The Trump phenomenon's most telling and characteristic moments – not its most crucial, nor cruelest, nor most hazardous, nor most foolish, but perhaps its most illuminating – came earlier this autumn. Over the span of several weeks, the US president commenced revealing all observers his designs for a gilded ballroom double the dimensions compared to the White House and then commenced solo dismantling the East Wing portion to construct it.
He has performed deeds countless times more severe – the present calculation of casualties from his cuts to foreign assistance amounts to 600,000 and growing, and recently an analysis projected his energy policies would cause deaths 1.3 million more. However nothing as distinctive. No other president would have attempted – genuinely, no other president would have conceived – unilaterally destroying large sections of the executive mansion in order to erect a Versailles-style party room, with the direct cooperation of multiple America's wealthiest, the majority of whom have business with the government.
We transitioned from 'the gentle will obtain the Earth' toward 'the meek shall die to cholera'
As confusing as it is to watch the president seek to颠覆 the traditional concept of democracy and substitute it with its direct contrary, there remains a substantial portion among Americans who might not perceive it totally unfamiliar. That is those of us – in older age cohorts almost a majority – who were brought up as conventional Protestant believers.
We have observed over the years as politically conservative religious groups converted the Savior we grew up with into the total contrary of who we understood him to be. Fundamentally, they transformed an image of compassion into an icon of hate who approves precisely the cruelties that he criticized in scripture; this change developed more slowly, over decades instead of months, however it is still disconcerting in the same ways, a bewildering emotional blow for numerous individuals.
A Harmful Christianity Takes Hold
So let me first describe the Jesus that I grew up with, because theoretically Jesus is the center of Christian religion, and since the quickly increasing segment within America might have little sense regarding him as they consider themselves non-believers or uncertain individuals or spiritual independents. I take no issue with these different approaches, nor with any other faith; but I do think that exist valuable insights of significant worth in the Christian story.
It is unquestionably absolutely not the narrative of a powerful ruler appearing; rather, a child comes into the world to displaced parents in a storage space, who need to rapidly escape to a different country to avoid secret police. The baby grows up in humble circumstances, an employed craftsman; his teaching focuses on affection for fellow humans, specifically for the impoverished – not merely emotional affection, but practical compassion, shown by providing food and protecting. The Savior's reaction to hostility is to offer the additional cheek – not as a gesture of passive acceptance, but as a means to educate the assailant; his method regarding offenses is that if someone steals your outer garment you must offer them your pullover also.
The obvious and clear fact that Christ in biblical accounts advocates for a type of extreme compassion concentrated on the needy has consistently rendered the Christian faith somewhat of a controversial faith: attractive to the masses, but due to its inherent radicalness needing to be contained. In the 1950s it was contained via weakening – The Protestant faith was so widespread that it practically blessed current circumstances.
A Battle for the Best Within Us
Hence I have become encouraged to see the determined opposition regarding Trump develop during the previous year. It has been great solace to help build the initiative that has protested openly through repeated demonstrations, and appears to have motivated electorate to turn out in numbers during minor elections. We must have to persist with it, and through comparable resolve, featuring US banners during all protests and calls to the finest aspects within national heritage.
We shall be interrogated ... how did you receive the foreigner? Did you welcome them and embrace them or reject?
The country is optimally secured, in other words, through connection to the finest about American history, similar to Christianity is optimally secured by reference to what makes it special and wonderful, particularly the pattern of the Savior. In neither case does it mean feigning the worst regarding America and religious tradition was nonexistent; it represents both humility and belief, a combination that genuine American Christians should embrace.
