats.
Bishop Gene Robinson was briefly the chaplain for this executive
committee. I vividly recall Bishop Robinson
speaking near Indianapolis about having had security guards because of such threats. I only had attended a few executive committee
meetings with Bishop Robinson, but in that brief time I came to appreciate his
spirituality, integrity, and wisdom. For
those who do not know, Bishop Robinson was the first openly gay bishop within
the Episcopal Church.
There are too many other stories in the last decade or so in
which religious leaders, politicians, and others have received similar threats
for having different views than those in our society who are too often stuck in
their own extremist ideological or religious corners. Too often they are listening to boisterous
voices whose livelihood relies on stirring their divisive and vitriolic pot.
Let us all consider the following as a New Year’s resolution. It was first spoken in Indianapolis in 1968 shortly
after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.:
“Let us dedicate
ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of
man and make gentle the life of this world.” – Robert F. Kennedy
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