Your Actions Betray Your Words

Your Actions Betray Your Words

  

Last Saturday a rag tag group of left and further left miscreants assembled on the Mall to counter the rally held by Glen Beck a few weeks earlier.  Even the Communist Party USA was proudly in attendance.  While the “One Nation” rally was totally political in nature, the Glen Beck rally was not.  Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally celebrated the greatness of America and gave awards to those who had served their fellow man (and woman) through Faith, Hope and Charity.

The Faith award went to the Rev. C.L. Jackson, who has lead Houston's Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church for 40 years.  Reverend Jackson was present on the National Mall 48 years earlier when Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous “I have a dream” speech. 

Albert Pujols, the super star first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, received the Hope award from Beck for his many charitable endeavors in the St. Louis area.

Businessman John Huntsman, a cancer survivor and philanthropist who has given away much of his fortune to finance cancer research, was the recipient of the Charity award.

Hundreds of thousands gathered for the giant Restoring Honor rally that was positive in every respect.  While former Governor Sarah Palin spoke, it was as the mother of one who was serving in the military.  There were no political comments.

I attended the rally and it was indeed a good natured group.  One fellow from Tennessee said that he came home from work on Friday night and asked his wife, “Do you still want to go to that rally in DC?”  When she said yes, they immediately packed up the car and drove all night to make the rally.  Another couple I met flew in from Dallas the previous evening and arrived on the Mall at 3:30 in the morning to get a good view.  There were hundreds of thousands of Americans from every state and from every walk of life.  All races and nationalities were well represented.

I’ve been to a number of events on the Mall, and with the exception of 4th of July events, it was the biggest gathering on the Mall that I have ever personally witnessed.

And when the rally was over, everyone picked up, packed up and returned to their homes leaving our National Mall no worse for the wear. 

What a contrast the event held last Saturday was.  While everyone paid their own way to the Restoring Honor rally, big unions picked up most of the tab for the attendees at the One Nation rally.  They not only paid for the busses, but even paid out of work union employees $60 apiece to attend.

By all accounts, the number of people who attended the One Nation rally amounted to just a fraction of those who attended the Restoring Honor rally.  And while all was positive and good natured at the Beck rally, that was not the case at the One Nation rally.  At the Restoring Honor rally Americans of all races and economic levels were celebrated as being a blessing to our land.  Indeed, the speech by Dr. Alveda King was in many ways the highlight of the event as she inspired those in attendance with her humility and courage.  The niece of slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, and the daughter of Rev. A.D. William King, Sr., who was murdered for his support of civil rights, Alveda King spoke of God’s forgiveness through His son, Jesus.

There was no talk of harmony and unity among Americans at the One Nation rally.  And there was no talk of reconciliation and forgiveness as there was at the Beck rally.

Sadly, the One Nation rally was about getting even and about condemning everyone who did not agree with them.  There was no sweetness and light.  Anger was the best word to describe those who gathered at the National Mall for the One Nation rally. 

There was also great irony.  The keynote address for the rally was given by Van Jones, a self proclaimed Communist and the former Environmental Jobs Czar appointed by President Obama.  This is the same Van Jones that believes the U.S. Government flew planes into the Pentagon and the twin towers in New York City.  Jones predictably lamented the state of the environment and cited green jobs as the only hope for the future.

Mark Twain once said, “Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.”  Twain must have been thinking of the comments made by folks like Jones and others at the One Nation rally.  They wanted reform now.  Socialism, not capitalism, because you and I need to reform.  They know better how to run our lives than you and I do.

But their actions betrayed their words.  They expressed great, great concern for the environment, but the mountains of trash they left behind at the Lincoln Memorial and at the World War II Memorial belie their true concerns.  It was the biggest trashing of the National Mall since the grand inaugural bash of Barack Obama.  There were piles of signs, placards, and propaganda everywhere.

While the giant Tea Party rally folks and the Beck rally folks left the Mall the way they found it and picked up after themselves, the angry lefties at the One Nation rally exposed their true colors regarding their concern for others and for the planet by their actions.  They discarded their trash for others to pick up.

What is the spark that should give you and me genuine concern for others as well as for the planet upon which we live?  Could it possibly be because we realize that we have a loving God who not only created the heavens and the earth, but also sent His only son, Jesus, to rescue us from our sins so that we can spend eternity with Him in a perfect place, heaven?  Could that possibly be the reason that conservative Christians volunteer and donate more than any other group of Americans?  Could that be the reason we care about God’s earth and pick up after ourselves?  Could that be the reason we strive to treat others gently and kindly?  Could that be the difference between the majority of those who attended the Restoring Honor rally on the National Mall and those who attended the One Nation rally?  You be the judge.