I don’t know when it happened, but I’ve become more and more suspicious of people who say they are inclusive. It’s not that the people who say this are liars, but they tend to love all the “right” people, people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants and others.
But Jesus calls us to love our enemies and pray for persecutors, which means loving might not be the “right” people, but instead are people who are the opposite of everything we believe in. God calls us to live out this challenge but too often we fail because it’s damn hard to love someone that seems unlovable.
And yet, it is what we are called to do and I think as Christians who live in the United States at this particular moment, we must do for the sake of our nation and the sake of our world.
Recently, New York Times columnist David Brooks came out with a provocative op-ed recently with the title “What if We’re the Bad Guys Here?” What follows is an essay of introspection regarding the continuing popularity of Donald Trump. He counters the oft-told and comforting tale by those opposed to the former president about his rise to power. You know the story: Donald Trump and his followers are a reactionary force of bigots afraid of the social progress made in this nation over the last 50-60 years. They want to either slow down progress or turn back the clock and harm people of color and LGBTQ Americans. Those of us who oppose him are the forces of enlightenment and progress standing firm against these dangerous forces.
It’s a tempting story, a comforting story. It’s a way to console ourselves in this fraught time. Whatever happens, we can rest assured that we are on the right side. What about those Trumper supporters? Well, we tell ourselves, Hillary Clinton was right; they are deplorable.
That’s a story and like a lot of things in life, there is a whole lot of truth in this story. But what if it’s not the whole story? What if those of us who oppose Trump aren’t so pure?
Brooks tells the story of American culture from the 1960s onward that paints a very different picture from the general story: He writes:
This story begins in the 1960s, when high school grads had to go off to fight in Vietnam but the children of the educated class got college deferments. It continues in the 1970s, when the authorities imposed busing on working-class areas in Boston but not on the upscale communities like Wellesley where they themselves lived.
The ideal that we’re all in this together was replaced with the reality that the educated class lives in a world up here and everybody else is forced into a world down there. Members of our class are always publicly speaking out for the marginalized, but somehow we always end up building systems that serve ourselves.
The cultural and economic forces of the past four decades or so have benefited many anti-Trumpers while those who ended up supporting Trump have had to deal with job insecurity and fractured families.
“It’s easy to understand why people in less-educated classes would conclude that they are under economic, political, cultural and moral assault — and why they’ve rallied around Trump as their best warrior against the educated class,” Brooks says. “Trump understood that there was a great demand for a leader who would stick his thumb in our eyes on a daily basis and reject the whole epistemic regime that we rode in on.”
Brooks is no Trump supporter, but his article was apocalyptic in that it revealed what might be the sin of those of us who are worried about the rise again of President Donald Trump. As someone who came from an economically depressed area and has seen how working-class families have been ripped apart by the changes in our society, I think he is correct. Just because we are on the “right side” doesn’t mean we are pure.
But showing any concern for this group of people is going to get push back and Brooks got it. Zack Beauchamp of Vox responded with surveys and studies trying to debunk Brooks. He speaks for many when he says that Trump voters can’t be reconciled with other Americans:
…the reality is that our deep political divide is rooted, first and foremost, in profound and largely irreconcilable views of who America is for and what its social hierarchy should look like.
The reaction to Brooks’ article is reminiscent of how another New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote about how he was wrong about Trump voters. He shared some of the same things he noticed: people who felt neighborhoods were unsafe or schools were not as good and felt America was in cultural and economic decline. “It’s one thing for social mores to evolve over time, aided by respect for differences of opinion,” Stephens wrote. “It’s another for them to be abruptly imposed by one side on another, with little democratic input but a great deal of moral bullying.”
The reaction was similar to Brooks in that it was blistering. There was no interest in trying to understand these voters.
Since 2016, there has been a discussion as to what pushed people to vote for Donald Trump. The argument is between those who think economic and cultural concerns played a role while others think it was the changing demographics or a love of authoritarianism. I think the answer lies between these two choices, though I tend to believe that the struggles of the working class are a strong factor. That said, it seems like among many Never Trump Republicans and Democrats the belief is that Trump supporters are as David Brook describes them earlier, bad people who can’t handle all the social changes taking place in America.
