Statement from President Kuan on Violence at the U.S. Capitol

Like many of you, after watching the events at the U.S. Capitol unfold last Wednesday, I was outraged, heartbroken, and honestly trying to comprehend the blatant lack of moral integrity I was witnessing.

We are so polarized as a country, as communities, as neighbors, and even in our houses of worship. I wondered how we, from different religious perspectives, could lead communities in healthy civil discourse — the kind of discourse that is truthful, vulnerable, and healing.

As a United Methodist, I am grateful for the story our news service put together, for the statement from our Council of Bishops, for the call for a peaceful transition of power made by the Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe of the General Board of Church and Society, and am encouraged by the words of my colleague and former trustee of CST, Jim Winkler, who serves as the General Secretary and President of the National Council of Churches. Dr. Winkler was clear in his message to the president’s evangelical advisory board, reminding readers, “They laid hands on him and described him as an instrument of God’s will. They arrogated to themselves the right to speak for Christians. They happily excluded other Christian voices, even less extreme evangelical forces, from having access to Trump. They never said a word against Trump’s racism, his hatred of immigrants, his destruction of the environment, and his favoritism of the rich. They were court prophets who sanctioned all he did.” And as an educator, I am grateful for the college and university leaders who also forthrightly condemned the violence and chaos.

What more is there to add? I am not sure, but I knew I could not be silent. Racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and islamophobia on full display — not only in the words, signage, and attire of the rioters, but glaringly displayed in the disparity of the response by law enforcement. Without a doubt, if those rioters had been people of color, we would be having entirely different conversations and the death toll and number of arrests would be significantly higher. There is much work to do, and the layers upon layers of injustice will take a lot of time to unpack and to begin healing. But I am confident the members of the CST community — our students, alumni/ae, faculty, staff, board members, and friends — are ready to lead the hard conversations and work that lie ahead to heal our country and world.