North Carolina politics and understanding Judas

By D. G. Martin
Posted Tuesday, April 3, 2007

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Chapel Hill, NC - Why did I do it?

The question always comes up during this Easter week.

Every year I try to put together an answer that might make people understand that I was something different from a simple traitor or an agent of evil.

If I was any of those things, or even if I was a part of some divine plan, I just have to say that these are things I know nothing about.

Of course, I wish that I had not done it. It was a great mistake and I regret it sincerely. But I knew what I was doing. I thought there were good reasons.

You are interested in politics, aren’t you? Maybe what you know about politics will help me explain.

In North Carolina politics, for instance, how many times have you seen a bitter breakup of a close political alliance? And, how many times have the breakups been followed by an effort by some of the disappointed former allies to embarrass or disgrace the people “who had let them down”? You’ve seen disappointed politicians doing everything possible to defeat their former friends, sometimes even leaking information to the press or law enforcement officials in an effort to destroy their former friends.

When someone you believe in leads you down the road to disappointment, you want to get that person back, don’t you? And, if you realize that the person you have admired and been loyal to has led you down the wrong pathway, you might want to get him or her on the right track as well, even if it means calling them to account.

I was a deeply religious adherent of the Jewish faith and I loved God with all my heart. I always tried my best to uphold the traditions of my faith. I loved the Temple in Jerusalem and admired the priests and religious leaders who tried to help the people live in accordance with the Scriptures and all of God’s laws.

When I came in contact with Jesus, I was swept off my feet by his teachings of love, his devotion to God, his simple life, and his caring for the poor. I eagerly joined his group. I did not, at first, see any inconsistency between his approach and that of the traditional religious leaders.

I saw Jesus perform real miracles and change many lives. I was proud to be his disciple.

Then I began to see a difference. Jesus seemed to come to believe that he was above the religious laws that were my foundation stone.

All of this came to a head for me when Jesus and our group of followers came into Jerusalem for the week before Passover. I thought I saw a dramatic change in him. Soon after we arrived, he violently disrupted the activities at the Temple. I could not believe it. He had always preached love and peace. But now he was attacking the place and the activities that I knew were necessary to follow God’s laws.

Then he began a series of unnecessary confrontations with the religious leaders whom I revered. It was almost as if he were trying to make me give up all that was sacred to me in order to follow him.

Finally, Jesus, who had always lived so simply and cared for the poor, allowed someone to anoint him with expensive ointment. When I suggested that it could have been sold and the proceeds given to the needy, Jesus put me down. I was humiliated.

It was then that I went to the religious authorities to ask them for help in bringing Jesus in line with traditional religious practices.

Betrayal, you say. I only wanted to be true to my religious upbringing. Jesus was leading me away from it. I hoped the authorities would bring Jesus back into conformity with the rules of our religion. If they had, I would have gladly followed him again.

Betrayal? I did not give away Jesus’ identity or his location, both of which were public knowledge.

Betrayal?

What would you have done if you had been in my shoes?

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D.G. Martin is the host of UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch, which airs Sundays at 5:00 p.m.

Upcoming NC Bookwatch programs on UNC-TV at 5pm, Sundays

April 15
Art Chansky
Blue Blood: Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops

April 22
Mark Ethridge
Grievances

April 29
Paul Leonard: Inside Habitat for Humanity
Music of a Thousand Hammers

May 6
Angela Davis Gardner
Plum Wine

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Art Chansky—Blue Blood:

Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops

For fifty years, the rivalry between Duke and Carolina has featured famous brawls, endless controversy, long-nurtured hatred—and some of the best basketball ever played in the history of the sport. The Duke-Carolina rivalry has fostered more than thirty former players from the two schools playing or coaching in the NBA; it has cultivated a maniacal subculture of fans who camp out for weeks just to get tickets to the seasonal matchups; it has enchanted a nation of spectators to watch games between the archrivals, garnering some of the highest regular-season TV ratings in history. Art Chansky’s Blue Blood: Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops is a chronicle of the Duke-Carolina fight as it has evolved over the last fifty years— celebrating the history of this rivalry, the traditions, the heritage, and, most importantly—the spectacular basketball.

In this episode of North Carolina Bookwatch, veteran journalist and author Art Chansky details the colorful, revered, and respected rivalry. Chansky has seen every Duke-Carolina game since 1968 and now gives audiences the never-before-told story behind the story of a sporting challenge that has polarized the nation.