As Christians, the main thing is the main thing: Preach the Gospel and save eternal souls. But we can walk and chew gum at the same time. Salt n light takes many forms, and that includes engagement in the public square via politics. It's often a nasty business; It's mother's milk is money; Second place is first loser. Colson's Maxim holds that 'politics is downstream from culture.' But politics is also about headship, vision and accomplishments. If the author of this article wishes to invoke Biblical imagery, the Old Testament Judge Sampson comes to mind: a rude crude, rough n ready enforcer who possessed a red-light frequent customer discount down at the local brothel, yet he was the instrument chosen by the Lord to accomplish what needed to be done. Comparing Trump to Biblical icons is ridiculous and not helpful, but what Trump has accomplished in the last two years is nothing short of remarkable, tweeter not withstanding.
Morris writes: "In a recent essay at First Things, Sohrab Ahmari makes this declaration, designating National Review writer David French as his punching bag. For those who are unfamiliar with the debate (which by now is many articles long and involves half a dozen other well-known Christian writers), here’s the quick-and-dirty: Ahmari is a Catholic traditionalist who’s kind of a fan of Donald Trump and thinks French, with his moral qualms and high-minded rules of political engagement, represents a failed model in conservative politics—specifically the classical liberal ideal of a neutral, pluralistic public forum in which we all respect one another, talk through our differences peacefully, and then vote.
In a stroke of creative brilliance (notice where my tongue is), Ahmari calls this posture “David-French-ism,” and is convinced by recent spectacles like the Kavanaugh hearings, the excoriation of the Covington Catholic boys, and public library “drag queen story hours,” that there’s no talking with secular progressives. The only language they understand, he thinks, is a firm hand. We’re witnessing a civil war in America (Ahmari uses those exact words) and French’s insistence on civility and good faith are hamstringing the right."
Recent spectacles? This isn't tit-for-tat social theory on the probity of polite society, Mr. Morris. You forgot to mention the Left's aggressive push for infanticide; violence against political enemies (the attempted murder of Congressmen at a D.C. ball field in 2017 comes to mind); or assaulting people for headware violations; the Left's continued, rabid demand for other's private wealth; the de-platforming of political enemies; ignoring election results; unrelenting lawfare to counter their failure at the ballot box; etc.
Please explain to me, Mr. Morris, where is "respect one another, talk through our differences peacefully, and then vote" to be found in wicked people who publicly demand I fund their desire to murder babies?
The reason why Ahmari says "We’re witnessing a civil war in America" is because we are. What's notable, praise the Lord, is we aren't shooting bullets or hurling bombs at each other as the nation witnessed 158 years ago. If Donald J. Trump is the compromise between infanticide and shooting one another, I'll take the compromise any day.
During the primaries, I supported Ted Cruz® for the 2016 Republican nomination. I couldn't be a Trump supporter. He struck me as a rude, crude, loudmouthed lout; a liberal NY real estate developer with a liberal NY posse, who schmoozed with liberal NY politicians. Why would I expect him to govern any different, particularly when Trump had never held public office before? Couple all this to very public moral failings, and I asked, 'What serious Christian could cheer for him?'
But 2 years on, the watch word for people is the same, whether it's your neighbor, or the POTUS: Don't listen to what they say, watch what they DO.
The accomplishments of Trump on many fronts are absolutely bravo and far beyond anything I could've imagined for a Christian Conserva-tarian to applaud. Trump's bellicose blunders are cringe-worthy, yet what serious consequence do those have on my life? The list of what Trump has done in the last two years is nothing short of remarkable, tweeter not withstanding:
Historic economic growth, soaring GDP, record job growth, lowest unemployment in 50 years, rise in median income, 4.6 million Americans off food stamps, real tax cuts, real bonuses, roll-back repressive regulations, record high crude oil production and exports, net natural gas exporter for the first time in 60 years, withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, ended war on coal, expanded association health plans, ended Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty, reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, Rebuild America's military, ISIS in Iraq CRUSHED, U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, crackdown on murderous MS-13 gangs across the nation, National Public Safety Partnership, First Step Act (inmates rejoin society), Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) within the Department of Homeland Security, “Anywhere to Anywhere” VA health care initiative, Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, making it easier to fire failing employees and protect whistleblowers, five-year ban on lobbying for White House employees and a lifetime ban on lobbying for foreign countries, reshaping our Federal judiciary with more textualist judges, two Supreme Court justices, etc. Much more can be found here.
It's why I'm gobsmacked that Morris asks later in his article, "Put simply, what point is there in beating the enemy if in the process we become the enemy?"
Become the enemy. How so?, Mr. Morris. Perhaps Amhari seeks a "benevolent, traditionally Catholic dictatorship, Sohrab," but that type of demagogic snipe is similar (although more polished) to what you decry from Trump's ill-mannered mouth. Yes? Nor is the Jonah allusion to a 'quick, ill-considered dash for the harbor' apropos in light of the long list of Trump's positive, life & liberty affirming accomplishments listed above.
I started out saying as Christians, the main thing is the main thing: Preach the Gospel and save eternal souls. But we can walk and chew gum at the same time. Do I liken Trump to a Biblical icon? Heaven forbid. That's ridiculous and not helpful. Neither do I side with Amhari's assertion that "defeating the enemy and enjoying the spoils in the form of a public square re-ordered to the common good and ultimately the Highest Good." Why? That's the language of brutal marxist ideology - something that appears lost on Ahmari.
I support Trump - and will vote for him in 2020 - not because he is seeking to re-order the culture, but because I see him accomplish the dis-arming of Leftists who have spent decades weaponizing the federal government to punish their political enemies, advance their agenda, and force the rest of us to pay for it. So, yes, we are engaged in a civil war, and thankfully it doesn’t involve shooting each other to affect these positive changes. If that takes me being tolerant of Trump's cringe-worthy, bellicose blunders on tweeter so be it. How about you, Mr. Morris? Will you be tolerant (I hear it's a virtue) in exchange for Trump's accomplishments?
