Join the Group: Christians Hating Donald Trump

 

I understand people hating Donald Trump. I do not understand Christians hating Donald Trump. Actually, I do. We have been conformed to the world. The world says it’s ok to hate him. He is the exception to God's directions.

I will not offer Mr. Trump a role teaching Sunday School, but I must accept him as a brother in Christ.

But, but, but… Do you know what he has done?  Yes, he, like all of us, has fallen short of the glory of God.

But his sins are worse than mine.

Hold your horses, I was only talking to Christians.

But, I am a Christian.

The evidence is to the contrary. Hate cannot govern the heart of a disciple of our Lord, Christ Jesus. It is our sinful human nature that magnifies the sins of others and ignores or lessens the severity of our own.

What is the exact taxonomy of sin that you proffer?

Indeed, there isn’t one. It’s hate. You saw something that you didn’t like in him. Maybe some conduct disgusted you. Maybe it is his assertiveness. Maybe you don’t like his skin tone or hairstyle. They are unique.

Maybe it’s the Trump dance.

It doesn’t matter. Hate does not belong in your heart! We who follow Christ don’t get to cherry-pick this 'love one another' business.

On the other hand, we must not idolize him either. He is a man who happens to be doing good things for the country.  Love him, hate him, be indifferent to him, but understand clearly that what he is doing is for the good of our Republic.

But a judge said he couldn’t do some of the things that he did.  He has to be stopped.

Turn back the clock 222 years. We observed the same phenomenon with different motivations. Government branches were at odds with each other. The history that you know is Marbury v. Madison.

This is not a surprise to anyone who has studied power, politics, and the grand experiment known as the United States of America.

So, now I think I am a political scientist?  Is that where this is going?  Is that what you are selling me? According to Oklahoma State University, yes, I am a political scientist.

Our adventures in self-government were designed with conflict in mind. Powers that once resided in a single sovereign have been divided among three federal branches, state and federal governments, and those that the people retain.

The Electoral College is another division of power that comes into play for presidential elections.

With all of this separation of powers, boundaries have never been distinct.  What appears clear-cut on paper does not always translate to reality in practice.

The history of democratic growth throughout history is the story of wrestling power from a single sovereign. It was messy. It’s still messy.

Our system of government was designed not with efficiency but preservation in mind. Preserved from what? Tyranny.

But that’s not a thing today, right? Consider that tyranny doesn’t necessarily seek political figures. It can come from a mob, the mainstream media, or super-powerful business entities.  It can come from those entrenched in our government who have neither been elected nor vetted in any way.

Victories, setbacks, and counterattacks are the norm in politics. If your guy or gal is the one on top, things seem good. If it’s the other way around, it looks like the end of the world. It’s neither.

This is the nature of politics. Politics is the interaction among many factors. People and processes, governments and governance, law and justice, control and liberty are all competing for prominence when it comes to preserving liberty; none can remain unopposed for long.

We in this country have experienced good times and bad, but we are better off than most nations. We are blessed.  We never get it entirely correct, but we don’t give up. It’s called the grand experiment for a reason.

Presidents and other elected officials wrestle with the seductive nature of power. So many compromise values for money and prestige. That number has been growing.

The elected official who arrives in the nation’s capital on a modest income and a few years later has amassed a few million is not working on behalf of the people who sent him there but of those who are paying him.  It’s not too long before this elected official has a lot of money, his constituents forgotten, and his eyes on how much more can I get selling out Americans.

Money corrupts, but not nearly to the extent that power does.

The real danger here is not in conflict but in its absence. Conflict is natural in this system that we know. That does not mean that we don’t cooperate with others of different minds. We must!

Among the first examples of cooperation must be the exposure and elimination of fraud. This is a cancer that has been untreated for too long and must be removed. There will be some pain.

Next the government waste, and to some extent, the other major issues that delivered our current president to the Chief Executive position again. What we are seeing from him is straightforward efficacy. He is accomplishing what he promised to do.

You may still be wrestling with Trump the man, but the people of the nation agreed with how to address our current issues. It’s their turn to turn the nation that way.  Who knows how long that trend will continue? That will be in the hands of the voters, if they don’t become complacent again.

But we must realize that what is happening now is what the majority of the American people have demanded from their government. We should get behind much of that as an entire nation.

But I hate Trump!  We will come back to that for the Christians who have persevered so far, but for now have eyes to see the skill and the will that previous presidents lacked.

