Trumpism's most illuminating and distinctive instances – not its most significant, nor most harsh, nor most hazardous, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – occurred earlier this fall. In the course of multiple weeks, the US president commenced revealing all observers his designs for an ornate dance hall double the dimensions of the White House and subsequently started solo dismantling the East Wing portion to erect it.
He has performed deeds 10,000 times as bad – the current estimate of casualties due to his slashing to USAID amounts to 600,000 and growing, and presently a study forecast his petroleum strategies would result in fatalities an additional 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No other president would have dared – really, no other president would have contemplated – unilaterally destroying significant portions of the presidential residence to build a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the enthusiastic participation of numerous America's wealthiest, the majority of whom have business with federal agencies.
We went from 'the meek shall inherit the planet' to 'the humble will perish from cholera'
As confusing as it is to watch the leader try to upend the established notion of democracy and substitute it with its direct contrary, there remains a substantial portion of Americans who might not perceive it entirely new. This includes individuals like us – among senior generations a near majority – who were brought up within mainstream Protestant traditions.
We have observed throughout the years as rightwing evangelical churches transformed the Christ we grew up with into exactly the opposite of our perception of his character. Essentially, they converted a persona of love into an icon of hate who endorses precisely the cruelties that he condemned in the Gospel; this change developed more gradually, through multiple decades rather than months, yet it remains disturbing in the same ways, a disorienting gut punch for many of us.
A Toxic Christianity Gains Ground
So let me first describe the Savior that I grew up with, because theoretically the Savior is the core of any Christian faith, and because the fastest-growing cadre among Americans might have little sense about him since they are atheists or agnostics or spiritual independents. I take no issue with these different approaches, nor with any other faith; yet I maintain that exist valuable insights of substantial value in the Christian story.
It is unquestionably absolutely not the story of a powerful ruler arising; instead, an infant arrives to displaced parents in a garage, who need to rapidly escape to a foreign land to escape covert authorities. The baby grows up in simple surroundings, a laboring woodworker; his doctrine is about love for fellow humans, particularly for the poor – and not a sentimental love, but tangible care, shown by providing food and protecting. Christ's response to hostility is to present the additional cheek – not as a gesture of compliant endurance, but as a method to educate the attacker; his crime policy states that when an individual takes your outer garment you ought to provide him your sweater also.
The obvious and direct reality that the Savior of the gospels calls for a form of extreme compassion focused on the poor is what has always made Christianity rather a provocative belief system: engaging for the general public, but due to its intrinsic extremism requiring to be contained. In the fifties it was contained by dilution – Protestant Christianity was so widespread that it essentially baptized the status quo.
A Struggle for the Best of Us
Hence I have become inspired to observe the persistent defiance regarding Trump develop during the previous year. It has been substantial consolation to participate in developing the movement that has taken to the streets in rally after rally, and appears to have motivated electorate to show up in large quantities during minor elections. We must have to maintain it, and in the same spirit, with American flags throughout each rally and requests to the highest qualities of American history.
We're going to be asked ... how did you receive the immigrant? Did you accept these individuals and embrace them or refuse?
The nation is most protected, essentially, by relationship to the best within national tradition, similar to Christianity is most protected by relationship to that which renders it special and beautiful, specifically the model of the Savior. In both situations does it imply feigning the most negative of both America and Christianity was nonexistent; it represents both modesty and belief, a mixture that genuine American Christians ought to accept.
