Capital #5: Des Moines

December 14, 2023

Basic Economy or Play the Game?

In my prayer travels, most of my flights have been basic (slave) economy trips. These flights are the lowest tier, you’re the last to board, your seats are assigned to you, and your travel doesn’t count toward a qualifying medallion status. 

And you know what? That’s OK with me. I refuse to play the game of paying for status/rank. On the longer flights where I’ll have to spend the night, I’ll upgrade to “main economy” so I can select my seat in advance. But that's MY choice because that works for me, not becuase I'm trying to obtain some arbitrary medallion status whose requirements change every year as it suits Delta. The carrot keeps moving. 

So Basic Economy here I come. 

It’s actually quite liberating to be last to board (on my day trips), because I only travel with a sling bag. No stressing about whether I’ll be able to fit my carry-on in the overhead bin. And if I am assigned a crappy middle seat, I’ve brought a neck device that allows me to sleep without worrying about leaning too closely to my neighbor. 

Now in basic economy, there’s no pressure. I just show up and board. I love it

I have also noticed that the Delta Gate Agents are committed to the tiered boarding process. I get that it’s company policy and procedure. But I often wonder if they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid or are just going along to get along for work. There are certain jobs I just wouldn't be able to do: telemarketer, debt collector, and now Delta Gate Agent.

Speaking of boarding: of course, it makes sense to board from the back of the plane to the front, but then you can’t charge people for early boarding. So for the sake of the money, they abandon wisdom and constantly insist on pressuring flyers to board “quick, damn, and in a hurry.”

Arrival

I arrived in Iowa and had a bit of culture shock. In Atlanta, I see black bus drivers, truck drivers, black employees and professionals all throughout the Atlanta airport in various levels of engagement and employment. But in Iowa, “I see white people…everywhere.” I was wondering if I’d get some redneck for my Lyft ride or if I’d even be able to get a LYFT (I didn’t have that problem until I flew into Tallahassee). But pleasantly enough, both my Lyft drivers were great, hospital, and kind. This is as it should be for everyone, wherever they travel, but unfortunately, that is not always the case. I was not LOOKING for white people to be asses toward me, but I was on guard in case it happened.

Walking Prayer Around the Circumference

As I have done at every Capitol, I walked around the building and grounds and prayed in the Spirit. Here are pictures of what I saw.

I have noticed something about states who came into existence by taking land that belonged to Indigenous people. In the capitols, the states present their relationship with Indigenous people as respectful, even partners or collaborators. They have displays within the halls that describe the various wars and conflicts, but the large displays, like statues, stained glass, show some level of respect for the Indigenous people. Perhaps it's more that white people have reconciled their relationship with Indigenous folks. Thus you the "Pioneer" statue that shows an Indigenous man who is positioned lower than the white men, and who is a helper to them.

I'm not sure that Indigenous folks are reconciled to this perspective of their history with white people.  

Satanic Display

I turned my sights inward and had a most interesting experience.

On the way to Iowa, I had seen articles about people protesting a satanic display at the capital. And I thought, “Well, if y’all had a spiritual life that could withstand or overcome the darkness, the display would fall like the statue of Dagon did in the Old Testament.” (see 1 Samuel 5:1-5). 

After walking around the capitol's perimeter, I went inside. I started walking up the stairs to the second floor when a young man turned the corner to come down the same set of stairs but on the opposite side (we were separated by a banister down the middle of the stairs). He had a bin full of stuff. It looked like items that might have been part of a display but looked broken, dismantled, and disheveled. It looked like he was taking items to put them away somewhere. One of the items was something that looked like an arm with a black hand. 

As he headed down the stairs, the hand got stuck in the banister at the top of the stairs. I called out that I could help him get unstuck. As I approached, the hand came loose and fell on the ground. It was ceramic, and a couple of fingers broke upon impact. One finger landed by me; another landed at the top of the stairs. I put the broken finger that was by me next to the broken finger that was up near the top of stairs. 

Once I got to the second floor, I saw the satanic display. It was here in IOWA! I had thought it was in a more southern state. A white man was praying to Jesus in front of the display. I walked around the second floor some more (the Capitol is a museum) and returned to the display; there were people around the display. 

Eventually, I saw who I thought was the guy I encountered on the stairs. Turns out he’s a Satanist!! Had on a Satanist T-shirt and everything. And he was standing at the display to add more to the display, but the white guy praying was blocking him. I even asked him if I had helped him down the stairs. He said, “Yes, you were. Thank you so much.” And to myself, I thought, “No, thank YOU!!!”

That put the incident on the stairs in a whole new light. I wasn’t even trying to PRAY against Satan. Just my presence resulted in the figurine related to him getting stuck and breaking his hand. That was a prophetic moment. My life does have some kind of power to overcome darkness. That was encouraging. Especially in light of my spiritual struggle earlier in the week.

Inside the Capitol

Images from inside the Capitol. 

A model of the USS Iowa located in the capitol building. 

Governors' Plaza

I didn't really see a retaining wall that stood out to me, so I decided to pray in the Governors' Plaza, an open space across the street from the capitol building. Its a plaza filled with park benches that have the name of each of the governors of Iowa.

Indigenous Land

As has become my custom, I opened my prayer time acknowledging that this land belonged initially to indigenous people. The map below shows which tribes inhabited the area Americans call Iowa.

Additional Prayer Points

• Iowa is the first caucus in the US. It's a "first fruits" of sorts. I decided to travel here early in my prayer journey so that I could be sure to cover it in prayer before the 2024 Caucus (and before weather in January would prevent me from traveling to Des Moines).

• "Good white people." These are people like Abraham Lincoln, who didn't believe in the institution of slavery but didn't believe in the equal humanity of black people. We don't need good white people. We need righteous white people. Righteous people - who do the right thing as a matter of lifestyle.  Not because they have a gun to their head or are in crisis mode and looking for PR points.

• Romans 8:18-23 came to mind as I was praying. 

The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters! For against its will the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation, all creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the wonderful freedom coming to God’s children. To this day we are aware of the universal agony and groaning of creation, as if it were in the contractions of labor for childbirth. And it’s not just creation. We who have already experienced the firstfruits of the Spirit also inwardly groan as we passionately long to experience our full status as God’s sons and daughters—including our physical bodies being transformed.

All of creation is waiting for these righteous people to show up. Until then, we are all in bondage.