This is part III in my series. To read previous posts, click
on these titles:
A few recent headlines:
Thousands of Occultists Plan Halloween ‘Spell’ Ritual to‘Stop Trump’
(Interesting that "the vote" took place on Halloween.)
I won’t get into the weirdness of these articles. The headlines are
enough but click on the titles above if you want to read more. I'm not sure if potusphobia is an actual word, but
it’s time to add it to the next edition of Webster’s dictionary. Americans are
afraid of the president. It’s not that citizens are cowering in corners,
fearing annihilation by a dictatorial leader. It’s not an attitude of respect,
which is a shame because we should respect the president. This indignation is
born out of a fear of loss. But what are we losing?
Some say we’re losing the ground we gained under the former
administration. We’re going backward. We were close to securing what we
perceived as equality for all, close to gaining control over the bad element in
our society, close to unfailing protection, close to proper adjustments in how
our money is spent, close to giving up the false notion that we live in the
greatest nation ever existing. We were close to achieving a new way of life, a
new American dream. And close to discarding the old dream.
And then, by some fluke, Donald Trump got elected. And every
accomplishment of the twenty-first century was lost. Issues that had been
purportedly filed away with all the reasons America was truly never great were
brought back into practice. Bigots were back. (They never left.) Closed borders
were back. (The laws regarding our borders have not changed. The expansion of
Obama’s executive action, DACA, has been held up by the legal challenge of
twenty-six states, not by the actions of one man.) Abortion was threatened.
(The laws concerning abortion have become overall more lenient.) The LGBT
community was put on notice. (Some may fear the undoing of Obama-era progress
here, but others in the community recognize the grueling presidential task of
balancing the rights of every group, including those who uphold the religious
liberties upon which this nation was founded.)
Americans are not losing their rights, at least not by the pen or
power of Donald Trump. Nevertheless, fear of a supposed new equality for all being snatched
away has sent many people into panic mode. A student interviewed outside a
recent event at her university balked that her school would allow Donald Trump
Jr. to speak on campus since he was the son of a racist, homophobic, xenophobic
president. And she was not alone. Protesters shouted through the entire
presentation. Not in a “let’s debate the issues” manner, but in an “I hate you
and everything you stand for” response. As I recommended a few months back on
this blog, college students and young Americans need to read The Right Side of History by Ben Shapiro. While Shapiro is no fan of Donald Trump, he is a voice
of reason in a time of widespread unreasonableness.
While a portion of the American public may fear, or resist, or want to
rid themselves of the current president by any means possible, there is another
expansive group of supporters who believe the man is doing okay. He might be
brash, unpresidential. Maybe he shouldn’t tweet so much. But he’s the
president, and some people respect him. Some people wouldn’t mind another term.
Those same people, however, might fear the next president if the election goes
the other way. One fragment of the nation might find relief in 2020. Another
might become the loud, defiant voice of resistance.
If the whole impeachment thing strategically places a Democratic icon
in the running, and if that person loses, civil unrest could reach the point of
no restraint. If Trump loses, the other camp might suffer in silence. Or not.
Time will tell.
No matter the outcome of the 2020 election, don’t label me as
potusphobic. Whether things go my way or not, I will likely tarry a little longer in
prayer for our president and our country because peace now seems short-lived. But potusphobia will not be in my dictionary. That’s okay, I don’t live
by the dictionary.
I will acknowledge:
Let everyone be
subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that
which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by
God. Romans 13:1
I will pray:
First of all,
then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be
made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may
lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. I Timothy 2:1-2
I will try, but I
might need to be reminded:
Remind them to be
submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every
good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to
show perfect courtesy toward all people.
Titus 3:1-2
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