Crouched down on the floor of her Washington, D.C., apartment Wednesday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) invoked Jesus during a freewheeling Instagram Live post to defend her radical political positions.
While she extended grace to those who feel they need to be politically moderate, Ocasio-Cortez, who is Catholic, said it is “not the time” to be morally moderate.
The 29-year-old politician went on to reference Martin Luther King’s 1963 Letter form Birmingham Jail, in which the late civil rights icon responded to those who called him an “extremist.”
King said he was at first “disappointed” by the characterization, but soon found “satisfaction” in the title because Jesus, among other notable figures, was “an extremist in love.”
“He goes down this list, and he said, ‘Was Jefferson not an extremist for freedom, say? Or was Lincoln not an extremist for abolition? Was Jesus not an extremist for love, to give all of one’s self?’” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The question is not whether you are or aren’t an extremist. The question is will you be an extremist for love? What will you be an extremist for?”
At another point during her lengthy video, during which she waxed philosophical about all kinds of issues, Ocasio-Cortez, the lead trumpeter of the radical Green New Deal, warned viewers there are only 12 years to save the world.
“We have 12 years left to cut emissions by at least 50 percent if not more,” she explained. “And for everyone who wants to make a joke about that: you may laugh, but your grandkids will not.”
“So,” she continued, “understand that the internet documents everything for all those people. … Your grandchildren will not be able to hide the fact that you fought against acknowledging and taking bold actions on climate change.”
To those who deny the seriousness of the issue, Ocasio-Cortez said: “I just feel bad for you. I just pity you for your role in history right now.”