O.K. I’m just done with Donald Trump. It was a lot of good fun when he first appeared as a presidential candidate… you know, like a reality show…. and he was great material for the last several broadcasts of the Daily Show. But now as his campaign seems to be gathering momentum, and we’re hearing his mean-spirited rants over and over, thanks to a news media with an insatiable appetite for mindless spectacle…. It’s just not funny anymore. It’s not that I think Trump has a chance in the presidential race, or for his party’s nomination… God help us if he does. What bothers me is that the entire political discourse is being dumbed down, reduced to boorish personal attacks, that it has devolved to a campaign of uninformed sensationalism that plays on the infectious fears of the willfully ignorant of our culture. Such a pandering of malicious bigotry is a stain upon our higher nature as people of conscience. It was entertaining for a while, now it is offensive.
So, what does this have to do with us?… we who call ourselves the baptized… we who promise to serve the good through the means of love. Paul warns the church in Corinth about succumbing to the ways and whims of the world, a world held captive by suspicion and fear and self-interest. He commends the Corinthians to what love looks like, how to recognize it, lest they stray into the wiles of evil. He tells them that love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. love does not insist on its own way… It bears all things… believes all things… hopes all things, endures all things. Look for the marks of love and there you will find your true belonging he says.
My mother has always told me that when sizing up which side of an issue to be on… just look at how each side behaves… Or as the writer of John’s gospel puts it… “see how they love.” We are obligated as people of God to demand better than what Donald Trump is offering (even though he says that his favorite book is the bible). As people of God we are obligated to speak to and participate in the political realm with the authority of grace…. politics is our business… that is, if you define politics simply as the means by which we live with one another. That is the agenda of the gospels, which are decidedly political, that the human family live together in well-being and dignity, in the shared abundance of God’s collaborative way of life. We are indeed lucky to have the privilege and obligation to express our will as citizens in a free election, and so we dare not abdicate our responsibility as followers of Jesus to stand for mature and enlightened discourse. The doctrine of the separation of Church and State has nothing to do with the church expressing itself in the electoral process…. We don’t as an institution endorse candidates, but we do stand for enlightened debate; we do stand for telling the truth, we do stand for dignity and justice and respect… we stand, as in all things, for the process of love… the stuff of our baptismal covenant.
And how about good manners… In my growing up, my brothers and I could get away with most any kind of misbehavior… but not minding our manners was not one of them. The way we relate to each other matters deeply. The process by which we elect a new president is probably just as important as the person we elect. We deserve better than the likes of The Donald, a caricature of the worst that we are. As we approach this next election, the next chapter of our history, let us require the best of the human spirit, our love of mercy and justice, and hope… and let us work to empower the aspirations of all Americans to live meaningful lives, lives free of fear and violence… If our voices aren’t heard in the political process, then whose?
Amen, my friend.
Well said, and beautifully. Thank you.
Dog and pony show and it scares the “hell” out of me..
Taking the Lord’s name in vail isotebtham using profanity. I do not know if Mr Yrump really does read the Bible but he refused to answer sole questions about what he particularly likes. He would not even share his favorite verse or chapter. Pretty much all of us were raised with Palsm 23. That would have been an easy one. I am finding it difficult to believe he is a strong proponent of Jesus and that he is aware is just what Paul cautioned against. Thank you you always put forth the way for us and remind us of the path we should take.
Well said. Think you put your finger on it by contrasting Trump’s way with an understanding of love. I have been working hard on trying to understand love in the bible and in religion. Now I know what it is not.
What scares me is that a LOT of people think he is the answer to what ails us. Personally I think he’s an idiot, and like Sheri, it scares me. What scares me more than that is that I can’t see much better from either party. God help us.
Wonderfully and faithfully said — Many thanks –Nick & Diana White
I am starting to become concerned that more people are taking him seriously. He is a bully that screams about issues that are attractive to a great many people, and he is becoming more popular every day. This behavior will hurt either party, and I am worried. Thank you for your words od comfort. I can only hope everyone wakes up and stops him before he becomes too hot to handle……
From Corinth to Ithaca and beyond. Amen my brother!
Great essay, Jim. You’d make a wonderful bishop! I’ll vote for you whenever the opportunity arises.
Have you never had opportunity to read the discourse of our founding fathers. They held nothing back. Love for country compelled then to speak forcefully, loudly, and sometimes bullishly to their counterparts. Nice and good are to diilfferent things. I would agree that Trump is not nice but I am very thankful to God that he speaks his mind. I am greatful that he can’t be bought and happy that he is running for my party’s nomination.
Is this a political blog or a church website? I’m confused.
This is a church that believes the gospels have everything to do with decisions that affect our common life. Jesus calls it loving one’s neighbor. What is confusing about that?
Thanks for this, Jim. Eloquently and faithfully expressed!
Hoyt Winslett , jr + (sometime Curate of All Saints’s Church, 1961-1963, and friend of Sam Flowers)
Amen, Jim! Good to see you after all these years. I knew you had been ordained but didn’t know where you ended up. Maybe if enough of us thinking people who mind our manners keep speaking out against this trend of “willful ignorance,” we can get the pendulum swinging the other way. EQB
Thoughtful and insightful as well.
Well written, Jim. Good manners, civility, thoughtful discourse . . . these are the hallmarks of true statespersons.
Well said – you expressed my views exactly.
A reader from Arlington, Virginia, here. I am feeling this post. The messages most repeated in the Gospel- Remember and Do Not Be Afraid – are completely subverted by many within our current political system (and supported by those of us who don’t demand accountability for tactics of “othering” and playing on the scarcity mentality). It’s not hard for me to see this, but it sure as hell is hard for me not to do it in return (especially when faced with Trump). Part of the solution is, as you said, just standing up and demanding discourse in accordance with our principles (from us and them!). Well said.
(Member of St. Peter’s, Oxford, MS.) I happened to see your blog while searching for an email address, and I want to comment with the following quote which I have kept for a few years. It would be one (of many) messages I would like to send Trump:
“Our son died a victim of an inhuman ideology in the World Trade Centers. Our actions should not serve the same purposes. Let us grieve. Let us reflect and pray. Let us think about a rational response that brings real peace and justice to our world. But let us not as a nation add to the inhumanity of our times.” –Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez