Trump is a monumentally amoral, dishonest, and hateful person who should, by all rights, be condemned and scorned by all righteous people of all religions (along with all righteous persons who are not believers). Yet, somehow, and this, to me, is the single most baffling aspect of his rise to power, the "evangelical" wing of American "Christians" (and I feel compelled to put that word in quotes) supported, and continues to support him.
As a sincere though imperfect Christian, I will try to answer your question. The 2016 election left many people with poor alternatives. For years I would categorize myself as a conservative; partly because of many of the issues conservatives have traditionally stood for but also because of a reservation to radically change policies and institutions that may only require minor corrections. While I haven’t always voted for the Republican candidate, unless I have a compelling reason not to, I will, and while I had compelling reasons not to vote for Trump, I did. It may have been a poor choice but I’m still not convinced that it was the was not the lesser of two evils.
Candidate Trump did not appeal to me for several reasons. I felt that his inexperience in the government workings and his incomplete knowledge of issues made him unprepared to be our chief executive. More than that , I didn’t like his style. His childish bullying and name-calling, his simplistic answers to complex questions, and his questionable history all provide a ready answer to why he was my last choice among the long list of candidates in the primary.
So why do I continue to support him? The reason is the same one I gave when asked why I supported former President Obama when he was in office: he is the President of the United States. I would have given the same courtesy to Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders if they were elected. I would have mourned and fought against some of their actions but I would not have protested their presidency. Would I have supported a Hitler? No, but I think it’s a stretch to compare Trump with Hitler (yes, I’ve read several comparisons). An unbiased observer could only characterize some of the Left’s actions after the election as, at best, poor sportsmanship and at worst, anarchy.
Those who are baffled by the evangelical right’s support for Trump need only look to themselves: It is human nature to be defensive when others mock and attack your most treasured beliefs. Christians have been labeled with all of the ists, isms, and phobic suffixes for decades and now the destruction of the planet has been added to the list. Accusations which may be true in some cases but they do not represent most believers. These ubiquitous insults and presuppositions have created a new scapegoat in popular culture, particularly from the Left. For this, the Christian Right has responded by siding with the candidate who has not attacked them or their values. I don’t see why that is so hard to understand.
What baffles me is how the enlightened left, with their professed goodness and superior reasoning, fail to see the contradictions within their ranks. While professing inclusiveness they condemn and vilify people of faith. Today, minority leaders in congress are condemning a major tax reform for being partisan and rushed, while ignoring that their tactics were equally offensive a few years ago while passing the ACA. It suggests there is plenty of hypocrisy and self interest on both sides of the aisle. At the same time I believe there is also good and that we should try to work within those constraints.
I think we would all benefit, certainly our country would, if we would try to find common ground rather than take the lazy route by only emphasizing the differences. With the world changing so rapidly, we’re faced with questions that didn’t exist in the recent past. It takes time for people to come around. This is true for both the conservatives who are slow to change and progressives who may not see the hazards of rapid policy change. Most US citizens want fairness, opportunities, reasonable freedom, and security. We rarely agree on how to get there but when we realize that we share more than we differ, we can find common ground to move forward.
Christian?
Well kurplop, I've already outed myself as an elitist librul globalist cuck, so I may as well just let 'er rip, right? I'd better put on some gloves for this one...
Trump is the modern incarnation of a worshiper of the golden calf. Of all people, the ones that Jesus condemned weren't the gays or the foreigners or whatever makes today's conservative rage. No, he condemned the rich and those who flaunted piety for their own benefit. Trump is a walking, talking affront to the principles of Christianity.
I suppose Christians have always had a persecution complex. Even, apparently, when they make up the vast majority (~75%) of the population and control all three branches of government in DC as well as in all 50 states.
I don't think that's a good enough reason to throw their every principle out the window. Christ was humble, charitable, and forgiving, and he had no time for rich, pompous, bullies.
I grew up going to church school every frickin week and I earned the God and Country badge in Boy Scouts, I should know. I also know that if the church feels prosecuted, it isn't because "the left" just hates them. It's because for the last thousand years, the church has had to have been dragged forward kicking and screaming on every single social issue. Allowing commoners to read the scripture for themselves, antisemitism, recognizing women as equals, slavery, interracial marriage, not murdering homosexuals, and so on. That's the real reason.
And by the way, if a good Christian is looking for the lesser of two evils, the Clintons went to church more during Bill's term than any modern president except for Carter (also a D). Probably more than Trump has in his entire life. If that isn't a "Christian barometer", I don't know what is.
I'm supposed to excuse Evangelical Trump support because he didn't hurt their fefes? That kind of just assumes they're all basically unthinking children, doesn't it?
If you think this abomination of a process resembles the ACA in any way whatsoever, you have been watching the Fox propaganda network too much. The ACA took years, and is chock full of Republican amendments. Efforts to reach out were constant and repeatedly rejected. There's a lot of hypocrisy to go around in Washington, but it is so vastly slanted towards the Republicans it's not even a contest. As an example, when Ted Kenedy's seat was won by Scott Brown, Democrats ensured he was seated before the ACA vote. Did good old Mitch wait for Doug Jones to be able to vote this week? Of course not. Oh and remember when Republicans were so worried about the deficit? Haha, that was only when working to improve health care! Cut taxes for the wealthy? Pile it on, baby! Sex scandals? Democrats are ejected by their own party, Republicans circle the wagons. Who attacks the very idea of science? Who makes every effort to PREVENT people from voting? Who has stripped every consumer protection they could since taking office? On every front, the right is proving that they govern in bad faith.
With troubles like these, common ground would be great. As far as I'm concerned, it can't be had with one side sticking their fingers in their ears and insisting this obvious imbecile who can barely string a few words into a sentence is doing right by us. No. He's a wannabe dictator and I will fight against him with my last breath if I have to.
This is my last post in here. This whole thing is ****ing cancer. Acerk and every other troll account can get ****ed with a pipe wrench.
