Rage.
“If the other guy [Biden] wins (God forbids)… [he] will help the Muslism Brotherhood take over Egypt… re-establish the Islamic Khalifa.”
“Antifa Islamic Left Terrorist Alliance… ”
“White Supremacist in the White House…”
“[Trump is] a fake Christian…”
And it goes on and on. A maddening symphony of rage interrupted briefly by birthday wishes and congratulations on life achievements. Oh, there are also plenty of childish memes sprinkled by more professional propaganda. All posted in the pursuit of what? freedom? influence? winning? attention? all of the above? It doesn’t really matter. It all sucks and divides.
Why are we like that?
Proverbs 26:17
“He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears.”
It amazes me that a people whose land was stolen from them, whose women are kidnapped, whose children are discriminated against, who can’t even build a church to worship in, who for the last 1500 years never have gotten even a whiff of political power — when given some room to breathe are leaving all that to post a picture with Jesus and Trump! What is actually wrong with you?
You probably never heard of Mena Apacyrus. Why would you? He was an inconvenient figure from the 9th century. A rebel in an obscure chapter from an obscure history. Like us, he found himself in the middle of a civil war he had no business being in. Between a Caliph with a black standard and one with a green standard. Unlike you, however — he looked out for his own people, not turning into a small cog in a big rage machine optimized to divide and radicalize.
Together.
We need to separate moral issues from politics. Caging children and separating them from their parents is evil. Police brutality against African-Americans is a horrible injustice. Infanticide is deplorable. Go ahead, call it the way you see it. Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, and plead for the widow. That’s what we are supposed to do as Christians. Your latest meme showing Trump in diapers is not that, though.
Just use your common sense. Please. American politics is extremely divisive and polarizing and it’s dividing us for no reason. It’s like choosing between the Caliph with the green flag or the one with black flag. Two hundred years from now, whether our kids will still be singing “Agios” and “Kyrie Eleison” or not depends a lot more on if we can stick and work together or get pulled apart by divisive politics and factionalism.
Action.
Be careful when you post things — Do not win arguments. Win people!
Let’s call evil, evil! It doesn’t have to be political or complicated.
Our political goals as Copts in the diaspora should be primarily Coptic issues that we agree on. Freedom of worship, justice, liberty, and the right to the pursuit of happiness — in Egypt and the entire world.
Be active and engaged. Vote whenever you can. Don’t get sucked in the rage machine of American politics.
Jonathan Adly is the Treasurer of Coptic Voice’s Board of Directors. He is also the organization’s Podcast Director and is the founder of the podcast “History of the Copts.” As Podcast Director, he writes, manages, and produces content. Jonathan is a Clinical Pharmacist by trade, having finished his post-doctorate residency training in 2014 in Delaware. He is currently pursuing his MBA with a concentration in marketing. His post was originally featured on Medium.com.
