THE LAWS OF THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE GOD HAS ORDAINED THE
GOVERNMENT FOR HIS PURPOSES.
>> JOINING ME NOW MICHAEL ERIC
DYSON, PROFESSOR AT GEORGETOWN
UNIVERSITY ALSO AUTHOR OF MORE
20 BOOKS.
20 BOOKS. HIS LATEST "WHAT TRUTH SOUNDS
LIKE, ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JAMES
BALDWIN."
BALDWIN." I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW YOU’RE
ALSO A PREACHER.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL’S INTERPRETATION OF
ROMAN’S 13 IN THE BIBLE.
>> HE NEEDS TO GO BACK TO
SEMINARY.
SEMINARY. HE’S NEVER BEEN THERE, SO HE
NEEDS TO BEGIN.
THIS IS A VASTLY WRONG MIS
MISINTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE.
THAT WAS USED TO JUSTIFY, AND
MAKE VALID SLAVERY.
WE WERE TOLD NOT TO OPPOSE THE
GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THE
GOVERNMENT WAS FOR THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF SLAVERY.
AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, GOD
ORDAINED IT.
ORDAINED IT. IF GOD MADE THE LAW THEN ONE HAD
TO DEFER TO THE LAW.
SO THIS MISUSE OF SCRIPTURE IS
CERTAINLY THAT CONSERVATIVES
HAVE DONE OVER THE LAST YEAR TO
JUSTIFY AND LEGITIMATE AN
ADMINISTRATION THAT THEY WOULD
BE OPPOSED TO SOME BEHAVIOR.
ATROCIOUS BEHAVIOR OF THE
PRESIDENT IN OFFICE.
THE ATROCIOUS MISUSE BY JEFF
SESSIONS TO USE THAT AS THE
BASIS OF ANY BIBLICAL EFFORT.
WHY DIDN’T HE QUOTE JOSHUA OR
AMOS LET WATER RUN DOWN LIKE A
MIGHTY STREAM.
MIGHTY STREAM. HERE IS CHERRY PICKING OF A
SCRIPTURE AS AATROCIOUS.
I GUESS JESUS WOULD HAVE BEEN
SEEN AS AN IMMIGRANT SEPARATED
FROM HIS MOTHER, FATHER, JOSEPH
AND MARY BECAUSE HE WAS TRYING
TO ESCAPE FROM EGYPT.
THIS IS THE KIND OF
MISINTERPRETATION THAT THIS
LEADS TO.
LEADS TO. >> YOU TALK ABOUT MANY, AND
ECHOED BY THE CENTERMENTSSENTIME
CARDINALS OF CATHOLIC CHURCH AND
DO YOU EXPECT ANY KIND OF
RETRACTION?
RETRACTION? >> NO, THIS IS NOT THEIR STYLE.
HERE I AM, IN LOS ANGELES, I
WOULD BE PREACHING AT HOME IN
HIS DENOMINATION.
HIS DENOMINATION. AND JAMES LAWSON, ONE OF THE
GREAT ARCHITECTS OF NONVIOLENCE
WAS THE PASTOR THERE.
AND NOW PASTOR CONCERN SULS.AULS
THEY BELIEVE IT’S NECESSARY TO
PLACE LEADERS, VULNERABLE
MEMBERS OF SOCIETY AT THE HEART
OF GOSPEL.
OF GOSPEL. NO RETRACTION IS FORTHCOMING
BECAUSE THE STYLE IS NOT
SOMETHING THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS
GIVEN TO.
GIVEN TO. AND JEFF SESSIONS SO FAR HAS
VERY LITTLE INCLINATION TO EVENT
A DIFFERENT KIND OF BEHAVIOR.
WHEN YOU HAVE CARDINALS EVEN
FRANKLIN GRAHAM WHOSE OATH
TROUBLING INTERPRETATION OF THE
SCRIPTURES HAS LED TO MISPLACED
EMPHASIS ON JUSTICE, WHEN YOU
HAVE MEN LIKE THAT SUGGESTING
THAT WHAT MR. SESSIONS HAS DONE,
THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT THEY
HAVE ENOUGH HUMILITY, ANOTHER
BIBLICAL VIRTUE TO ACKNOWLEDGE
THEY’RE WRONG AND TO ADMIT THAT
MUST SUBMIT TO A AUTHORITY
HIGHER THAN THE LAW.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BROKE THE
LAW.
