Tuesday, November 8, 2016

A PAINFUL CHOICE

Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.-Proverbs 25:19 NIV 

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.-Proverbs 25:28 ESV 

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.-Proverbs 16:32 ESV 

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.-I Cor 13:11 ESV 

Criminal versus crazy. 

That's how I have characterized the 2016 Presidential election. 
This is in sharp contrast to the exciting run up to 1984.  Morning in America. Remember that?   After watching a joyful President with a winsome personality, I was very excited to cast my first Presidential vote for Ronald Reagan in 1984. 
In contrast we now find ourselves reduced to going out to vote for our side's demon to keep the other demon out of the White House.  

You've probably figured out, I am not a fan of either candidate. 
Voting for Hillary Clinton is absolutely out of the question.  Aside for the fact that she is an unindicted criminal, her ideology will certainly push America further from its Constitutional moorings. 

Sadly, the standard bearer for the Republican party is someone I do not trust.  Before even getting into political issues, I have no confidence in Donald Trump's character.  It is true that we are all flawed and imperfect human beings.  But it is another thing to show no demonstrable aspiration to virtue and proclaim that you see no need to ask God for forgiveness.   

Politically, Mr. Trump has spent most of his life as a Democrat.  He is clearly a Progressive.  My concern is that he has simply leveraged hot button issues like immigration and trade to lure a plurality of Republicans.  And in the process his demagoguery on these matters has needlessly alienated people who might otherwise embrace Conservative policies like fair trade and legal immigration.   

Let's be blunt here: the Republican candidate for President has produced a cult of personality.  It has been all about him. If you're in the cult, great!  If you're not, you're subject to all kinds of public shaming and vitriol.  Just days ago Never Trumper Erick Erickson revealed that one reprehensible Trump supporter suggested his wife's cancer is a punishment for not supporting "God's choice, Donald Trump.."  

If you're already skeptical of Republicans, the odious elements of Mr. Trump's personality and behavior can be frankly repulsive.  Sadly too many have not figured out that you can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.  A lot of vinegar has flowed from the candidate and his followers... almost as much as the kool-aid that has kept members of the cult drunk with inordinate infatuation to the point of losing all sense of introspection.   Too many have been simply fan boys and girls, refusing to call their candidate to account for behavior that is beneath that we would expect from a Presidential nominee, or any healthy human being for that matter. 

In fact, this campaign has been rife with nastiness from candidate and citizen alike.  As if trying to endure the horrible character flaws of Donald J Trump wasn't enough, there's the issue of many of his supporters. Honestly, it would be all too easy to vote against Mr. Trump out of spite toward those who behave more like an angry mob than civil Americans who know how to govern themselves.  I'm reminded of a documentary "Lord Save Us From Your Followers".   It addresses the fact that they way too many of us Christians have behaved in a way that poorly reflects on our Lord. tians have behaved in a way that poorly reflects on our Lord.  I believe the "in your face" mentality of too many Trump supporters has truly reflected the ethos of the candidate himself.    

Ultimately the corrupt character of  Hillary Clinton helped to sharpen my focus and mute all of the white noise bombarding me.  I believe Mrs. Clinton has used her position for personal profit and her use of private email was beyond irresponsible. Her corrupt activities have already undermined our National Security.   Beyond her extreme leftist policies, a person of this ilk cannot be trusted in the White House... period! 

So on Friday, one of the last days of early voting in North Carolina I walked into the voting booth with a final decision.  I tapped the touch screen for every race except the first one.  With a heavy heart I returned to page one and voted for Donald J Trump. I have chosen the crazy one over the criminal.  I did it for one reason alone:  damage control.   As Mark Levin has brilliantly articulated, Hillary Clinton must be stopped.  That is it.  This is not an expression of confidence in Mr. Trump.  Simply a rejection of the unthinkable alternative.   

If Mr. Trump can pull off a victory Tuesday night, he should fall on his knees and give God the glory.  A win certainly will not be the result of him successfully selling himself to the American people.  He would simply be the last person standing in a battle between two very unlikeable and toxic candidates.  And I hope Mr. Trump will take the opportunity earn the trust of millions of Americans like me. 

I also hope his election might prompt him to deeply humble himself and express a willingness to grow as never before.... first and foremost as a human being.  I pray that he will begin an earnest pursuit of wholeness... to unearth and conquer the demons that drive him to wound people in an effort to "unwound" himself.   That's not me playing psychologist.  He acknowledged this troubling behavior to Megyn Kelly during the primary.  

I will also pray that those who have Mr. Trump's ear will be strong and refuse to be bullied. Frankly, of those in his circle, it is only Newt Gingrich who I have ever heard call out his juvenile behavior publicly.  I especially like his challenge weeks ago that Mr. Trump had to make a choice: whether to become President or whether to be himself.  The same is true for being President.    If he is elected to the nation's highest office, Mr. Trump must seek Divine help to become the man this nation needs at this critical time in history. A 70 year old adolescent simply will not do