Why I can't Stay Silent: How America Made Trump

I have had so many emotions since the Nov. 3rd election. Sadness, anger, disbelief, confusion, disgust...more sadness, more anger...and so on. I've had so much to say, the words wouldn't come out. And when they did, they came out in angry tirades that were for very few trusted ears. Maybe it's better not to write about it, but then I've never been one to choose people pleasing over authenticity. It's not who I am. My name means "little truthful one", and little did my mother know how appropriate the choice was. And maybe that's a good place to start. 

I've always been somewhat interested in politics, depending on who is running. I've helped on campaigns, because I think it is important to help elect the kind of people you want to run the country. The 2016 presidential election seems like ions ago, but I remember being less than enthusiastic when the two candidates were chosen. I didn't like either one of them from a personal standpoint, didn't think they were presidential or respectable, and wondered how we had gotten here as a nation. Christians argued back and forth over whether it was a good idea to vote for Donald Trump just to keep Hillary out of office. Some opted for a write-in candidate, nominating Jesus, the pope or whoever else they thought was righteous enough to be the leader of the free world.  Others of us decided we had to vote for Trump. He was the lesser of the two evils, and that was saying something. At least he would probably play to his base by being more pro-life than Hillary. We didn't think he really had a chance, anyway. We were pretty sure we were going to get stuck with Hillary, the most unlikable and unpopular former first lady ever, and she would put the nails in America's coffin. 

Although I had been a faithful Republican since the Reagan years, I was also growing disenchanted with the Republican Party. They had the presidency and both parties under George W. Bush, and pretty much accomplished nothing. They were proving to be a bunch of fat-cat rich guys who just cared about collecting a paycheck. Then along came John McCain...a moderate at best, which was not the way we wanted the party to go. Then along came Donald Trump. (Need I say more?) I felt like the Republican Party had left me, but I certainly was not a Democrat, either. Since there was no viable 3rd party, I declared myself Independent. Other people I knew, staunch Republicans, were furious with Donald Trump during the primaries. I had not even paid attention, but they swore up and down they would never vote for the man. One was my friend, Melissa, who worked tirelessly on Senator Cruz's campaign. She respected Ted Cruz immensely, and was deeply offended by Trump's vicious attacks. When all was said and done, though, Cruz endorsed Trump and Melissa followed suit. So it goes in the world of politics, I suppose.

A strange thing happened almost from the minute Donald Trump was miraculously elected. Perhaps I should have known, and I guess I did -- but being on the outside of the Trump fascination, I didn't realize just how fit to be tied the Left was about losing. They had every advantage: the media, the pollsters, Hollywood, Big Tech, corporations...and they were astounded they lost after 8 years of their "golden boy", Barrack Obama. People threw hissy fits in the streets like little children, throwing themselves on the ground, smashing store windows and destroying cars. Hillary was furious, said that Trump cheated and dubbed Trump voters a "basket of deplorables". I think Obama was overconfident he had changed the landscape of American enough to be on the way to the Socialist Utopia he had in mind. He announced he planned to stay in Washington for the next four years to "stir the pot" -- and did he ever, starting with lying about General Flynn. 

I thought this was a very foolish mistake by the Democrats. They had an open door, however slightly cracked. They could have really worked at winning over moderates and independents who were disgusted with Republicans and not that crazy about Trump. Instead, they drove a deeper wedge between themselves and half of America. They made it clear that Democracy was of no interest to them; the will of the people was obselete. It got in the way of their power. They immediately went for Trump's juggler, discussing ways to impeach him before he stepped foot in the Oval Office. I lost all respect for the Democrat Party at that point. I believe the Democrats had already lost the segment of Americans that chose Trump as the nominee before the election, and the rest of us immediately after. Foolishly, they blame Donald Trump, who may have stoked the flames into a raging fire. But make no mistake...the fire was already started. 

I've heard it said Donald Trump didn't make the American people; the people made Donald Trump. I didn't understand it at first. Now I do. 