My response to that is: okay, so what? Does that mean we ignore them? Do we continue to call them names or talk about how they’re stupid? Do we think if we do all this, Trump supporters will change their minds?
My point here is not to excuse Trump supporters. It’s hard to get past why people would support someone who behaves horribly and tried to steal an election. It’s about trying to understand them and that means seeing them as human beings and not as “the other.” It means learning to love our enemies.
Loving our enemies is hard these days. It’s always been hard, but in our politically polarized climate, it has become almost impossible. As politics behaves more like a religion (in the bad sense of the word), and as politics becomes more and more tribal, we start to see the other side as not only wrong but evil. We are a long way from Howard Dean’s 2003 comment about wanting to be the candidate for guys with Confederate Flags on their pickups- not because he had a thing for the Confederacy but because he saw their economic plight and believed he had something to offer them.
But we live in a time where we want to show others that we have the “right” opinions and like the “right” people. Those “we believe” signs are a way of telling people we are the good guys. We don’t want to sit and persuade let alone listen to the other. I know, there are people who refuse to listen and who are basically deplorable people. But that’s not everyone and it seems like listening and connecting could actually make a difference. Populists like Trump draw their power on people who feel disaffected and cut off. The attitude of those who oppose Trump towards Trump supporters on makes him stronger and threatens our democracy.
But what if we actually listened to people? What if we found ways to connect, instead of simply condemning?
As Christians, we are to love the enemy, but far too often we turn it into loving those we deem acceptable. We want to make it about diversity. But we are called to love the unlovable.
Daryl Davis learned to love the unloveable.
In 1968, Daryl Davis was 10 years old. He carried the American flag in a parade as a part of his Cub Scout troop in Massachusetts. As he was walking, he realized he was getting hit with rocks and pop cans. The adults in the troop came around Daryl and protected him from the things being thrown at him.
As his parents were cleaning him up, he told his parents about the day’s events. As they heard the story, his parents realized they needed to talk to Daryl about racism. Daryl is African American and he was one of two black kids in the troop. The parade was lined with an all-white crowd. As his parents explained what racism was all about, he wondered: how could someone hate me when they don’t know me? It was a question that remained in his head for decades. Over time, he became a musician and had a white man who was impressed with his playing the keyboards. They sat down for drinks and the man was amazed he was talking to Daryl. Daryl wondered why. The man replied that he was a klansman, so the two of them talking and having a drink seemed odd.
That got Daryl thinking. He started to strike up relationships with known klansman. He went to Klan rallies and invited klansmen to his concerts and to his home to meet his diverse friends. In one case, he had a friendship with the Imperial Dragon, the head klansman of the US named Roger Kelly. In a CNN interview, Kelly was glad for the relationship, but he believed his views were cemented. Except they weren’t. Over time, their relationship changed Kelly so much that he left the Klan and gave his Klan outfit to Daryl. Daryl has created friendships with klansmen over and they have been changed, not by being shamed, but simply by having a relationship with an African American man.
Davis was able to talk to someone who was truly the enemy to great effect. If he could do this with a member of the Klan, could we be able to talk to Trump supporters? It doesn’t mean agreeing with them. But it does mean seeing them not as monsters, but as flawed human beings that God loves.
Calling people bigots isn’t very effective even if it is satisfying. It only deepens the partisan divides and empowers Trump and his ilk. But reaching out in love and listening to others? That might change the world.
Sir, I have to post my comments here because in their twisted anti-American/Marxist logic, Medium have classed all of my pro-President Trump pushback against his opponents as 'not complying with their rules'.
I agree with your suspicion of people who say they are inclusive (I do believe that a large majority of them are, in fact, liars. Hence the trans-communities who turn on people who have backed LGTBQ people in the past but cannot take having their, very young, children subjected to pornographic dance displays or books in the classroom.
I call out the liars of the BLM movement who have enriched THEMSELVES on the backs of white people and done nothing for the Black communities.
