FAILED HOPE, RENEWED HOPE [Sa. 11-7-20]

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith & Life for the Years of Winter

FAILED HOPE, RENEWED HOPE    [Sa. 11-7-20]

Like many people, four years ago, when Donald Trump was elected president, I was amazed and worried. Here is what I wrote then, first on Facebook, then in this column on Dec. 3 of 2016…

HOPING FOR TRUMP TO SUCCEED 12-3-16

I want Donald Trump to succeed as President of the USA. I want him to be a good president. I pray for him. I am distressed by folks who say “He is not my president,” or “We shall resist him at every point.” That is what many did to Barack Obama. The results were disastrous, not because Obama did not try to be a good president, or did not have the skills to be a good president, but because his opponents determined ahead of time to resist everything he did and said, regardless of whether it would be good for America.

I want Trump to be the best president we have ever had, just as I wanted Obama to be the best president we ever had. Obama had what it took to be a great president, but his opponents determined ahead of time that they would resist everything he said and did, even if it were something they favored. That is the classic example of “cutting off your nose to spite your face.” It was stupid and destructive and disastrous.

I will resist Trump every time he does or says something that is un-American. I will not determine ahead of time that that includes everything he says and does. I hope he’ll do good things for America and the world. If he does, I’ll cheer. If he does not, I’ll resist. If everyone had tried to help President Obama succeed instead of trying to make him fail, the world would be much better off. I don’t want to repeat that with President Trump.

JRMcF

Unfortunately, Donald Trump did not want to be the best president we ever had, even a good president. You can’t be a good president without doing the work and taking the responsibility, and Trump just wanted the power and acclaim, not the work and responsibility. Now that it looks like Joe Biden will be our president, I hope that he’ll be the best president we ever had, and I shall pray and work to that end. I hope everyone else does, too, but experience shows us that some folks are willing to burn the house down just so they can be king of the ashes. I’ll pray for them… but also I’ll carry a big bucket of water at all times. I’m not afraid to use it.

John Robert McFarland