Resisting and Persisting – Standing Up and Speaking Out

“Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching.”- 2 Timothy 4:2
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

Earlier this week in the once-upon-a-time hallowed halls of Congress, the independent Senator from Maine, Angus King, strode forth to command the Senate floor. Next to him stood a larger than life photo of a former Senator from Maine. The signature red rose prominently adorning her dark dress along with the words beneath the image identified her as “Senator Margaret Chase Smith Republican from Maine.”

He was there with her in spirit and in speech to recall and revive an address she made on the same Senate floor nearly 75 years ago on June 1 of 1950. That address, now known as her Declaration of Conscience speech, was in Senator King’s estimation “one of the most important speeches of the Twentieth Century and defined her for the ages as a person of extraordinary courage and principle.”

In that momentous speech neither party escaped her excoriating rhetoric. Hers was a call not to partisan loyalty, but to American patriotism. And although his name was never mentioned, the speech was a direct salvo aimed at the communist “witch-hunt” that was being led by the Senator from Wisconsin (sad to say, my home state), Joseph R. McCarthy. Her Declaration of Conscience speech was a direct rebuttal of the scourge of the early 1950’s “McCarthyism.”

The American Heritage Dictionary gives the definition of McCarthyism as: “1. The political practice of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence; and 2. The use of methods of investigation and accusation regarded as unfair, in order to suppress opposition.”

The fifth and final point of the Declaration, also signed by six other Senators, reads:
“It is high time that we stopped thinking politically as Republicans and Democrats about elections and started thinking patriotically as Americans about national security based on individual freedom. It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques-techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.”

In recounting Senator Chase Smith’s speech from 75 years ago, a speech that would be the defining moment in which a Republican stood up to her own party in defense of American democracy, Senator King quoted her opening remarks:
“Mr. President, I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition. It is a national feeling of fear and frustration that could result in national suicide and the end of everything that we Americans hold dear. It is a condition that comes from the lack of effective leadership either in the legislative branch or the executive branch of our government.”

It is the feeling and condition that this nation experienced three quarters of a century ago, and that once again dominates our nation in the first months of 2025, that Senator King chose to address at this dire moment in American history. It is an address and appeal to conscience, justice and true patriotism that is in my estimation on par with that of Senator Chase Smith’s Declaration from the 1950’s. It is a speech that, if I were King, would be required watching for every American. But since the vast majority of Americans still denounce Monarchy, all I can do is strongly urge everyone to visit these links: HERE and HERE.

Although the Senator did not quote scripture in his address, I could not help but think of the Apostle Paul’s advice and encouragement to his young friend and aspiring evangelist, Timothy, that serves as the citations atop this post: “Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching.” – 2 Timothy 4:2 | “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

Once again Senator King has taken on the mantle of a prophet and moral leader, persistently resisting the march to authoritarianism by standing tall and speaking out to the conscience of his elected colleagues and fellow Americans (see also October 20, 2021 post). His words and deeds serve as a model for the servant leadership that Christ taught, and that he also sought from all who would seek to follow in his footsteps.

All across America over the past weeks we have also seen citizens standing up and speaking out against the unjust orders, decrees and actions of an authoritarian regime hell bent on imploding government, dismantling democracy and building oligarchy. The persistent resistance of protestations week after week, and the polls that tell the truth of the unpopularity of the draconian devastation wrought by the MAGA regime are hopeful signs that a spirit of courage and the power of love can yet prevail as people of good will seeking the common good continue to “convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching.”

In support of that cause, I’ll end with some images from the protest/rally that took place today (and most Saturdays) here in Pittsboro, the seat of Chatham County North Carolina government. [click image to enlarge]