After five contentious days, the 2020 Election has been called for President-elect Joe Biden. That noise you hear is Lady Liberty exhaling a long sigh of relief.
And, though Donald Trump may tweet to differ, winning doesn’t have to come at anyone else’s expense. But, first, let’s rip this bandaid off.
To my fellow Republicans, you can do better. I know you can do better. There are respectable conservative men and women of high moral character that you can rally behind. It remains to be seen whether Donald Trump is an aberration or the “new normal” for the Republican party. Please let it be the former.
To my fellow Democrats, you’re not off the hook. There’s a lot of work to be done. Serious work that affects the safety, security, and well-being of the marginalized, vulnerable, and underprivileged. And when the final election demographics are sliced and diced, it will undoubtedly be those people who delivered you the presidency. If you forget them, they will remember. The American people are not tools to be leveraged for victory; for democracy to work, we must believe in the systems that delegate power to those elected to represent us and have faith that those in power will be good and honorable people.
To my fellow Christians, we have a lot of repenting to do. I’m not sure what a cultural post-mortem of the “Trump Years” will say about American Christianity, but I doubt it’ll be kind.
President Trump may have made the Church more powerful (for a time), but he didn’t make it more loving. I know more people who have left Christianity as a result of the overwhelming Evangelical support of Donald Trump than have become Christians for the same reason. The stain of Trumpism on the Evangelical witness will not blot out without considerable time and effort. Nothing has left me more heartbroken than watching the very people who once taught me the virtues of walking in righteousness unabashedly champion and support one of the most immoral, egotistical, vain, dishonest, and corrupt men to hold the office of the Presidency in modern history.
But, policy over personality, right?
As Peter Wehner wrote last month in The Atlantic, “By overlooking and excusing the president’s staggering array of personal and public corruptions, Trump’s evangelical supporters have forfeited the right to ever again argue that character counts in America’s political leaders.”
An “ends justify the means” philosophy toward governance has no place within the Christian faith; Do not tell me that character matters in my personal life but has no bearing on the people who lead this nation.
https://portfolium.com/entry/annas-tasya-66420
I’ve made my dislike and distrust of Donald Trump and his presidency very obvious during the past four years. For some of you, that may totally invalidate what I’m about to say next. But, during those four years, I’ve watched high-profile Evangelicals write thinkpiece after thinkpiece defending Trump’s appointment to the presidency as “the divine sovereignty of God” to spite the evil “Leftist agenda.” Let me be clear: If God can use the reigns of King David, King Cyrus, and President Trump in spite of their immorality to bring glory to His name, then he sure as Hell can do the same with President Joe Biden.
I know a lot of good people who voted and supported Donald Trump. And they’re still good people. And if you voted for Donald Trump this election cycle, it’s my prayer and hope that you’ll eventually be able to exhale a sigh of relief alongside me. Because you’re free from the heavy burden of Trump’s yoke. This is not a plea to reject conservatism or your values. It’s an invitation to finally walk away from that man and everything he represents.
https://portfolium.com/entry/2020-2518
At the same time, Christianity during this period has yielded some incredibly vibrant and beautiful fruit. Christianity coalesced under the heel of the Roman Empire as a religion of “women, slaves, and children.” To see some Christians, especially the younger generation, seriously grapple with the interwoven Biblical themes of justice, liberation, hospitality, and reconciliation have been the most dazzling silver linings of this entire ordeal. Many of you have been awakened to a fresher understanding of Jesus’s message, untarnished by the corrosion of nationalism and populism. I’m excited to see where we go next.
Listen, this is not one of those cringey “Now, can we all just get along?” posts. But, Republicans, you control the Supreme Court and the Senate. Democrats, you have the White House and the House of Representatives. If there was ever a time to prove that all that bipartisan “reaching across the aisle and healing our divided nation for the betterment of the American people” talk wasn’t complete and utter bullshit, that time is now. Full stop.
Regardless of the final election outcome, We, the American People, are tired of it. We’re exhausted. We don’t want a sequel to the American Civil War. We cannot maintain this level of partisan-fueled ferocity and cruelty. We cannot withstand more misinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories, scientific denialism, social media algorithms, and cultural gaslighting. If we continue at this pace, we will burn down, and we’ll have nothing to show for it but the taste of ashes on our tongues.
https://hcde.instructure.com/eportfolios/2181/Home/____
America is ephemeral. All empires collapse in on themselves eventually. Or, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “All nations are like a drop in the bucket.” But people matter. And character matters. And it’s time for us to hold our leaders accountable.
I can’t tell you if America’s darkest days are behind her — that’s kind of up to us to decide — but we need to acknowledge that calling ourselves “the Greatest Nation on Earth” doesn’t make it true. That’s not something that really exists.
https://online.branded-edu.com/eportfolios/8741/Home/Kimetsu_no_Yaiba_2020_
Though I celebrate today, I know a Joe Biden presidency will not solve our nation’s problems. But maybe we can start talking again. Maybe we can take a breath and enjoy the silence left behind in the vacuum. Maybe we can choose to make politics less toxic. And maybe we can dream of something better.
But we’ll have to continuing fighting for it.
For liberty,
And justice
For all.
https://dcds.instructure.com/eportfolios/11699/Home/Ver_Soul_pelicula_completa_en_espanol__2020
https://dcds.instructure.com/eportfolios/11700/Home/Run_Hide_Fight__2020
https://dcds.instructure.com/eportfolios/11701/Home/____Kimetsu_no_Yaiba_Mugen_ResshaHen______2020
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