Arthur Brooks, a Harvard Law Professor and president of a conservative think tank, introduced Trump at the National Prayer meeting. The Star Tribune reported yesterday Mr. Brooks cited a “crisis of contempt and polarization in this country” and urged us “to love our enemies.” He gets credit for trying to influence Trump’s tendency for vitriol, but his attempt failed. After looking bored through Brooks’s introduction, Trump went to the microphone and said, “I don’t know if I agree with you.” Then the predictable hate speech spewed out of Trump’s puckered lips. He attacked Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, inappropriately using the words ” scum, mean, dirty cops, and stone-cold crazy in that religious setting. Additionally, he lowered himself by attacking Mitt Romney, making reference to ” not liking people who use their faith to do what they know is wrong.” He also used this setting to disrespectfully use the word ” bullshit.”
Apparently, Trump is so narcissistically disordered he believes anyone who opposes him is evil and deserves to be destroyed emotionally and professionally. MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell described his impression of Trump’s appearance at the prayer meeting as ” watching someone incapable of loving anyone but himself.” In the setting of this religious gathering, Trump did not seem to belong. If anyone has doubts about whether he is a practicing Christian, it was made clear today that he is not. He demonstrated an inability to behave consistently with Jesus’s teachings on humility and love and Christian teachings against self-promotion and self-ambition. Also not lost on those of us not drunk on Trump’s BS is Jesus’s teachings ” you cannot serve both God and money,” and “wealth and earthly possessions can impede spiritual growth.”
Trump demonstrates an obsession with money. If Jesus was here to observe how Trump lives his life, he would see a man who measures the worth of a person on how much money he has. He would also see a president running a country in pursuit of wealth and power over morality and civility. All presidents work to maintain a strong economy. Depending on a variety of variables, economies fluctuate when either party is in office.
However, with Trump, ALL he talks about is money, stocks, tax cuts, and trade. Does he ever show compassion for the poor? Does he engage in and speak to charitable causes? Does he ever work towards bringing diverse populations together to heal racial tensions? Does he ever talk about the sanctity of marriage? Infidelity is just another example of Trump’s deviation from the significant teachings of Jesus, ” thou shalt not commit adultery. ”
Evangelical Christian’s should admit they know Trump is not an observant Christian, and that he lies, practices greed, self-promotion, and performs immoral acts. That admission would relieve them of the burden of lying to protect him. The truth exposes him as a false, unworthy idol, and although it would be embarrassing to admit loyalty to such a person, at least they could reclaim the virtue of honesty.
The division in this country goes beyond republican and democratic policy differences. It is the loss of morality and civility that is tearing us apart. The healing will come when the importance of values once again supersedes greed and power. This means Trump has to go.
