I don’t normally do a lot of writing about political stuff because my heart is to have ongoing conversations with people who may see things differently than I do, and in today’s cultural climate, simply expressing an opinion is often all it takes to remove any opportunity for that.

I pray that won’t be the case now because I can’t stay silent about a smirk and the resulting hypocrisy of New York politicians days later.

Over the last week, Nick Sandmann has been trashed by people who believed he was looking down on a Native American during a confrontation on the steps at the Mall in Washington. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t, but not knowing what he was thinking didn’t stop people from making a judgement about what they thought he was thinking simply based on “the smirk.”

Yesterday, as I was reading the news out of New York state, I couldn’t help but notice something on the faces of the people around Gov. Andrew Cuomo as he signed legislation that opens the door for babies to be aborted up to full term under some circumstances.

Were those smirks?

They were there. Full blown, ear to ear grins at the signing of a law that will make it even more convenient to get rid of lives that are seen as inconvenient.

These same people who smiled at a law proclaimed to be “pro-choice friendly” didn’t allow Nick Sandmann or his classmates the same freedom. They judged them because they chose to attend a pro-life rally. They judged them because they chose to wear MAGA hats. They judged them for a choice while claiming to be pro-choice.

They aren’t.

They are pro-convenience, and they are the ones who choose what is or isn’t convenient. What will they do when they determine that you aren’t convenient? What will they do when they decide that your morality isn’t convenient?

I think we all know the answer to those questions.

To those on (many on both sides of the issue) who are grieved by how far this has gone, I beg you: stand up and speak up, even at the risk of being told to shut up. I know the price of speaking may be dismissal because others will polarize your words, but I encourage you to lean into the words that Jesus spoke in Matthew 11:19 when his actions were misunderstood: “wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

[Tweet “Stand up and speak up, even at the risk of being told to shut up.”]

Do wise things. Don’t bully. Don’t provoke. Love those who disagree with you. Provide help to the mother who sees no way out of a pregnancy. Open your arms to the parent overwhelmed by the shame of past choices that led to present regrets. In short, do the right thing even when others try to portray it as the wrong thing.

[Tweet “Do the right thing even when others try to portray it as the wrong thing.”]

[Tweet “If we don’t say something for those who can’t, who will say something for us when we can’t?”]

If we don’t say something for those who can’t, who will say something for us when we can’t? Our mandate from Proverbs 31:8 is clear: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.”

So speak up. It truly is a matter of life and death for some, and if you and I stay silent, it will be for us one day, too.

Let’s push that day as far away as possible.