Citizenship
Drama
SUNDAY MORNING READERS' THEATER
Cast: Two people of either gender, TERRY and CHRIS
Length:
8 minutes
CHRIS is seated on a stool, holding a coffee cup. There is an empty stool on one side and a table on the other holding coffee cups, cream, sugar, etc. TERRY enters, looking a bit bewildered.
CHRIS: (Extending a hand) Hi, there! You must be new to our church. It's great having you here. Won't you have a seat?
TERRY: (Tentatively taking a stool) Thank you, it's nice to be here.
CHRIS: Can I get you a cup of coffee? (CHRIS hands TERRY a cup) Has someone given you a visitor's packet? You're new in town, aren't you?
TERRY: Thank you. Yes, we're from Winnipeg. But we'll be staying here a few years. Company transfer. (Pointing) That's my family over there.
CHRIS: I see they're talking to the pastor. I imagine he'll be filling them in on all the activities we offer.
TERRY: I hope so. It seems like a nice church.
CHRIS: Oh, it is! It is! So, you're from Canada. You must be glad to finally be in God's country.
TERRY: I beg your pardon? God's country?
CHRIS: Yes. You know, America. The land of the free and the home of the brave. A truly Christian nation.
TERRY: Are you talking about the United States?
CHRIS: Yes. God has a special relationship with this country. But you already knew that, I'm sure.
TERRY: A special relationship? What kind of relationship?
CHRIS: (Genuinely shocked) You don't know? You mean you haven't heard? Why, I thought everyone ...
TERRY: I'm afraid not. But tell me about it. It sounds intriguing.
CHRIS: Well, as I'm sure you already kn ... That is, you see, our founding fathers were Christians and they intended this nation to follow the dictates of God as set out in the Bible.
TERRY: Now that I didn't know. I understood your founding fathers were deists.
CHRIS: Deists? What's a deist?
TERRY: A deist is someone who believes in God the Creator but who doesn't believe that Jesus is divine. Deists believe that once God created the universe, he sat back and let it go on its own. The clockmaker theory, you know. In other words, he is not personally involved in human affairs.
CHRIS: Really? Hmmm. Well, I don't think that's true. Those men were all Bible-believing Christians. Probably Baptists.
TERRY: Well, that's certainly an interesting point of view.
CHRIS: Still, you have to admit that America is founded on Christian principles - separation of church and state and so on.
TERRY: Is that provision supposed to be for the benefit of the believers or the non-believers?
CHRIS: For the believers, of course. So nobody can make them go to any church they don't want to.
TERRY: I see. And what other Christian principles were the States founded on?
CHRIS: Er ... the freedom to bear arms.
TERRY: That's Christian?
CHRIS: Of course. Otherwise people will try to make us go to a church we don't want to.
TERRY: Of course. And what others?
CHRIS: Other principles, you mean? Well ... (Thinking hard) That we can all earn as much money as we want. The Protestant work ethic, it's called.
TERRY: (Dryly) Canada has that, too.
CHRIS: (Aggressively) Freedom of religion, then.
TERRY: Surprisingly enough, we have that in Canada.
CHRIS: But we had it first!
TERRY: Possibly.
CHRIS: There's no "possibly" about it. We have a special relationship, a covenant, with God, that you don't!
TERRY: And what exactly is that covenant?
CHRIS: If you read your Bible, you would know. (Flipping open the Bible and reading) "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
TERRY: That's about the United States, eh? I thought it was about Israel.
CHRIS: All the prophecies that seem to be about Israel are really about America.
TERRY: Is that so?
CHRIS: (Aggressively) Yes, that's so! We are God's chosen people, not Israel!
TERRY: Well, I can certainly understand about the sin part of the covenant. And about the "wicked ways." The States have a lot to humble themselves about and ask forgiveness for.
CHRIS: (Confused) What do you mean? Why would we need to ask forgiveness?
TERRY: Let me put it this way: Maybe the reason Canada doesn't have that sort of covenant with God is because we have been guilty of fewer sins. As a nation, I mean.
CHRIS: You can't have been. We are the most sinless.
