Trumpism's most telling and distinctive moments – not its most important, nor most harsh, nor most threatening, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – came earlier this autumn. In the course of multiple weeks, the nation's leader started showing all observers his intentions for a gilded ballroom twice the size compared to the White House and then began independently demolishing the East Wing portion to erect it.
He has done things countless times more severe – the existing assessment of casualties resulting from his reductions to foreign assistance is 600,000 and growing, and recently research projected his petroleum strategies would cause deaths an additional 1.3 million. However nothing as distinctive. No previous president would have attempted – truly, no other president would have conceived – independently wrecking significant portions of the White House to build a Versailles-style party room, with the direct cooperation of multiple America's wealthiest, almost all of whom have business with public institutions.
We went from 'the gentle will obtain the planet' to 'the meek shall die of cholera'
As confusing as it is to witness the president try to upend the traditional concept about democracy and replace it with its polar opposite, there remains a substantial portion among Americans who wouldn't consider it totally unfamiliar. This includes individuals like us – among senior generations close to half – who were educated as mainline Protestant Christians.
We have witnessed throughout the years as politically conservative religious groups converted the Savior we learned about into exactly the opposite of our perception of his character. Essentially, they turned a figure of compassion into an icon of hostility who blesses exactly the harshness that he denounced in scripture; this change developed more gradually, through multiple decades rather than months, however it is still unsettling through similar means, a confusing personal impact for countless people.
A Toxic Christianity Establishes Itself
So let me first describe the Christ from my childhood, because theoretically Christ is the focus of Christian religion, and given that the fastest-growing cadre among Americans might have little sense of him since they are non-believers or agnostics or spiritual independents. I have no problem with these different approaches, nor with alternative spiritual paths; yet I maintain that there are pearls of great price in biblical accounts.
It is decidedly definitely not the account of a powerful ruler arising; instead, an infant arrives to parents without shelter in a garage, who need to rapidly escape to another nation to escape secret police. The infant develops in humble circumstances, an employed craftsman; his teaching focuses on affection for fellow humans, specifically for the poor – not merely emotional affection, but tangible care, demonstrated through nourishing and sheltering. The Savior's reaction to hostility is to turn the other cheek – not as an act of passive acceptance, but as a method to educate the assailant; his crime policy states that when someone steals your jacket you must offer them your pullover also.
The obvious and straightforward fact that the Jesus in biblical accounts advocates for a kind of radical love focused on the poor has consistently rendered the Christian faith somewhat of a scandalous religion: engaging for the general public, but because of its intrinsic extremism needing to be restrained. In the 1950s it was restrained via weakening – Protestant Christianity was so dominant that it practically blessed current circumstances.
A Battle for the Best Among Us
Therefore I have felt inspired to see the persistent defiance regarding Trump arise in this past year. It has been significant comfort to assist in constructing the movement that has taken to the streets through repeated demonstrations, and seems to have inspired electorate to turn out in significant amounts during minor elections. We will need to continue it, and through comparable resolve, displaying national flags at every demonstration and appeals to the finest aspects of American history.
We shall be interrogated ... how did you receive the stranger? Did you receive him and welcome him or not?
The country is optimally secured, in other words, through connection to the highest within national tradition, similar to Christianity is best defended through connection to elements that cause it to be distinctive and magnificent, particularly the pattern of the Savior. In both situations does it imply pretending the worst about the nation and Christian faith never occurred; it signifies both humility and conviction, a blend that committed national faithful should embrace.
