Last year, I sat back and watched what can only be described as the Donald Trump Show with mild amusement. Amusement slowly turned into shock as the year went on, and now, all I really feel is full-scale horror. And not in a “I don’t agree with this candidate and what he stands for” kind of way, but about the undertones of our society that his popularity and success reveal.
At first, I kind of understood, and almost felt like we only had ourselves to blame. After all, we live in a celebrity-crazed culture here in the U.S. where I’m pretty sure more people can name all of the Kardashian siblings than could name three members of the Supreme Court. Plus, Trump knows how to entertain. Just watch any footage from his rallies–it’s like watching a game show crossed with a Jerry Springer episode. There’s excitement, the feeling you’re going to win something, and unabashed insult-hurling and pure ridiculousness.
As the campaign gained speed last summer into the fall, there were more and more troubling things Trump said that had the media, and most people I know, predicting his downfall.
There was the quote about Mexicans sending over criminals and rapists: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
The time he said he didn’t think John McCain was a War Hero because he was captured and he, “…likes people who weren’t captured.”
At a rally, he chided Latino journalist, Jorge Ramos, “You haven’t been called, go back to Univision.”
And there’s that time he told Fox & Friends that we should kill the families of terrorists (as in women and children).
And yet, his poll numbers rose.
He started talking about (giant) walls, people not voting for Carly Fiorina because of her face, and not allowing any Muslims to enter into the country.
He didn’t condemn backings from the likes of David Duke, instead making claims that he didn’t know about “white supremacists.”
He spoke at Liberty University and quoted a verse in the Bible as “Two Corinthians.” There were the black students he had removed from a recent rally in Georgia. And still his popularity grew.
On debate stages and the campaign trail, he gave no concrete plans for his Presidency, constantly praised himself in embarrassing ways, consistently lied, and showed no maturity or grace towards his fellow candidates. In fact, PolitiFact rated 78% of a summary of Trump’s statements as mostly false, false, or “pants on fire.”
And yet, as of three days ago, after winning Super Tuesday, he is the leading candidate for the Republican nominee in the 2016 election. This. Is. Shocking.
Then you drill down and learn that many of his supporters self identify as evangelical Christians. Cue the full-scale horror.
And it’s horrifying on many levels. Never mind the total lack of qualifications, history of failed business dealings, childish rhetoric, and questionable moral compass. The thing that bothers me most is that you simply cannot explain away the racism. Just in case, here’s a definition: prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.
As my daily text Bible Study group has discussed, Trump is out there saying what a lot of people believe. Those ugly, backwards quotes represent ideals and values his supporters obviously embrace. It’s like he’s the new face of closest racists and has given voice to things this group was only allowed to discuss at closed family functions.
And if we are being really honest about what Trump’s seemingly unstoppable race to be the GOP nominee means, it’s this: that “making America great again” involves going back to a society entirely dominated by white males, and nothing to do with Jesus.
Now to be clear, I am not saying that I need the President to be a Jesus disciple, though upholding those values which Jesus preached about is highly desirable. (I believe in separation of church and state as was originally intended by the founding fathers fleeing from the Church of England.) But the leader of the free world needs to accept and celebrate the changing makeup of our nation. We are Spanish, Hatian, Indian, Jamaican, Black, White, Cuban, and Asian. (Yes, I just quoted Will Smith lyrics. You’re welcome.)
The America of today is great BECAUSE we are not the America of yesterday. A country who obliterated the natives, imported slaves, oppressed every immigrant group who came to help us build, counted women as lesser than, burned people accused of being witches, created legislation to keep minorities from having equal access to housing and education, mandated segregation, and more. And as I’ve written about time and time again, we still have a long road ahead of us, but we should not be inputting “yesterday” as the GPS coordinates for a bright future.
As Jim Wallis so eloquently stated in his recent Huffington Post article:
Jesus announced his mission in the little town of Nazareth, as recorded in Luke chapter 4, verse 18.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free.”
Does that sound like anything you have heard from the “evangelicals” the media is covering in this election?
Seriously. I. Can’t. Even.
Unlike any other candidate friends and strangers have rallied their support behind in the past, it baffles my mind. And it’s not a simple matter of “we agree to disagree.” As my friend, Kristy, and I discussed, a vote for Donald Trump means you side with someone who, in our opinion, represents the most evil side of our fallen human nature.
I’m not sure how else to express the sadness that I feel. It’s a deep hopelessness that we are not as far as we thought we were. A shame about the representation of Jesus shown by Trump evangelical supporters. And a legitimate fear that our nation will elect this man to its highest seat of office.
While I don’t put my trust or hope in American politics–my heart belongs to a different Kingdom–this is the country of my naturalized citizenship. And it’s not a question of not agreeing with economic policies or social conservatism. This is a war against humanity itself.
If you are reading this and are a Trump supporter, I so want to talk to you. No. I NEED to talk to you. To understand. And gain compassion and empathy.
And regardless of where you stand–and especially if you do support him–I encourage you to spend 30 minutes watching these highly entertaining and informative clips:
I don’t have an action plan, except to dialogue about it. Racism is alive and well, and has a new celebrity endorser.
I could go on but I think this has gone on long enough. So I leave you with these select gems of quotes from the one and only:
- “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” (Twitter, Nov. 6, 2012)
- “Ariana Huffington is unattractive, both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man – he made a good decision.”
- “A well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market. … [I]f I were starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I believe they do have an actual advantage.” (NBC News, September 1989)
- “Show me someone without an ego, and I’ll show you a loser.” (Facebook, Dec. 9, 2013)
- “My IQ is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault.“ (source: Marieclaire)
- “One of the things I’m going to do if I win…I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money…So when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they’re totally protected.” (at a Ft. Worth rally in February 2016)
- “I get called by a guy that can’t buy a pair of pants, I get called names?” (Trump’s comment about paralyzed commentator, Charles Krauthammer)
- “I’m not sure I have ever asked God’s forgiveness. I don’t bring God into that picture….When I go to church and when I drink my little wine and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of forgiveness. I do that as often as I can because I feel cleansed.” (in an interview with Christian Post)
[The End.]
[Photo: “State of the Union Address/Speech – January 2018 CF2018W04_2” by ArturoYee is licensed under CC BY 2.0]