TERRY: Canada, you know, never tolerated slavery.
CHRIS: What's that got to do with anything?
TERRY: Canada has not thrown its weight around in morally dubious foreign ventures.
CHRIS: I don't know about any foreign adventures.
TERRY: Canada has not done quite so poorly with its Native Americans. We have tribal chiefs in our parliament.
CHRIS: We gave our Indians reservations! What more do they want? (Slyly) Does your country have God's name on your dollar bill?
TERRY: No. But in Canada religious groups can receive government funds for their own schools.
CHRIS: (Truly shocked) They can't!
TERRY: (Calmly) They can. So I would say that Canada is the more truly Christian nation here.
CHRIS: You can't say that!
TERRY: You're right. I can't. Or, rather, I won't. I don't believe in "Christian nations." I am a citizen of heaven, myself.
CHRIS: You are? But I ... I am ...
TERRY: Yes? What are you? What's your citizenship? The United States of America? Or heaven?
CHRIS: Are you asking me to choose? That's treason! (Saluting some imaginary flag) I will never repudiate my citizenship in the greatest nation on Earth! This is God's nation. We are his chosen people - at least the Christians are. If only all those other people, those people who claim to be Americans but refuse to admit that this is a Christian country, would stop misbehaving and surrender to his rule, we would really have something going here, something that no other nation on Earth could hope to stand against. We would have God on our side. As we already do, of course. But if they don't stop all this sinning, God is going to turn his back on us and then where will we ...?
TERRY: Excuse me, I have to be going now. Nice talking to you. And good luck with that humility thing.
TERRY gets down from the stool and turns to leave.
CHRIS: What humility thing? Wait! (Getting down and running after TERRY) I know something you don't have! Does your Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag say "One nation, under God?"
TERRY: (Turning back) We don't pledge allegiance to our flag.
CHRIS: You don't? Then to what do you pledge your allegiance?
TERRY: (Leaving, over the shoulder) I give mine to God.
CHRIS: (To audience) To God? Not to his nation? (Shaking his head) No wonder Canada is such a second-rate country.
CHRIS leaves, still shaking his head.
Length:
8 minutes
CHRIS is seated on a stool, holding a coffee cup. There is an empty stool on one side and a table on the other holding coffee cups, cream, sugar, etc. TERRY enters, looking a bit bewildered.
CHRIS: (Extending a hand) Hi, there! You must be new to our church. It's great having you here. Won't you have a seat?
TERRY: (Tentatively taking a stool) Thank you, it's nice to be here.
CHRIS: Can I get you a cup of coffee? (CHRIS hands TERRY a cup) Has someone given you a visitor's packet? You're new in town, aren't you?
TERRY: Thank you. Yes, we're from Winnipeg. But we'll be staying here a few years. Company transfer. (Pointing) That's my family over there.
CHRIS: I see they're talking to the pastor. I imagine he'll be filling them in on all the activities we offer.
TERRY: I hope so. It seems like a nice church.
CHRIS: Oh, it is! It is! So, you're from Canada. You must be glad to finally be in God's country.
TERRY: I beg your pardon? God's country?
CHRIS: Yes. You know, America. The land of the free and the home of the brave. A truly Christian nation.
TERRY: Are you talking about the United States?
CHRIS: Yes. God has a special relationship with this country. But you already knew that, I'm sure.
TERRY: A special relationship? What kind of relationship?
CHRIS: (Genuinely shocked) You don't know? You mean you haven't heard? Why, I thought everyone ...
TERRY: I'm afraid not. But tell me about it. It sounds intriguing.
CHRIS: Well, as I'm sure you already kn ... That is, you see, our founding fathers were Christians and they intended this nation to follow the dictates of God as set out in the Bible.
TERRY: Now that I didn't know. I understood your founding fathers were deists.
CHRIS: Deists? What's a deist?
TERRY: A deist is someone who believes in God the Creator but who doesn't believe that Jesus is divine. Deists believe that once God created the universe, he sat back and let it go on its own. The clockmaker theory, you know. In other words, he is not personally involved in human affairs.