It's interesting to see that you use this Jesus to 'love your enemies'. By enemies I take it you mean Larry Elder, Thomas Sowell, Leo Terrell, Ben Carson, Justice Thomas, Rev CL Bryant, Alveda King, Herman Cain, Candace Owens, and these Americans: “I’m thrilled to be here in the heart of Georgia to launch our incredible, new nationwide grassroots effort – think of this Blacks for Trump, Black Voices for Trump … Call it whatever you want – we like it,” he said, speaking to about 400 people. Soon, he was engulfed by cheers of “Blacks for Trump”. You're saying that these people are your enemies and that they are "unloveable".
When you write "we often fail". I take it to mean you have failed because there's not much love for patriotic Americans in your piece.
You make some call for unity as Christians and "for the sake of the nation", And yet, you have tied yourself to an administration that has alienated over 50% of the country and only recently aquainted a lightening strike that barely touched his house to the tragedy still unfolding in Hawaii.
Note: Hispanic Americans, Cuban Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans and an increasing number of Black American families who have seen their children slaughtered in democrat cities,turned to President Trump in 2020 and those numbers are increasing in 2023/24.
*There are an increasing number of Black American men starting pro-Trump anti-democrat podcast channels to push back against narratives like yours and MSM.
When it comes to your faux condemnation of the attitiudes put forward by David Brooks I suggest that you do, again, Tell Yourself that brothers and sisters for Trump are 'deplorable'. It has been a factor for the seven years of the President's first term of office and the condemnation by Black Americans wedded to the overthrow of the 'American Dream' of Black Americans who have been proud of the country for the last 30+ months.
I have to observe that you, yourself look as if you might be counted amongst the people who have beneffitted from the 'cultural and economic forces' that benefited the anti-Americans (because that is how I see the people who strived so hard to destroy the President's programme from the day he walked down the escaltor...Maxine Waters for instance). As you say, it is the Americans from the hard working class who have had to suffer the consequences of the last two and a half years of democrat bureaucracy and (Obama) regulations...Yes. Obama regulations because they are the people making the decisions that are put in front of Obama's puppet to sign.
Rather than an 'epistemic' world I wish you would have made in more clear that it was, in fact, the useful idiots in education who have the blood of the people on their hands. It is the so-called elite who have defunded the police and neutered the legal system to such an extent that it is lower than that of North Korea because the North Koreans make no bones about having no justice (I call out the RINOs who constantly talk about two-tier justice). The North Koreans openly admit that they persecute opposition whereas the democrats and RINO's hide behind the facade of not noticing.
As with your assumption that you are "on the right side". That you call on your supporters not to ignore us. Not to call us names (especially when the name we go by is Patriotic Americans).
Patriotic Americans who will not have our minds changed by Marxist followers of the Obama doctrine.
We don't seek or accept that we need to be excussed by you or anybody on your side of the divide.
We stand firmly behind the man who stood against Obama's corrupt FBI/DOJ/CIA and IRS. We stand behind the man who forced you democrats to see who you really are...lovers of billlionaires, corporate donors, Marxist mouthpieces and communist economic policy.
We don't care whether you see us as 'human'or not, because we understand that you have lit the fuse of the next civil war.
That is the reason more Americans have switched from the Obama policies to support President Trump. It is the reason that Americans started deserting Obama in 2012 and why even minorities deserted him in 2016. I would venture here that Daryl Davis would have looked at your present leaders and opined that the sides have just switched and all his work was in vain.
So, we don't want your 'love'. As your 'enemy' we prefer to meet you on the battlefied (whether that is on the physical or intellectual arena).
Call us bigots all you want. Call us racists all you want. Your actions have rnedered those words irrelevant since you have called all of the patriotic Black Americans supporting President Trump, 'Uncle Toms': 'The Black face of white supremace': 'Deplorables'; 'uneducated'.
Call us bigots. To have people who voted for Obama's third term through a man who said "If you don';t know whether to vote for me or Trump you ain't Black" calling us names is a badge of American patriotism.