Every commanding officer and every business CEO knows that major change must occur from day one. There is no working into it. Others tried working into it, and inertia told them this body is at rest, and it’s staying there.

Big, immediate change often means swinging the broadsword. The medics, with bandages, and surgeons, with scalpels, follow, but they can’t lead the charge. They would be decimated.

Here’s the thing. Those who were scamming the government knew exactly what they were doing but never expected to be held accountable. Their only defense here is to cry unfair. They are not interested in getting their jobs back. They are interested in maintaining the fraud and thriving on it.

Here’s the thing. Those who got swept up in the first wave of casualties with the thieves knew it, but they knew it was for the good of the entire nation and that that same nation would restore them—eventually.  But they knew this had to be done. They are the new patriots, and those who are restored for legitimate reasons will be stronger for it and make the country stronger for it.

Who better to warn the next generation of the perils of turning a blind eye to the people's trust?

Trump came in like a juggernaut. That surprised many. Anything less would have fizzled into the nothingness of previous pontificating presidents who couldn’t muster movement. Short version: Trump has efficacy!

He does what he says he will do. We are not used to that. We are accustomed to being lied to, manipulated, and told what to say. You might think otherwise—” I haven’t been manipulated,” but he has been doing precisely what he said he would do when people elected him. We all have been manipulated over the past decades and grown accustomed to it. 

But our eyes have been forced open now.  It’s not all happening like Trump said it would, but enough is that even the wokest among us have been awakened! Things—most very good things—are happening that were thought beyond the possible before.

And the man you hate is leading the charge.

You may still disagree with the policies, the direction of the country, or even the fact that those previously labeled as extremist are now revealed as  patriotic because of genuine love for their country.

But don’t hate the man. I am talking to Christians. Those who have professed Jesus is Lord and taken his yoke upon themselves and say they are trying to put his words into practice don’t get to hate the man and claim to be faithful to the Lord.

But, I don’t know if I can do this. What do I do with all of the energy that I spend on hating him?

Blame Him!

What?  I might be able to get behind that. Just what exactly am I blaming him for?  Well other than ending my sentence in a preposition…

Blame President Donald J. Trump for causing you to walk away from your faith in God and denounce the Lordship of Christ.   Blame Trump for making you defy the Spirit that lives within you and embrace the spirit of hate as a long-lost friend.

Hold your holy horses. No man can make me denounce my faith. No one on this planet can make me do that.

Except for Donald Trump?

Have you made the one you want to hate more potent in your heart and mind than the Lord himself? 

It should be a rhetorical question. But so many Christians are surrendering to hate and blaming Donald Trump.

Then what is left for those of us who just can’t stand the man?

We are talking Christians here, right?

Yes!

Pray for him and others in authority.  Pray. It’s one of those cool Christians things that go underused.

Pray for him!

Remember that the ad hominem approach to any issue is the last resort of those who had no standing in the first place.  If you can’t argue with what he is doing, then attack the man himself for anything and everything without regard for the truth. That’s what’s happening now and Christians have jumped on this bandwagon of constant verbal abuse.

Christians don’t play that game. It has nothing beneficial in it. It will make you a stumbling block for others to come to God.

Our elected lawmakers have been on the verge of trying to push what amounts to bills of attainder by giving them other various names. They have no legal basis to prosecute Trump outside of those areas where the outcome can be manipulated. What to do?

Declare the man illegal for being Donald Trump. Open your eyes and see what is in play. These are very interesting times in which we live.

We are on the verge of becoming very much alive as a nation or fading into the obscurity of knowing our best times have come and gone. These are some very interesting times.

Here is a premise that I have noted in other epistles.

It is the nature of our republic that our domestic tranquility is afloat on a sea that separates revolution and tyranny.

It is our nature to have conflict. Our Founders thought ongoing conflict among branches better than tyranny of any sort. It can be messy, but it has been effective at preserving the blessing of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.

But we have so many problems. Yes, and we have the best chance of overcoming them that I know of when I consider the other systems in the  world.

Christians, quit hating. This is the nature of our country.

Christians, resume being known by your love, not your hate.

It’s a good trade.

 

Dear President Trump

Dear President Trump,

I am an advocate of liberty as we have come to know it in America.  I am what you might call a Reagan Republican.  I want smaller government and fiscal responsibility from my elected officials.  I believe in the continued viability of our Constitution. 

