Two messages at Easter
Two messages this Easter from two very different world leaders.
Still to this day I am appalled that folks I know voted for Trump. Up to three times! Yes, I even looked up contribution records and some of those people donated to his campaigns as well. You can search these records here.
As a Christian, I’m taught that I shouldn’t judge others. I’ve tried to help others in my life and to be kind. But there is a sickness spreading that is based on hate, fear, and pride. Politicians like Trump, and all of his supporters, have irreparably damaged so many things, and so many people. So here I am, judging those that have enabled and supported this madness, including those that are friends and family.
Easter is about hope. Renewal. Forgiveness. This the hope that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected. This is for everyone. We are all God’s children, which means we are all brothers and sisters through Him. We ultimately all have different beliefs, with many common shared values like peace and not doing harm to others.
Jesus taught us that there are two great commandments: to love God, and to love your neighbour.
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
“This is the first and great commandment.
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
This should be the anchor point that defines a Christian’s individual morals and ethics. Not hate. Not superiority or domination. Not racism or bigotry. Not “grinding the face of the poor”.
Plato, and others, proposed that politics and governments are a reflection of the shared values of the people. Does this mean the citizens of the United States have collectively fallen so far that the actions of their leaders and government agents are acceptable to them?
This brings me to the source of my frustration and fear for our futures. Are citizens of the US, my friends and family included, aware that it is their responsibility to act against and condemn their government? Or are they individually just waiting until it affects them notwithstanding the suffering of others? Were we not all educated by the sacrifices of my grandparent’s generation and the horrors of the last world war?
This won’t be solved by another election. We can’t “unring the bell” and this isn’t just about one bad leader.
I don’t have the answers. I do know that powerful machines are working overtime to bend the minds of the people. Contrary to Plato, Machiavelli taught that politics is simply an amoral power grab. Perhaps it all boils down to that and citizens are the ones putting their own boots on their neck, to win favour and satisfaction of their corrupted overlords.
May God forgive me of my judgemental heart. May He soften the hearts of those who cause war, suffering, death, and chaos. May we love our neighbours.