LAW. HE SAID THERE’S A HIGHER LAW
THAN MEN AND WOMEN MAKE.
IT IS GOD’S LAW.
SO MR. SESSIONS EVOKING
JUSTIFICATION FOR OBEYING THE
LAW BECAUSE GOD SUPPORTS IT
MISSES THE POINT THAT THERE’S A
HIGHER MORAL LAW THAT MUST BE
SUCCEEDED TO AND CERTAINLY A
WRONG-HEADED THEEOLOGICAL
WRONG-HEADED THEEOLOGICAL APPROACH.
APPROACH. >> YOU MENTION IT WAS USED FOR
SLAVERY BUT ALSO USED IN GERMANY
DURING NAZI TIMES TO JUSTIFY
ACTIONS THERE.
ACTIONS THERE. BOTH OF THEM ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIC
EXAMPLES OF MISUSE OF THAT
SCRIPTURE.
SCRIPTURE. THE ADMINISTRATION, MICHAEL, DO
YOU THINK IT’S BASICALLY USING A
DRACONIAN MEASURE TO TRY TO GET
DEMOCRATS TO THE TABLE?
AND DO YOU THINK THERE’S A
SCENARIO WHERE DEMOCRATS SAY WE
CANNOT WATCH THIS PLAY OUT
ANYMORE AND MAYBE USE THIS AS A
COMPROMISE TO FUND THE WALL?
>> FIRST OF ALL, HOW DO YOU
COMPROMISE WITH SOMEBODY WHO
USES SUCH DRACONIAN MEASURES.
THE ABILITY OF THIS
ADMINISTRATION IN ONE SENSE TO
DENY THE LEGITIMACY OF HUMAN
LIFE, TO MAKE SURE IN THEIR OWN
CALCULATIONS OF PUBLIC POLICY OR
GESTURES IN PUBLIC THAT THEY
WILL USE CHILDREN’S BODIES AS
THE KIND OF CAPITAL TO PROCURE
DEMOCRATIC INVESTMENT OR AT
LEAST COOPERATION IS
EXTRAORDINARY.
EXTRAORDINARY. IT IS NOT ONLY DRACONIAN, SOME,
SINCE WE’RE SPEAKING
THEOLOGICALLY WOULD SUGGEST IT’S
EVEN EVIL.
EVEN EVIL. A DENIAL OF THE LEGITIMATE
ASPECT OF RECOGNIZING THE OTHER.
EVEN IN COMBAT, PEOPLE SAY WE
MUST RECOGNIZE CIVILIANS VERSUS
THOSE WHO ARE COMBATANTS.
SO, NOW, WE ARE TAKING INNOCENT
CHILDREN, YES, CHILDREN WHO
THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN,
ARE CAUGHT IN A SITUATION TO BE
PUNISHED BY A PRESIDENT AND A
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT THAT HAS
FAILED, NEGLECTED AND REFUSED TO
SEE THAT THERE’S ONE THING TO
TALK ABOUT PUBLIC POLICY.
ANOTHER THING TO MAKE CHILDREN
INNOCENT SUFFER FOR THAT VALUE.
NOW AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE
DEMOCRATS WILL NEGOTIATE IS
STILL ANOTHER STORY.
THEY’VE EVENTED SOME CAPACITY TO
DO SO.
DO SO. BUT THIS DOESN’T SOLVE THE
IMMEDIATE PROBLEM OF PEOPLE AT
THE BORDERS AND HOW WE TREAT
THEM AND TURN THEM BACK.
>> MICHAEL, YOU MENTION INNOCENT
CHILDREN SUFFERING.
CHILDREN SUFFERING. WHAT CONCERNS ME AND I SUPPOSE
AS WELL, THE EFFECT ON THESE
KIDS.
KIDS. YOUNG CHILDREN, I’M LOOKING AT
LITTLE CHILDREN CRYING IN THE
DARK AS THEY’RE BEING SEPARATED
FROM THEIR PARENTS.
THE LONG-TERM EFFECT OF THIS.
