I have been a little absent on this platform for a good minute. We’ve had some medical emergencies going on with some of my extended family members and dear friends. Seems like that’s been the unfortunate theme of these past few weeks. If it’s been that way for you as well, feel free to let me know and we’ll hold you up in prayer.
There was an assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump in Pennsylvania a few days ago during one of Trump's rallies. When I got the news, I was just about to go on stage to perform. I shared a couple of posts on instagram, but beyond that, my brain was too preoccupied. What I did see after the show, however, was, as always, such split responses.
I am not surprised by this, but it just highlights again where we are as a nation. We have crossed a rubicon. Some disagree and say that Trump is not the only president who has had an assassination attempt on his life. That is very true. However, unlike the others, there was a lot of sentiment of resentment that the shooter missed Trump’s head.
It goes without saying that wishing death on someone you disagree with politically is not a healthy thing to do. You can loathe Trump, Biden, or any other political candidate all you want to. There are many reasons to. But if you found yourself upset that the bullet missed Trump, you’ve probably been poisoned by the things you consume on a regular basis.
Not to mention the fact that if you call yourself a Christian, we are to pray for whoever is in leadership. Many observant Jews in the diaspora see the book of Jeremiah chapter 29 as a blueprint for how to live. Though I am not Jewish, Jeremiah is in my bible, and that chapter should also be our blueprint as believers as well. Particularly Jeremiah 29:7, which says:
Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
For those who are reading this who are Christian, like myself, the writer of Philippians says in chapter 3, verse 20a that we are “citizens of heaven.” Which means that though we occupy the earth, the earth is not our home.
I disagree with the Democrats on virtually every platform they champion, but I pray for the Biden Administration. Why? Because I am an American. His policies, good or abysmal, will affect me and my family. As much as I think he has always been unfit to be president since the beginning of his term, and that mainstream news is only pretending to be shocked at how incoherent he was at the last debate, I would be devastated if someone successfully assassinated him. That sends a bad message, and in this day and age, I don’t think we would ever recover.
Which brings me to this point.
The problem in the West, and America particularly, is that too many of us people of G-d are immature. When we hear someone say that the Lord protected former President Trump from being murdered, our response is visceral, like a snake coiling up after having hot water poured on it.
You don’t have to be likable, or even a good person for G-d to protect you from harm.
You know who is the best example of that?
You and me.
One of the most popular hymns in the world is Amazing Grace. It seems to me we have forgotten the meaning of the song, or even the song itself. When the song says: “amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me…” what do we think that means? A wretch is a miserable, unhappy, terrible person. How many of us have testimonies of us doing things we knew we weren’t supposed to be doing with friends we knew we were not supposed to be hanging out with? Some of you reading are the only survivors of that time. Your friends are not alive anymore doing the same thing you were doing, but for some reason, G-d protected you. Did you deserve it? No. None of us did.
Let’s not exalt our politics so much that it overshadows our faith. Let’s not let our political opinions inform our theology.
The truth is, G-d did protect former President Trump. You don’t have to be a Trump supporter to acknowledge that. It isn’t an emotional statement. It's true. If the exact same thing happened to Bernie Sanders, Rashida Tlaib, or President Joe Biden, I would be saying the same thing, and some of you who may like this article would be livid about that one.
G-d does what He pleases for His own reasons. He doesn’t ask us to like it, and He is under no obligation to explain anything to us.
I saw a post on Substack the other day of someone who seemingly made a swipe at Trump. Someone else commented and said that everyone… Every single person who supports Trump is a fascist. The original poster commented and disagreed. He said he thinks maybe some are, but not all. Then the person commenting called the guys who made the post a Trump-supporting fascist.
Do you get that?
The guy who made the original post made a statement that implied to many that he did not like Trump. And in 4 short comments, someone seemingly on his side accused him of being a fascist simply because they did not agree on one aspect of something.
Now, I didn’t agree with either of them, but the point is this: don’t get your undies so much in a bunch that you become a fascist yourself. You’re not the first civilian to think that killing political candidates we don’t like is a good thing. You should check out the ones who did before you. Didn’t end so well for them.
I commented on another board two years ago that Americans need to become good citizens again, to follow the ten commandments. I received pushback for that; however, our country was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs and it is a part of our culture. I believe prayer should be allowed in public schools. Which brings me to Immigration. Ellis Island was many years ago and millions started a new life in America, however the impact to America values and culture was slight. People wanted to 'be' American, they wanted to learn english, they wanted their children to have a chance for a better life.
Today, groups try to bring down our culture, they want to dismantle the constitution. They have not come here to become an American, they have come to destroy what generations of Americans have stood for, have lost loved ones fighting for, the good of this nation. A long intro, but what I originally intended to share is our government. In my collection of antique books, I have a couple of high school textbooks on our government. 1894, 1897, and 1934. All have this in common, but I will quote from the one from 1934. In the notes to the teacher regarding why every 'boy' and 'girl' needs to study the science of our government there are three points. The third one I find fascinating. #1 Because govt. protects and aids us in many ways, controls our conduct, and to an increasingly large extent, regulates our business and industry. In turn, govt. requires from us strict obedience to the laws. Knowledge of the law (because ignorance is not an accepted exemption), how they are made and enforced is the first lesson we need to learn. #2 the second reason is the responsibilities for the character of govt. must soon rest on the students in school. They will one day be responsible for the selection and conduct of public officials...... #3 Because, in these days of widespread unrest, discontent, and even of radicalism, when large groups of persons are demanding sweeping changes in the form of our government and advocating new ventures in public policy, it is urgently necessary that our future voters be wisely instructed in matters of government. And here we are 90 years later. And it appears we have failed to communicate and teach our generations the document that we were given 248 years ago. Which brings me to one of the biggest issues today, we have to prioritize best in world education to each and every child in this country regardless of who they are. If school choice is given, please include the transportation for children to get there.
My only problem here is that I see a lot of people saying God protected Trump and tying that explicitly to some political purpose, as though avid has annointed Trump. At the same time, ignoring that God apparently took the life of a man who was protecting his family. I think we have to be careful how we talk about this stuff.