Existential Threat

I try to be very circumspect in this space.  I try to see other perspectives and to not be an alarmist or someone who is not sensitive to people's feelings.  I'm not out to make people angry here- I'm trying to get people to think, to consider ideas that maybe at first they disagree with... trying to get people to ponder other ways of considering things.  I try to draw people closer to God.  I care about how people think, what people's attitudes are, and where life goes from here for people.  I really do want to sound calm and rational when I write here, and I want others to take me seriously.  At this moment, I'm contemplating saying things that might sound like... like I am an alarmist, or that I am hysterical for no good reason.  I see Trump as an existential threat to our democracy, and I'm not apologizing for seeing him that way. 

I wish I could see this another way.  I watched the documentary #UNFIT, and that makes it clear that Trump is a malignant narcissist- the same disorder that Hitler had.  Now every mental disorder has a spectrum, and I'm not saying Trump is as bad as Hitler- but he does have the same mental disorder.  Trump keeps saying that he has no intention of accepting defeat if he loses.  He says he's not going to allow a peaceful transfer of power, something both Democrats and Republicans should want.  If you think I'm making this up, Google it.  I would normally put a link here to it, but right now politics is taking a severe toll on my mental health, and I need to stay away from the news for awhile.  However, if you don't believe me, you should definitely go see for yourself.

I'm going to admit something to you today.  I'm angry.  I realize some people in my audience may in fact be people who fall in this category, but I've decided that saying what needs to be said is too important to let this slide.  I'm angry at Trump voters for not seeing the existential threat that Trump is and actually voting for Trump.  I can't understand that.  I also know multiple people who aren't voting for Trump or Biden, for various reasons- and I'm going to be frank, I'm angry at them.  I'm angry at them, because Biden is not going to be a bad president if elected.  Not only will you know that he'll step down in four or eight years (I think he verbally committed to only serving one term, but I'm not sure), whenever he either loses or his two terms are up, but... he cares about people.  He has genuine empathy.  Biden is not bad.  It's true that his way of dealing with the abortion issue rubs pro-life people the wrong way- they purely want abortion made illegal, and they don't care for Biden's more nuanced and more compassionate approach to the subject.  That's no excuse.  If it was a normal Republican president, I wouldn't mind someone telling me that they couldn't vote for Biden.  I wouldn't.  This is not a normal Republican president- this is someone who is publicly stating he has no intention of accepting the election result if it goes against him.  This is someone who wants to be a dictator at any cost.  We could either lose the power to vote, or our votes could become meaningless, if Trump can just win regardless of who wins the actual election.  I think this matters.  I think people that can't see the threat that Trump poses to our country are blind- I think they are willfully turning a blind eye on Trump's evil like how he's behaving is just bad and not horrific. 

We can't sit idly by in this situation.  We have to at least try to vote Trump out.  We do have a very serious problem if Trump wins because the Supreme Court hands him the election in spite of the Electoral College not voting his way.  I can't understate how serious this situation is.  Trump must be defeated.  Our very democracy likely hangs in the balance.  Trump is already talking about winning a third term, when he hasn't even won a second term AND the constitution PROHIBITS serving three terms as president.  So he wants to ignore the constitution.  How can you see that and not say "Trump needs to be stopped at any cost?"  I just don't see it.  Trump is an existential threat to our democracy and way of life.  He must be stopped.

Abortion, and Empathy

I don't believe the myth that people can't change their minds at all on this issue. Why? Because I changed my mind on this issue.

I used to be essentially what our country calls "Pro-Life". I was. It wasn't the only issue I considered, but it was my perspective that the government should make abortion illegal. That was my point of view. So if you are reading this, and you view yourself as against abortion being legal, well- I might understand where you are coming from, at least a bit. I just... I'm not sure that the government should outlaw this practice. I would appreciate it, if you disagree with me, if you'd hang in there and hear me out. I've thought about this subject a lot. I truly have. And I hope you are willing to give me a chance to make my case for why... at the very least, you shouldn't just vote Republican purely because you are against abortion.

I think Christians should be the kings of empathy. I think they should. We should be able to put ourselves in another's shoes and say "How would I feel if I was in this predicament?" The "Pro-Life" issue is one where I don't really believe that Christians exhibit empathy. Oh sure, they care a lot about the unborn child. But do they care about the woman who is in that predicament? Do they care about the fact that the guy refused to wear a condom, or the condom broke, or whatever the reason was why the birth control failed? I think it's kind of assumed that "if a woman has sex and gets pregnant, the consequence for that action should be to be pregnant for nine months and then raise a child for 18 years... because of course that makes sense." Really? It's interesting that people automatically assume that adoption is an easy option. Is it? I have a feeling it is not, considering that many teens prefer to have an abortion to giving up a baby for adoption.

