I have to admit I have looked at defiant Rowan County clerk Kim Davis with some degree of disdain. I thought, “Here is just another example of religious bigotry and hypocrisy to showcase to the world.”
Then on Monday of the week that Judge Bunning would decide her case, when I considered the prospect that she might be jailed, I experienced a change of attitude. (The couples who originally sued in the case asked Bunning to fine her but not jail her. Bunning said that sending her to prison was his only alternative because he did not believe she would comply with his order if she were fined.) My perspective changed from disdain and frustration to pity and compassion.
Here’s why: It is commendable when a person or persons face consequences for standing up for what is just and fair and right. It is commendable when those who oppose injustice – like unjust wars or discrimination of minorities – take on unjust systems of government and power. Many applaud their courage. And should they be jailed or mocked or ridiculed, they shine forth as prophetic witnesses to truth and restorative justice.
Does this describe Kim Davis? Kim was sentenced to jail (now released) for what? For standing up for equality and justice? No. For standing with the vulnerable and marginalized? No. For upholding the principle that all should have equal rights under the law? Definitely no.
What will Kim Davis be remembered for if she is remembered at all? She will be remembered for making a last ditch stand for discrimination.
Yes, there is a group of conservative Christians who view her as a hero. Where Kim lives, these Christians are no small minority; they are the majority. These are folks who want to turn America into a Christian nation and recast history to make America look like a nation that has left its Christian heritage and is now on the verge of spiritual and moral collapse. I suspect that Kim’s position is the position of her husband, her pastor, her congregation, and her network of friends. So what are the odds that she would pave her own way by thinking and acting in a more egalitarian, just, and liberating way?
There are those on the right who are simply using her to further their agenda. Who could miss the show staged by Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee at the Carter County Detention Center the day Kim was released. Ted Cruz was there too, but Huckabee took the spotlight. Her attorney Matthew Staver of the Liberty Counsel is another who is using Kim for his own purposes. Once they are through with her and her cause is lost, they will forget all about her.
Earlier last week before the decision by Judge Bunning she said, “I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will. To me this has never been a gay or lesbian issue. It is about marriage and God’s word.”
Having come out of Christian fundamentalism myself, I understand what she is saying. She really does think she is being faithful to Christ. My frustration is not directed at Kim personally. It’s against a Christian fundamentalist culture that indoctrinates its members into believing God is a patriarchal bigot and into practicing discrimination under the guise of religious liberty. Kim is a product of her world, and a pawn for what Alan Bean called “straight white Christian male hegemony.” She cannot see the hypocrisy and discrimination in her actions. And for that reason I have pity and compassion for Kim Davis.
Before the Apostle Paul was the apostle of Christ to the Gentiles, he was a persecutor of Christians. He thought he was doing God’s will. According to his own account he was completely without guilt: “a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Phil. 3:6). He felt no pity at all on the Christians he harassed and harmed. Why? Because he was absolutely convinced he was being true to God. Paul couldn’t see.
Think about those who were instrumental in orchestrating Jesus’ crucifixion. According to Luke’s account Jesus on the cross said, “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke23:34). They really didn’t know. Why? Because they couldn’t see.
Kim Davis does not see. She does not see how her actions are discriminatory and unjust. She does not see that dispensing a marriage license to a same-sex couple in no way infringes upon her own religious liberties. She does not see that her refusal to do her job is the exact opposite of Rosa Parks refusing to relinquish her seat on the bus, and is just like the bus driver who demanded that Mrs. Parks give up her seat and go to the back.
And what is true of Kim Davis is true of all of us on some level. Not of course to the same degree, but we all have trouble seeing. A large part of our spiritual growth and development is about taking the blinders off and learning how to see.
(A different version of this piece appeared also at the Unfundamentalist Christians blog.)