Edit: Thanks to a friend for pointing out it's Bently, not Brantly, as previously written.
This starts the conversation.
To celebrate MLK, Jr. Day, Tina and I decided we would make the drive from Montgomery to Selma, to recreate the march, (albeit in reverse, but we live on this side of Montgomery. Anyway....) So we arrive in Montgomery, and, unbeknownst to us, it also happened to be the inauguration day of Alabama's new governor. So, we watched the parade (lots of high school and college bands. Fun!) and then headed to the visitor center to get a map. We walked around the River where they've done some new redevelopment, including rehabbing some old warehouses, and ate at Dreamland BBQ (even though they're from Tuscaloosa ;-). It was good.
We ended up at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church and were able to find a seat during the church's MLK Birthday Celebration. The event had several different preachers, a choir, band, etc. It was a nondenominational service, essentially, to celebrate King's life and his message of love, non-violence, and tolerance.
The new governor was on the list to speak, and due to the nature of his busy day, preachers came and went, vamping for his arrival. And arrive he finally did, taking the podium and saying that he would be a governor to all. And that was great, until he made a call to the alter, and said that only Christians were his real brothers and sisters. Those that weren't, well, he couldn't help you until you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior.
And that was when I knew I wasn't Gov. Brantley's brother, nor was my wife his sister. Indeed, we feel persona non grata in the Brantley house. And that's fine, ultimately, because the love and tolerance Dr. King taught me makes me love, accept, and tolerate Gov. Brantley and his non-tolerant, non-accepting ways.
Such irony. And on Dr. King's day to boot. However, no surprise coming from the post of the governor of Alabama, whose former occupants included George "Segration Today, Segregation Tomorrow, Segregation Forever" Wallace. Governor Brantley has a legacy to uphold.
I've heard many people say this nation was founded as a Christian Nation, that our forefathers envisioned us to be Christian forever. Well, while it is true our forefathers were Christian, they were first and foremost Deists, believers in God who created the world, set it in motion, and allowed the natural laws He built into it to govern. A primary natural law is freedom, and the freedom to make the choice for how to worship. Isn't that why we came to the colonies in the first place, to escape religious intolerance? Then why is Governor Brantley driving me away from the State of Alabama because I do not believe in his particular form of god?
If Alabama does not want me, I'm sure I will be ok.