What are the male consequences in this situation? I have to believe there was a man around at the time of conception. Where is he? There are all sorts of things going on in this situation. Why is the woman supposed to be punished by raising an unwanted child when it's not exactly entirely her fault that she got pregnant? What's really fascinating, is that clearly men are more interested in sex than women, and I think most of the time it's men in relationships that are pushing to have sex as soon as possible, whereas it's women who get pregnant, and have to figure out what to do once they actually are pregnant. If I wasn't a Christian, and I was a woman, and I had sex with a man who pressured me into sex without a condom, and I got pregnant, and the guy told me he had no intention of helping me raise the child... I would consider abortion a valid option. I see this. We have to try to put ourselves in someone else's shoes.

It's easy to tell someone "Don't have sex if you don't want to get pregnant." That's easy to say on the outside. What about the girl whose boyfriend threatens to leave if she doesn't sleep with him? Why is this supposed to be an easy situation? It's just... men are generally the ones pushing for sex. As a man, I should try to see the world from a woman's perspective and understand that the whole situation sucks for them. Everything about this sucks. If she keeps the child, well... the people who are pushing her not to have an abortion are often nowhere to be seen once the child comes. People want to legislate the issue, but not actually help women who are in this predicament. It does not seem Christ-like to me to work hard to pass laws against abortion, without lifting a finger to invest in womens' lives and help women who feel they have no good options.

This empathy issue is a huge issue among Christians. For some reason, we are not known for looking at the world through others' perspectives. We don't care about what it's like to be an unwed woman who just found out she's pregnant. We don't care about what the world is like for an African-American who sees the police as an enemy to be careful around, because the police might kill them even if they didn't do anything wrong. There seem to be a lot of these issues where White Christians just don't care to see the world through another's eyes. I'm telling you, abortion is not the clearcut issue you think it is. I'm sure there are some women who get an abortion who don't think much of the decision, but I have enough faith in humanity to believe they are in the minority.

No one is excited about getting an abortion. It always means that something went horribly wrong and the girl in question doesn't see herself as having options. Where are the Christians in that scenario? Probably outside the abortion clinic. Is that really where they need to be? Wouldn't it be better if they were involved in the girl's life, trying to help her? If we were busy being salt and light, maybe fewer abortions would take place in this country. Instead we're busy telling young women they are evil if they choose an out that to them makes perfect sense. It just... it doesn't feel like Jesus's perspective that we should be focused on legislating an issue that is a symptom of the fact that men want sex but don't want to take responsibility for the consequences of the sex they have.

I would say men are probably responsible for... I'm guessing 70% of abortions. Yes, I'm pulling that number out of my ass, but think about it- the reason most girls have an abortion is because the man who slept with her has told her he wants no part in the baby. And everything I see and know about men and women indicates that men are far more interested in sex than women are. Is it always true? Probably not. But it is often true. Men want sex, but women deal with the consequences of the sex. For some reason, as a man, it doesn't seem right to me for me to be voting for Republicans to make abortion illegal when I haven't the first clue what it feels like to be pregnant and alone. I don't know what that feels like. What we do as Christians in dealing with this issue says a lot about how well we can see the world through another's perspective. I hope on Judgment Day God will look at me and say "Thanks for trying to see the world through other's eyes and for trying to help others do the same." We need to try to be in another's shoes, more than we invest in trying to tell them what to do should they find themselves in the horrible position of having an unwanted pregnancy in their belly. I just... we have to try to help people more than just make what they want to do illegal. Somehow, we need to get out of their faces and into their shoes. We have to try.

Be Careful How You Look At Others

I was on CNN, and I saw this article: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/02/asia/khmer-rouge-duch-cambodia-death-intl-hnk/index.html I was happy. I said "Judgment is coming for someone evil." I was not just happy, I was angry-happy. I thought an evil person had just received his comeuppance. I was wrong.

Please don't misunderstand me. What the man did in his time as "Comrade Duch" for Khmer Rouge is beyond despicable. No question he more than screwed up. And I don't know the guy, so I don't know what he was like later in life. What I do know is that according to the article above, he became a born-again Christian towards the end of his life, and he apologized to his victims and begged for forgiveness. That... that changes things. I actually had to apologize to God for speaking ill of one of his kids. I'm sure there are many people on earth that are still angry at him- and rightfully so. But I must remember that the God I serve is a merciful God, who longs for all to come to repentance. Don't get me wrong, I doubt that this man has any treasure at all where he is going. He's going to be a poor man for all eternity- at least in all likelihood. However, assuming his repentance is legit (I assume so), he will find grace and mercy with God. Unless God offers grace and mercy for the worst of us, I see no hope for any of us. We all need to fall on the mercy seat and remember that God is abounding in grace and mercy.

I am grateful today that The God I serve offers to adopt any of us that choose to be adopted by him. He wants all of us to be his kids. The story of Comrade Duch is a story of redemption. May we all be redeemed a little, thinking about how gracious and kind our God is.