Dear America,
There's one thing I always have to give lying Donald Trump credit for: he never hides what he is. He can't. Trump is one of the most overt miscreants I have encountered in my life, and I'm 78 years old. His lack of character is so rampant that he can't fight it. In one of his most recent rally speeches he said that he had been advised to "be nice," but before he began to be, he told the crowd that he couldn't oblige his advisors and he went at it like he usually does. And he gets away with it because of hypocrisy...not just his, but his constituents' as well. Let me explain what I mean.
In another recent speech, he expressed his love for his Christian audience and claimed to be a Christian himself. That audience was self-professed "evangelicals" and evangelicals are supposed to be righteous Christians who evangelize on behalf of Christianity. But the Bible states over and over that God deplores liars. The ninth of ten commandments states that thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor, which has been interpreted over the ages to be a condemnation not just of lying in general but of liars in general too. Yet Trump's evangelical supporters overlook not just the fact that he has lied, but the fact that he lies all the time. Then there's the traditional attitude about chastity, especially outside of marriage...fidelity...which the Bible reiterates time and time again to be fundamental to virtue, and these evangelicals seem not to be bothered by Trump's infidelities, his flouting of that imperative. And you can add the seven deadly sins as defined by St. Thomas Aquinas, among other religious authorities: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth, an one of which could be Donald Trump's middle name...all of which Trump has indulged in either overtly day to day in public or as proved in court and unrefuted by any testimony from him because he knows that if he lies under oath, he is guilty of a crime for which he can be tried and will be convicted. So Trump stands before them and claims to be their enforcer of virtue while his pants are on fire for all to see. That's hypocrisy all around.
So now he stoops to about his lowest tactic yet: designating Kamala Harris as "lying Kamala." It surprises me whenever I hear him say that that God doesn't strike him dead right on the spot. But more surprising still is hearing the leaders of various evangelical organizations praising him as their and the nation's salvation. Think about it. They claim righteousness for themselves and some bizarre form of rectitude for Trump even though they admit that he is as vile in his conduct as a man could be, not just in the civil sense, but in the way of the dogma that they claim to govern their own conduct by rigidly. And remarkably, they never seem to even glimpse the profound irony in their support for a man who has and continues to violate every principle for which they stand. And they don't just stand for it; it is the creed by which they claim to live. One can't help but wonder if they actually do live by it if they are so cavalier about Trump's apostasy in that regard. Are they apostates too? Frankly, I suspect that they are, which by implication means that we are in jeopardy of being overrun not just by an elected transgressor but by a transgressing electorate as well. Our country is in profound jeopardy. Who can we turn to for "salvation?"
Well, the answer is simple: us. We have to stick to our principles and follow them to the polls. This business of trying to refute every putrid lie that comes out of Trump's mouth should be abandoned. We should concentrate on telling the truth to all who will listen and trying to get them registered and to the polls in November. There will be no "converting" the heretics of the evangelical movements. Let them protest all they want about the immorality that they perceive in us while they see none in their mirrors, or in their choice of governors either. Trying to get them to look within is futile. We need to "preach our gospel" among those who are sincere and bound by integrity and principle. We need to proselitize among the convertible and leave the obdurate to face themselves. After all, we're not their mothers, who undoubtedly taught them better.
Your friend,
Mike
There's one thing I always have to give lying Donald Trump credit for: he never hides what he is. He can't. Trump is one of the most overt miscreants I have encountered in my life, and I'm 78 years old. His lack of character is so rampant that he can't fight it. In one of his most recent rally speeches he said that he had been advised to "be nice," but before he began to be, he told the crowd that he couldn't oblige his advisors and he went at it like he usually does. And he gets away with it because of hypocrisy...not just his, but his constituents' as well. Let me explain what I mean.
In another recent speech, he expressed his love for his Christian audience and claimed to be a Christian himself. That audience was self-professed "evangelicals" and evangelicals are supposed to be righteous Christians who evangelize on behalf of Christianity. But the Bible states over and over that God deplores liars. The ninth of ten commandments states that thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor, which has been interpreted over the ages to be a condemnation not just of lying in general but of liars in general too. Yet Trump's evangelical supporters overlook not just the fact that he has lied, but the fact that he lies all the time. Then there's the traditional attitude about chastity, especially outside of marriage...fidelity...which the Bible reiterates time and time again to be fundamental to virtue, and these evangelicals seem not to be bothered by Trump's infidelities, his flouting of that imperative. And you can add the seven deadly sins as defined by St. Thomas Aquinas, among other religious authorities: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth, an one of which could be Donald Trump's middle name...all of which Trump has indulged in either overtly day to day in public or as proved in court and unrefuted by any testimony from him because he knows that if he lies under oath, he is guilty of a crime for which he can be tried and will be convicted. So Trump stands before them and claims to be their enforcer of virtue while his pants are on fire for all to see. That's hypocrisy all around.
So now he stoops to about his lowest tactic yet: designating Kamala Harris as "lying Kamala." It surprises me whenever I hear him say that that God doesn't strike him dead right on the spot. But more surprising still is hearing the leaders of various evangelical organizations praising him as their and the nation's salvation. Think about it. They claim righteousness for themselves and some bizarre form of rectitude for Trump even though they admit that he is as vile in his conduct as a man could be, not just in the civil sense, but in the way of the dogma that they claim to govern their own conduct by rigidly. And remarkably, they never seem to even glimpse the profound irony in their support for a man who has and continues to violate every principle for which they stand. And they don't just stand for it; it is the creed by which they claim to live. One can't help but wonder if they actually do live by it if they are so cavalier about Trump's apostasy in that regard. Are they apostates too? Frankly, I suspect that they are, which by implication means that we are in jeopardy of being overrun not just by an elected transgressor but by a transgressing electorate as well. Our country is in profound jeopardy. Who can we turn to for "salvation?"
Well, the answer is simple: us. We have to stick to our principles and follow them to the polls. This business of trying to refute every putrid lie that comes out of Trump's mouth should be abandoned. We should concentrate on telling the truth to all who will listen and trying to get them registered and to the polls in November. There will be no "converting" the heretics of the evangelical movements. Let them protest all they want about the immorality that they perceive in us while they see none in their mirrors, or in their choice of governors either. Trying to get them to look within is futile. We need to "preach our gospel" among those who are sincere and bound by integrity and principle. We need to proselitize among the convertible and leave the obdurate to face themselves. After all, we're not their mothers, who undoubtedly taught them better.
Your friend,
Mike
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