Voting and Healing

Update 2020-10-03 

The following pretty much mirrors my thoughts about Trump from a friend's FB Post.

I'm just going to come out and say it:  I don't like Trump as a person.  I have a visceral negative reaction to him.  He reminds me of the bullies I knew in elementary school and middle school when I was harassed relentlessly because I was a nerd and my mom was a teacher at the school.  I have seen video of Trump speaking at rallies, and he appears more charming and funny in that setting, but overall, no, I don't like Trump.  But I am still voting for him.  Logic tells me that I don't like most politicians, so I can't trust my visceral dislike of Trump.  At the end of the day, I like about half of Trump's policies, and I cannot find any policies that Biden supports that I like.   Trump is generally more free market oriented and more against foreign wars than Biden is. And of course he is more likely to appoint conservative judges to the federal courts.  The greatest threat to the United States right now -- by far -- is the radical left that Biden and the Democrats are encouraging to riot and loot, and Trump is opposed to the greatest threat to America and may actually do something about that threat.  So, yes, I will vote for Trump even though I don't like him.

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2020-08-26

I did not vote for Trump in 2016. It was the first time in my life I had not voted for the Republican nominee in the general Presidential election. For months I have concluded that having Trump would be better than Biden. Trump has been better than I expected for extracting or at least not worsening the wars around the world, for nominating judges that I am sure are better than what Hillary would have. 

I also believe that "Trump's egoism, narcissism, nativism, and all around contemptuousness is eroding the moral fabric of the conservative right" as said by Jeffrey Thayne. There is a part of me that thinks that Trump losing might be better in the long run for America. There is an equal part of me that disagrees with this. 

It comes down to whether I vote for someone I agree with, or do I compromise; bending farther than I have ever done to vote for someone that seems to currently have their personal ambitions aligned at least partly with myself. 

I also want to emphasize that whoever is elected is far less important than personal change in my own life, in my influence with my family, friends and community including voting for the school board, city council, and state government. And it is in that order. 

I hope that we all can be willing to have conversations with those we disagree in good faith. I hope for hope and healing and a firm resolution to do the right thing. 

The extended quote from Jeffrey Thayne:

"We are entering into an unusually contentious election year. 

Both major candidates have their sore spots. I believe that abortion is the silent, slow-burn holocaust of our generation, and so I cannot in good conscience support Biden and Kamala (who actively pursued and prosecuted pro-life activists with an ideological vengeance). I believe that Trump's egoism, narcissism, nativism, and all around contemptuousness is eroding the moral fabric of the conservative right, so I cannot in good conscience support him either.

In short, for many people, there are no good options. And that means, this election year, we must be especially generous with those who stack their political priorities a bit differently than we do. We must extend grace towards those who wade through the many shades of gray and come out the other side with different conclusions than we do.

Articulate your beliefs and principles, but this year, above all others, we need Peacemakers. This doesn't mean relinquishing our deeply held beliefs and convictions, or relaxing our values. But it does mean not letting the passion of our convictions overcome our humanity, nor letting our tribal grievances set our hearts at war with friends, neighbors, and family.

I worry about the contention that is souring the hearts of many, and it's only going to get worse. I've seen multiple friends, in various threads on social media, argue that God will hold us accountable for voting for the wrong candidate (Trump in some threads, Biden in others). That much may be true. But He will also hold us accountable for how we treat our friends and neighbors. And above all, our position will be most perilous if we stand before Him with a heart full of pride, believing ourselves morally superior to others because of our tribal banner-waving and virtue signalling.

Let us be both full of conviction and yet also humble and filled with the pure love of Christ. Let us not judge others for sinning differently than we do -- and for navigating a particularly confusing political landscape a little differently than we would."

Copied from my FB post.