ARE YOU AS CONCERNED AS I AM?
>> ABSOLUTELY, POSTTRAUMATIC
STRESS.
STRESS. THE BELIEF THAT THEIR COUNTRY
DOES NOT CARE FOR THEM.
IF AT THE FINALLY FIND LODGING,
OR CITIZENSHIP, OR RESIDENTS
HERE.
HERE. OR JUST IN THEIR OWN BODIES,
CARRYING THE MEMORY, THE
CELLULAR MEMORY OF THE TRAUMATIC
SEPARATION FROM MOTHERS AND
FATHERS.
FATHERS. THINK ABOUT THAT LITTLE CHILD
WHOSE FATHER COMMITTED SUICIDE
BECAUSE HE WAS SEPARATED FROM
HIM.
HIM. THINK ABOUT THE VULNERABILITY
AND PSYCHIC TRAUMA THAT THEY’LL
ENDURE.
ENDURE. SHAME ON AMERICA.
SHAME ON DONALD TRUMP, SHAME ON
JEFF SESSIONS.
JEFF SESSIONS. AND SHAME ON ANY REPUBLICANS WHO
ARE COMPLICITOUS IN THIS
BEHAVIOR.
BEHAVIOR. PAUL RYAN MUST STEP UP.
DO SOMETHING HAVE A MORAL
RESPONSIBILITY THAT ALLOWS YOU
TO TO ARTICULATE YOUR CONCERN AS
A HUMAN BEING.
THAT’S WHAT’S CALLED UPON TODAY.
>> I WANT TO GET TO YOUR BOOK.
YOU WRITE ABOUT THIS 1963
MEETING BETWEEN ROBERT F KENNEDY
AND JAMES BALDWIN AND A GROUP OF
BLACK LEADERS.
BLACK LEADERS. YOU SAY IT CHANGED OUR POSITION
ON CIVIL RIGHTS WITH MANUFACTURE
CAN AMERICANS.
CAN AMERICANS. CAN YOU IMAGINE A PRESIDENT THIS
SKA THAT DO COME PEOPLE COME
AROUND IN AFFECTING PEOPLE OF
COLOR?
COLOR? >> KENNEDY SHOWED MAT TUTOR TO
EVOLVE OVER SPACE AND TIME.
I DON’T THINK THIS PRESIDENT
WILL LISTEN TO ANYBODY WHO CAN
BRING HIM ANY KIND OF
UNDERSTANDING AND INSIGHT.
YOU CAN’T APPEAL TO ENTERTAINERS
AND ATHLETES WHO AGREE WITH YOU
ALREADY WHO ARE NOT CHALLENGING
YOU.
YOU. IN ORDER FOR THIS PRESIDENT TO
BE CHALLENGED SIT DOWN WITH
MICHAEL BENNETT, SERENA
WILLIAMS, SWIN CASH, PEOPLE OF
HIGH INTELLIGENCE, JOHN LEGEND,
JAY Z, BEYONCE, TO ENGAGE IN A
SERIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT
WHAT’S GOING ON.
DON’T JUST BRING AROUND YOUR
TABLE WHO AGREE.
WHAT BOBBY KENNEDY SHOWED WAS
THE ABILITY TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE
THAT HE DIDN’T NECESSARILY AGREE
WITH.
WITH. BUT THAT HE LEARNED FROM.
AND THEREFORE, TRANSFORMED HIS
OUTLOOK AND BEHAVIOR AND MADE
HIM, BY THE END OF HIS LIFE, THE
MOST TRUSTED WHITE MAN IN
AMERICA, IN THE EYES OF BLACK
PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY.
THAT’S THE KIND OF FORTITUDE,
THAT’S THE KIND OF INSIGHT, AND
THAT’S THE KIND OF GRACE AND
DIGNITY THAT A TRUE STATESMAN
FACES IN THE OPPOSITION AND
ODDS.
ODDS. THIS PRESIDENT LACKS ANY SENSE
OF DECENCY, HUMANITY AND RESPECT
FOR THE OTHER.
SO, I DON’T THINK HE’LL BE
HAVING THAT CONVERSATION VERY
SOON AND CERTAINLY NOT SOMETHING