Bookend reading 101 to combat white supremacists

MaineWriter opinion:

Evangelicals are often seen carrying their Bibles with them wherever they happen to go because they believe in a literal interpretation of all Scriptures. Nevertheless, in today's American society, those very same Bible carrying believers obviously overlook several key scriptures about how to combat the growing evils of ethnic discrimination, white supremacists, racism and fear of immigrants. For those who want to find some semblance of humanity in this cauldron of fear, stoked by the evils that accompany the Donald Trump's practices of abandoning leadership in favor of political advantage, here are MaineWriter's references: 

Biblical Scriptures  include many statements about welcoming strangers. Two of the most often quoted from the New Testament and from the Old Testament:

• Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me
• Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Scripture notwithstanding, the enlightened opponents of white supremacist discrimination and anti-immigration zealotry can keep two contemporary American classics close to their reading tables:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee can even be a source of comfort for people (like me) who just need to be reminded that there is humanity even in the darkest of situations whereby racism creates mob rule.  Let's me honest, Donald Trump's racist rhetoric has created a cult following of people who soak up nearly everything he says. Harper Lee's noble character, Atticus Finch, symbolizes enlightenment in the face of racism in a small Southern town.  Actor Gregory Peck brought Atticus Finch to life in his Oscar winning performance in the movie made from Lee's book.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was immediately successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature.

And the second "bookend" reading is the play "Driving Miss Daisy" by Alfred Uhry.  This story transcends time. In my opinion, it's a "real time" time-travel play where racism is juxtaposed alongside antisemitism.   

Driving Miss Daisy is a play by American playwright Alfred Uhry, about the relationship of an elderly white Southern Jewish woman, Daisy Werthan, and her African-American chauffeur, Hoke Coleburn, from 1948 to 1973.

Of course, the most visually compelling argument against right wing racism, discrimination, anti-immigration and white supremacists is our American iconic tribute to immigrants. It's the inscription by Emma Lazarus: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! It's inscribed on The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.

Thoughtful Americans can put the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird and the timeless play Driving Miss Daisy into a tote bag where The Statue of Liberty is the featured image. Keep those readings alongside a Bible. In so doing, you'll be set to find solace when trying to stand up for humanitarian values while trying to maintain sanity in the face of the evil white supremacists.