America is the greatest country the world has ever known.  Yes, Israel is great because they are God’s Chosen People but we have been a nation that took the light of our Lord globally in so many ways.  We are the best example of doing good that the world has ever known.

I have considered disdain for those who would destroy America because of their hatred for you.  We must vote them out of office.  The past three years have been nothing sort of a bill of attainder with your name on the death sentence.  The very thing outlawed in the Supreme Law of the Land is the goal of so many who would take you down to preserve their own power and privilege.

For those who broke the law or committed treason, the prosecution must be swift and the punishment for those convicted appropriate.  The members of a failed coup d'état must not go unscathed. 

And then there are the media.  This is a special group protected by the Bill of Rights.  The free press is essential to a free society.  But they have abused their status.

Mr. President, this one is completely on us.  We have tolerated their contempt for America and Americans because of their hatred towards you.  This is not acceptable. 

We must demand more accountability from them.  We must stop using all the products of the sponsors of tainted news.  Editorials are fine but weaponizing the media against you or any other person is unconscionable in our society.

We must no longer subsidize their sedition and cowardice. 

And now we come to this national crisis and increased intrusion into the lives of Americans by the government at all levels.  Were this done by your predecessor or those who seek to replace you, I would have considered that a power grab intended to bypass our Constitutional protections.

But I trust you.  I trust you not because you are a smooth-talking politician but because you are not.  Your lack of tact in some situations is somewhat irritating, but I can handle that just as the commander’s language might get a little spicy after his orders are to take the hill. 

I trust that you will do whatever it takes to combat the virus that has altered our lives so much and I trust that you will return this nation to the republic that brought greatness to the world with the same or greater passion that you are combating our present enemy.

I trust you to do this and pray that God sustains you through this. 

Take the hill!

Semper Fidelis,

Thomas R. Spence

He knew what he signed up for...

I don’t know all the facts, but that has not stopped the media from reporting what they think happened.  About what?  Something that President Trump may or may not have said.

He knew what he signed up for.

This evidently got people up in arms.  That’s a poor metaphor considering the topic of that sentence was a young man under arms—a serviceman deployed to hostile territory—and the people raising a ruckus had never been near a shot fired in anger.

Here is my thought.  Whether the president said it or not, it is a good thing to say.  It should be accompanied by a follow-on statement.

He knew what he signed up for, and

He went anyway!

That’s just courage.  It is common among those whom I served with.  I think it is still ubiquitous among today’s service men and women. 

Over 72 years ago, American Admiral Chester Nimitz reflected on the incredible sacrifice of the Marines who fought at Iwo Jima by saying, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”

Valor is still present among today’s fighting men and women.  They knew what they signed up for and they went anyway.  And they went anyway!

Semper Fidelis

Bravo Zulu

Well done!

Must we always demonize our political candidates?

The images of Donald Trump and swastikas and other Nazi images have suddenly become ubiquitous online.  I will admit that Trump is not my favorite candidate and I don’t like much of what he says, but must we demonize him?  Obama was portrayed as the Anti-Christ.  Again, I don’t care for his political and personal views, but must we demonize him?

This whole line of characterization is not about the politicians but about our impotence as a nation to exercise the blessings of liberty with any degree of maturity.  It is no wonder that democracies seldom survive more than 200 years.

I would like to remain the single exception to the demise of self government.  Is anyone ready to be a responsible member of the electorate?

Let’s set aside our pettiness, acrimonious bickering, and national vitriol and get back on track preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.  Let’s be the people we are blessed to be as Americans!

Narcissist in Chief?

Donald Trump did not attend what was the 7^th Republican televised debate.  He made sure that would be the news of the day and that everyone would be talking about him.  He held an event for veterans.  Good for him.  The problem is that Mr. Trump always does what is good for him. 

This time veterans were there to be manipulated for his glory.  He is trying to do the same with Christians but the reality is that it is all about him all the time.  Washington has enough narcissists already.  We surely don’t need a narcissist in chief.

Yes, Trump has donated to veterans causes before but to use his own words as he addressed his previous social and business relationship with Hillary Clinton, he expected something in return.

I am not thrilled about any of the candidates from either party.  Each has their strength and weaknesses but Trump is consistent in everything being all about him.  I expect to see his concern for veterans and Christians or whatever group he is courting on a given day to fade away as soon as it doesn’t satisfy his grandiose view of himself.