Shadrach, Meschach, and Nebendgo
Shadrach, Meschach, and Nebendgo
The Rev. William Barber II roared a bit today at the Moral March in Raleigh, NC.
This transcript is a poor substitute, but you might catch the gist of it:
...We knew that in order to turn things around, we needed to focus on morals, and values, racism and discrimination, income and economic injustice, and pull everybody together.
(applause)
But we also knew, that you cain't come quick and quit, you got to stick and stay.
In reality, we learned a lesson that was taught in the Scriptures nearly three thousand years ago...
And when you face domination... and extremism...
The story teaches us from the Bible... you don't mind if I talk from the Bible now, do you?
That we, we got to remember, says this story, who we are... whose we are, keep perspective in the struggle, and get our marching orders for daily operations and resistance, not just one rally of resistance...
Let me remind you, that story is about three Hebrew boys, they called them Shadrach, Meshach, and Nebendgo... that actually wasn't their name, it was their slave name...
But, it didn't matter what you called them, what somebody calls you, it matters what you answer to...
Now, these boys were Millenials, where are all the Millenials out there?
(noise)
These boys was Millenial, and in my imagination maybe one of them was from the Fight for Fifteen of their day...
And maybe one of them was with the Black Lives Matter of their day...
(applause)
And maybe one of them was with the Moral Monday Movement of their day...
But in their day, these three faced the ego maniac narcissist, who liked to build towers...
That's what the story says...
This guy loved to build towers...
And he loved to put gold on his towers...
And they tell me, that no one had ever seen a tower like Nebuchadnezzar's tower.
He loved to cover stuff up and make it shine...
Because that was a sign of his insecurity...
Any time you're wealthy, and you've still got to put gold on it, that's insecurity.
And this guy named Nebuchadnezzar, he wanted all the leaders of the provinces (that was the State legislatures, three thousand years ago) and the governors of that day...
He wanted everyone to come, to bow down to him, in the tower.
He had his own press team, and they liked to put out alternative facts and lie...
One of those alternative lies was that King Nebby was the greatest thing that we'd ever seen...
His name actually means (help me, my Jewish friends) One Who Will Hold Onto Power, By Any Means Necessary.
He came to power in a rigged selection...
And they decided to give him the kingship...
So he decided to have an Inauguration...
And make everybody come bow down to him...
You want an apartment? Bow down...
You want a job? Bow down...
You want some money, for your little organization...
You got to come to the tower...
And bow down...
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego boycotted...
And they refused to bow...
And Nebuchadnezzar told those Hebrew boys, that if they didn't bow, he was going to throw them in the fire.
And he questioned, if their God could save them...
But they said, King, we don't even have to answer you...
YES!, we know our history, our God can save us...
But even if he doesn't...
Uh, we're not going to bow down, because standing down and bowing down?
That is not an option.
What he didn't know, was those boys had a fire already inside of them...
They knew their history, they refused to eat the King's meat, and drink the King's wine, in Mar-a-Lago, I mean, in Babylon... I'm getting a little confused, here...
(applause)
Rather than get drunk with the wine of the world, and forget those who came before them, they told them*selves* the stories of deliverance from Egypt.
They sang the songs of Zion.
And it steeled their spirits...
Even if it doesn't, we're not bowing down...
The King and his men didn't know, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were the Moral Movement of their day...
They understood that bowing down is not an option...
Now I want to suggest to you, that even in the twenty first century, when politicians will do anything to gain power, the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar still lives...
When narcissism, lies, and hate are flowing from the White House down, the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar still lives...
Which means that standing down and bowing down is not an option.
When a General Assembly calls a special session under the guise of helping storm victims...
Only to create their own storm of unconstitutional legislation that wreaks havoc on the Governor's ability to appoint department heads, and Board of Election chairs, then for everybody who loves justice, bowing down and standing down is not an option.
(applause)
When leadership that claims to put North Carolina first, stubbornly refuses to repeal the anti-family anti-worker anti-LGBTQ Hate Bill 2... that has cost North Carolina billions in lost revenue, then we have to know that bowing down, and standing down, is not an option.
(applause)
When Congressional elected representatives who receive the best health care just because they got elected... but then, once they get elected, they don't want the people that elected them to have the same thing that they have...
When you're willing to take insurance from people with pre-existing conditions...
Over fifty two million Americans under 65, two million in North Carolina, when you have approximately nine point five million women who were previously uninsured, that gained insurance through the Affordable Care Act...
When you name it Obamacare as a slight, because you're trying to racialize, you're trying to make it negative, just like you used to label certain things Communism, and when you do that, and when you want to take healthcare because you despise a black President, that did what you wouldn't do...
And then you want to take that money, and give tax breaks to the greedy...
Then BOWING DOWN AND STANDING DOWN IS NOT AN OPTION!