CHRIS: Really? Hmmm. Well, I don't think that's true. Those men were all Bible-believing Christians. Probably Baptists.
TERRY: Well, that's certainly an interesting point of view.
CHRIS: Still, you have to admit that America is founded on Christian principles - separation of church and state and so on.
TERRY: Is that provision supposed to be for the benefit of the believers or the non-believers?
CHRIS: For the believers, of course. So nobody can make them go to any church they don't want to.
TERRY: I see. And what other Christian principles were the States founded on?
CHRIS: Er ... the freedom to bear arms.
TERRY: That's Christian?
CHRIS: Of course. Otherwise people will try to make us go to a church we don't want to.
TERRY: Of course. And what others?
CHRIS: Other principles, you mean? Well ... (Thinking hard) That we can all earn as much money as we want. The Protestant work ethic, it's called.
TERRY: (Dryly) Canada has that, too.
CHRIS: (Aggressively) Freedom of religion, then.
TERRY: Surprisingly enough, we have that in Canada.
CHRIS: But we had it first!
TERRY: Possibly.
CHRIS: There's no "possibly" about it. We have a special relationship, a covenant, with God, that you don't!
TERRY: And what exactly is that covenant?
CHRIS: If you read your Bible, you would know. (Flipping open the Bible and reading) "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
TERRY: That's about the United States, eh? I thought it was about Israel.
CHRIS: All the prophecies that seem to be about Israel are really about America.
TERRY: Is that so?
CHRIS: (Aggressively) Yes, that's so! We are God's chosen people, not Israel!
TERRY: Well, I can certainly understand about the sin part of the covenant. And about the "wicked ways." The States have a lot to humble themselves about and ask forgiveness for.
CHRIS: (Confused) What do you mean? Why would we need to ask forgiveness?
TERRY: Let me put it this way: Maybe the reason Canada doesn't have that sort of covenant with God is because we have been guilty of fewer sins. As a nation, I mean.
CHRIS: You can't have been. We are the most sinless.
TERRY: Canada, you know, never tolerated slavery.
CHRIS: What's that got to do with anything?
TERRY: Canada has not thrown its weight around in morally dubious foreign ventures.
CHRIS: I don't know about any foreign adventures.
TERRY: Canada has not done quite so poorly with its Native Americans. We have tribal chiefs in our parliament.
CHRIS: We gave our Indians reservations! What more do they want? (Slyly) Does your country have God's name on your dollar bill?
TERRY: No. But in Canada religious groups can receive government funds for their own schools.
CHRIS: (Truly shocked) They can't!
TERRY: (Calmly) They can. So I would say that Canada is the more truly Christian nation here.
CHRIS: You can't say that!
TERRY: You're right. I can't. Or, rather, I won't. I don't believe in "Christian nations." I am a citizen of heaven, myself.
CHRIS: You are? But I ... I am ...
TERRY: Yes? What are you? What's your citizenship? The United States of America? Or heaven?
CHRIS: Are you asking me to choose? That's treason! (Saluting some imaginary flag) I will never repudiate my citizenship in the greatest nation on Earth! This is God's nation. We are his chosen people - at least the Christians are. If only all those other people, those people who claim to be Americans but refuse to admit that this is a Christian country, would stop misbehaving and surrender to his rule, we would really have something going here, something that no other nation on Earth could hope to stand against. We would have God on our side. As we already do, of course. But if they don't stop all this sinning, God is going to turn his back on us and then where will we ...?
TERRY: Excuse me, I have to be going now. Nice talking to you. And good luck with that humility thing.
TERRY gets down from the stool and turns to leave.
CHRIS: What humility thing? Wait! (Getting down and running after TERRY) I know something you don't have! Does your Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag say "One nation, under God?"
TERRY: (Turning back) We don't pledge allegiance to our flag.
CHRIS: You don't? Then to what do you pledge your allegiance?
TERRY: (Leaving, over the shoulder) I give mine to God.
CHRIS: (To audience) To God? Not to his nation? (Shaking his head) No wonder Canada is such a second-rate country.
CHRIS leaves, still shaking his head.
