Not liking one bit the under-currents swirling around this issue, and believing in taking-your-argument-to-the-source when you can, I sent an e-mail directly to Pastor Usey:
Pastor Usey,
I am a blogger from Asheboro - raised in the Baptist faith.
I am in the blogosphere for a reason. In fact, I came here five years ago, at the invitation of a journalist, to ask for help. You see, I know all-too-well that Christians in public life/service oftentimes don't act like Christians. I also know all-too-well that Christians are positively gifted at craning their necks to look the other way as those around them flail and drown in the cesspools of corruption that seem to have overtaken our government and our Courts.
You may or may not know that your "open letter" to Mayor Knight was featured prominently on Ed Cone's blog . . . Mr. Cone being one of those people who has done his best to see me crawl back into my hole - humiliated and ignored.
Very respectfully, I must disagree with you:
Unfortunately, because of the way our newspaper(s) . . . and our most prominent bloggers . . . operate, yours is the point-of-view that will be featured and promoted as "the right" way to think.
Mary H. Johnson, M.D., FAAP
Meanwhile, Pastor Usey found himself embarrassed and in the middle of a blogging firestorm (well, maybe a campfire) when it was revealed that much of his open letter was directly quoted from position statements of the "Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty" . . . without giving credit where credit was due.
Now, upon reflection (and thinking in terms of "plagiarism" and intent), while using the words of someone else as your own would and "should" be a bit of a problem for journalists and published authors, I'm not sure how it's really a problem for a Pastor . . . especially when you've adopted those opinions as your own . . . and Pastors being prone to frequently use The Word of Someone Else (and others) in their sermons on a fairly regular basis.
I'm probably so-going-to-Hell for saying so, but Preachers arent' stupid. A sermon is sometimes hard enough to sit through without being force-fed "the credits";)
It was an honest mistake made by a good man.
[That would be opposed to the deliberate, self-serving lies told by non-profiteering public servants-professing-to-be-Christians under Oath . . . black and white, in-your-face, no-statute-of-limitations PERJURY (not-to-mention total abuse of the legal system) . . . a story to which our local newspapers and their high-minded Editors - like Allen Johnson and John Robinson and Ray Criscoe - won't lend even one line of investigative fact-checking newsprint . . . those Editors being too invested in counting their advertising dollars and attending the exclusive dine-arounds sponsored by those who did the lying and abusing on the public's dime.]
The problem for Pastor Usey came when our local journalists (as I previously indicated, first Ed Cone - and later, the N&R), picked up his letter in order to push their own agenda . . . and did not vet it or properly attribute the remarks to their original source . . . as journalists are supposed to do.
But again, we are talking about these journalists.
This morning, Pastor Usey sent me a lovely e-mail. I don't think he'll mind me sharing:
Dr. Johnson:
Thanks for the email and for your blog. The parts I read were thoughtful and well-written. I am sorry that your perspective is not given more credibility and readership. I assure you that, as a Baptist, I would not want your voice silenced. For us, it is in the free exchange of ideas that the Spirit leads us to truth.
Cordially,
Michael Usey
I was at work, but I took the time to quickly respond:
Pastor Usey,
I'm used to it. Mr. Cone-of-the-Moses-Cone-Healthcare-System-Cones and his oh-so-noble-high-minded friends (especially those at the N&R) have been using me as a punching bag for a very long time.
But the truth is the truth, it's very ugly (ergo the reason so many want to keep it buried), and I'm not real worried about it. Karma may not be a Baptist concept, but I do believe that what goes around comes around.
Which leads me to this: You may not hear it from any of the rest of my blogger-lot, but hear it from me. The Greensboro blogosphere is really no place for a Man-Of-God. With a few exceptions, this ether is a sewer and a snake pit (which I may be taking my leave of shortly . . . in order to return to do battle in the Courtroom - otherwise known as America's new "church").
The "Blaghgosphere" is filled with people who say one thing and do quite another. The journalists in it are the absolute worst of the lot.
And it seems everyone these days is out for the blood of a Christian. I am profoundly sorry you had to learn that the hard way.
My own pastor, John Rogers of FBC here in Asheboro, found himself in a similar boat a few years back - (before and) during Asheboro's alcohol referendum. By virtue (I mean that literally) of who he was and the church he pastors, John was put into a position of leadership that he did not really want. Moreover, his kind & gentle heart was just not suited for openly confronting-in-the-way-they-deserved-to-be-confronted the fork-tongued liars and profiteering back-stabbers who were out to win at all costs.
The only reason I jumped into that fray and took John's back is because I felt there were very good people being led like lambs to slaughter . . . ordinary, God-fearing, salt-of-the-Earth folk . . . older people/"church-people" who were near and dear to me . . . people who were not being well-represented in the newspaper . . . people who were doomed to be trampled by the nasty, self-serving tactics of Asheboro's "right people".
The knives-of-"progress" were out. It was a noble battle. I'm glad I fought it. And I still think I was on the side of the angels.
Alas, angels sometimes can take a beating. I'm genuinely sorry for your bruises.
You take care. And next time . . . beware of wolves in sheep's clothing.
Sincerely,
Mary Johnson, M.D.
The difference between Pastor Usey and I is that I long ago stopped believing that the journalists in Asheboro or Greensboro, North Carolina are really interested in (1) the free exchange of ideas . . . or (2) the truth.
In an effort to cut down on the noise (and lower my blood pressure) comments remained closed.