(APPLAUSE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYoaF4aVddA
The Rev. William Barber II roared a bit today at the Moral March in Raleigh, NC.
This transcript is a poor substitute, but you might catch the gist of it:
...We knew that in order to turn things around, we needed to focus on morals, and values, racism and discrimination, income and economic injustice, and pull everybody together.
(applause)
But we also knew, that you cain't come quick and quit, you got to stick and stay.
In reality, we learned a lesson that was taught in the Scriptures nearly three thousand years ago...
And when you face domination... and extremism...
The story teaches us from the Bible... you don't mind if I talk from the Bible now, do you?
That we, we got to remember, says this story, who we are... whose we are, keep perspective in the struggle, and get our marching orders for daily operations and resistance, not just one rally of resistance...
Let me remind you, that story is about three Hebrew boys, they called them Shadrach, Meshach, and Nebendgo... that actually wasn't their name, it was their slave name...
But, it didn't matter what you called them, what somebody calls you, it matters what you answer to...
Now, these boys were Millenials, where are all the Millenials out there?
(noise)
These boys was Millenial, and in my imagination maybe one of them was from the Fight for Fifteen of their day...
And maybe one of them was with the Black Lives Matter of their day...
(applause)
And maybe one of them was with the Moral Monday Movement of their day...
But in their day, these three faced the ego maniac narcissist, who liked to build towers...
That's what the story says...
This guy loved to build towers...
And he loved to put gold on his towers...
And they tell me, that no one had ever seen a tower like Nebuchadnezzar's tower.
He loved to cover stuff up and make it shine...
Because that was a sign of his insecurity...
Any time you're wealthy, and you've still got to put gold on it, that's insecurity.
And this guy named Nebuchadnezzar, he wanted all the leaders of the provinces (that was the State legislatures, three thousand years ago) and the governors of that day...
He wanted everyone to come, to bow down to him, in the tower.
He had his own press team, and they liked to put out alternative facts and lie...
One of those alternative lies was that King Nebby was the greatest thing that we'd ever seen...
His name actually means (help me, my Jewish friends) One Who Will Hold Onto Power, By Any Means Necessary.
He came to power in a rigged selection...
And they decided to give him the kingship...
So he decided to have an Inauguration...
And make everybody come bow down to him...
You want an apartment? Bow down...
You want a job? Bow down...
You want some money, for your little organization...
You got to come to the tower...
And bow down...
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego boycotted...
And they refused to bow...
And Nebuchadnezzar told those Hebrew boys, that if they didn't bow, he was going to throw them in the fire.
And he questioned, if their God could save them...
But they said, King, we don't even have to answer you...
YES!, we know our history, our God can save us...
But even if he doesn't...
Uh, we're not going to bow down, because standing down and bowing down?
That is not an option.
What he didn't know, was those boys had a fire already inside of them...
They knew their history, they refused to eat the King's meat, and drink the King's wine, in Mar-a-Lago, I mean, in Babylon... I'm getting a little confused, here...
(applause)
Rather than get drunk with the wine of the world, and forget those who came before them, they told them*selves* the stories of deliverance from Egypt.
They sang the songs of Zion.
And it steeled their spirits...
Even if it doesn't, we're not bowing down...
The King and his men didn't know, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were the Moral Movement of their day...
They understood that bowing down is not an option...
Now I want to suggest to you, that even in the twenty first century, when politicians will do anything to gain power, the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar still lives...
When narcissism, lies, and hate are flowing from the White House down, the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar still lives...
Which means that standing down and bowing down is not an option.
When a General Assembly calls a special session under the guise of helping storm victims...
Only to create their own storm of unconstitutional legislation that wreaks havoc on the Governor's ability to appoint department heads, and Board of Election chairs, then for everybody who loves justice, bowing down and standing down is not an option.
(applause)
When leadership that claims to put North Carolina first, stubbornly refuses to repeal the anti-family anti-worker anti-LGBTQ Hate Bill 2... that has cost North Carolina billions in lost revenue, then we have to know that bowing down, and standing down, is not an option.
(applause)
When Congressional elected representatives who receive the best health care just because they got elected... but then, once they get elected, they don't want the people that elected them to have the same thing that they have...
When you're willing to take insurance from people with pre-existing conditions...
Over fifty two million Americans under 65, two million in North Carolina, when you have approximately nine point five million women who were previously uninsured, that gained insurance through the Affordable Care Act...
When you name it Obamacare as a slight, because you're trying to racialize, you're trying to make it negative, just like you used to label certain things Communism, and when you do that, and when you want to take healthcare because you despise a black President, that did what you wouldn't do...
And then you want to take that money, and give tax breaks to the greedy...
Then BOWING DOWN AND STANDING DOWN IS NOT AN OPTION!
(APPLAUSE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYoaF4aVddA
Brilliant. Thank you.
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