The Odyssey of Democracy
By Christopher A. Etienne
Christopher A. Etienne
The Odyssey is a classical Greek literature created by the poet Homer. The literature is the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who spent 10 years fighting in the Trojan War and another 10 years on a voyage to get home to his family in Ithaca. Odysseus faces many challenges and controversies along his journey to comfort and convenience. In the end, the enemies of Odysseus find out the hard way and to their detriment of the scriptural teachings, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Similar to the Odyssey, democracy is a long and adventurous journey of individual tests and moral endurance. Democracy is hard work and a heavy load to lift, and the citizens of noble character must protect it constantly. We must remove every root and branch of corruption where it is on display, strive to create consensus and reject poverty, illiteracy, and political oppression.
In the language of Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables in 1862, it so appears to me at present, “If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness.” Indeed, the eyes of the global world are closely watching how we handle this great experiment of democracy.
I conceive that most people in our society misunderstand what Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. meant when he argued about the thin line between love and hate in the era of the Civil Rights Movement. To be clear. In his December 1957 sermon entitled, The Christian Way of Life in Human Relations, delivered before the General Assembly of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in America (NCC), Dr. King referred to three different types of love from the classical studies in Greek: eros, philia, and agape. Dr. King argued, “We must meet hate with love… Now, I’m not talking about a sentimental, shallow kind of love. I’m not talking about eros, which is a sort of aesthetic, romantic love. I’m not even talking about philia, which is a sort of intimate affection between personal friends. But I’m talking about agape. I’m talking about the love of God in the hearts of men. I’m talking about a type of love which will cause you to love the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does.” As a result, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but the road to heaven is paved with good works. Therefore, we must not accept any wooden nickels.
Dr. Hanes Walton, Jr., the “Dean of Black Politics,” in 1985 argued, “Either freedom has to be made available to all citizens, or it may lead to what Bertrand Russell called the ‘moral superiority of the oppressed’ – a response to the unequal application of moral and political standards of the governing and ruling majority.” How true that is.
U.S. President Barack Obama, the first African American president in U.S. history, is one of the greatest presidents of Americans’ lifetimes. He delivered first-class intellect and first-class temperament to the Office of the Presidency. In August 2008, Obama launched into his acceptance speech of the nomination for the presidency of the United States in Denver, Colorado, regarding the lack of empathy for underserved Americans: “In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is – you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps – even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own.” Moreover, perhaps to add a significant point, when a Black youth practices discipline, dedication, and determination in their academic and professional endeavors, such as matriculation at a college or university, earning their degree or degrees, and others of this kind, then to enter Corporate America and be told from a segment of society that they are overqualified, over trained, and too experienced is perplexing.
For a Black youth, to receive from a segment of society that their intelligence and how they pontificate their opinions may intimidate the members of the boardroom is perplexing. For a Black youth to be told by a segment of society that the earned degree or degrees in their possession now they should consider redacting from their resume to increase their chances of getting a job offer is perplexing. For a Black youth to be taught that the first rule of business is not to hire family and friends, only to enter Corporate America and discover a corrupt culture of nepotism and cronyism is perplexing. Indeed, it appears to me that there is a problem, and I see where the government shall be a solution to a societal problem. Invictus.
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965. Section 5 of the VRA required certain states and localities to gain federal “preclearance” approval for any voting changes before it goes into effect to ensure it isn’t discriminatory. To be clear. Section 5 of the VRA is just as crucial as Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – Collective Defense Obligations, which requires “the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.”
In the language of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address to the nation in 1861, arguing about the State of the Union: “Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot remove our respective sections from each other nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other; but the different parts of our country cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to face; and intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue between them.” How true that is. Indeed, as previously stated, democracy is hard work and a heavy load to lift.
But let there be no doubt. I believe in democracy and am encouraged by the words of the late Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University in 1934 and the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, arguing, “We have set out on a great experiment – the greatest, I believe, in the history of human society – an experiment to demonstrate that peoples of all races, colors, creeds and culture can live and work and play together and be welded into a firm unity by the sheer force of a great and compelling ideal – the democratic way of life.” As a result, the eyes of the global world are upon us to witness how we handle this great experiment of democracy.
Christopher A. Etienne Biography
Christopher A. Etienne’s public service ethos is inspired and instructed by his parents and community in New Orleans. His upbringing, formal education, and professional experiences provided him with a worldview that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they’re given an equal and equitable opportunity. Previously, he served as a Legislative Aide to U.S. Representative Cedric L. Richmond and U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, both of Louisiana, and U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes of Connecticut. He earned his master's degree in political science from Howard University in Washington, D.C. and earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), two prestigious historically Black universities (HBCUs). For his leadership in public service, he was named a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Loyola University New Orleans (IOP) and named to the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute (NORLI).