No, President Trump is not a whiner. He's not pathetic. He's not "an obese turtle flailing on his back" or a fascist or Hitler. He isn't mentally unstable.  No he is not a political candidate, Facebook and Twitter! He is the President of the United States until he isn't, whether you acknowledge it or not. 

No, his supporters are not deplorables. We aren't stupid. We aren't country bumpkins who don't think through our decisions or naive people who simply overlook Trump's past sins, his crassness or his childlike responses when he feels insulted. 

We are human beings: everyday Americans like you. And we are hurting. 

If you think we don't understand how you felt four years ago, we do. We felt the same way during eight long years of Obama. If you think it didn't even cross my mind somebody was going to be disappointed after this election...and grieved by that reality, even if it was you and not me, you don't know me as well as you thought.

People who constantly took it upon themselves to remind Christians of Trump's lack of personal moral character, thank you for pointing out the obvious. We have watched the Democrats over the years. We know moral character has never been a top priority. We don't like it, and we certainly didn't like being asked to choose between what we felt was the lesser of evils in 2016. We were still holding on to our ideals back then. Some still are.

If you are a Christian who is still hoping Jesus will run in the USA, and actually win, I hope you are right. If you just don't care because "we are not of this world" or politics isn't your thing, that is your right. But please don't belittle and silence the Christians who care with platitudes such as, "God is in control", "Jesus didn't care about politics" or my personal favorite, "Let's not be divisive."

If you are a church leader pressuring us to be silent, realize you become one with them ~ those people who want to take away everything our country, our home, and everything she was founded on: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...and it feels like betrayal. We begin to lose trust in you. If you think the highest value within the church is to "keep the peace" at all costs, than we see your values as misaligned with God's Word. The church is supposed to the conscience for the culture, not the friend of the culture. We lose respect for you. 

That does not mean we don't care at all about the poor or about issues such as racial inequality. We just don't think they make up for the profound moral deficits in the Democrat Party platform. We don't feel we need to sell out to that party to address those issues. Our president, the RICH GUY, put more people back to work than any president in history. Our president, the RACIST, got more minority votes than any other Republican since 1960. Our president, the BIGOT got 28% of the LGBTQ vote. The FOUL NYer captured 80% of the evangelical vote. But you didn't listen. You wouldn't listen; did not even bother to check out his record. Just listened to liberal media talking points and slandered him. Every. Day. For. Four. Years.

And here is the dirty little secret, in case you thought we didn't know: the press doesn't hate Donald Trump. They never did. Hollywood doesn't hate Donald Trump. They used to be friends. Liberals don't hate Donald Trump. He's not that conservative. They hate US. They hate conservatives and they hate Christians. They hate traditional American values. And by "they" it may include some of you reading this blog.

If you just had a light bulb moment, than you know why we not only supported, but grew to like Donald Trump. He was the lamb brought to the slaughter. He was the only one standing between us and those who hate us. And, for whatever reason, he did it willingly. He worked tirelessly. He worked harder than any president maybe even in our history. He turned the economy around, won a Noble Peace Prize, rebuilt our military and made us a more secure nation. This man, that everyone said would, "Blow us up" with his Tweets and quick tongue didn't blow us up...in fact, we seemed to be better off. Trump protected America...because he seemed to truly love the nation.

Sure, he loved him, too. Sure, he was rough around the edges. No one is perfect. True, I would cringe sometimes at what would come out his mouth. Shake my head, and think needed more tact, more sensitivity, more kindness... But you don't stop loving your fearless leader just because he wants credit for it. You don't stop loving the guy who takes a sucker punch (or five) every day because he doesn't snarl at enemies with just the right decoram. 

The media and pollsters were so far off in their predictions, why would we trust them to call the next president?

"We are divided among profound moral lines"

The guy who was "going to get us blown up" got nominated for four nobel peace prizes and brokered an historic peace agreement between Israel and Sudan. 

He never took a paycheck. He didn't need the money, the notoriety, the fame...he already had all of that.

He accomplished more in 4 years than many congressmen accomplish their entire careers

He was the most pro-life president in history

He kept his promises; he did not speak out of two sides of his mouth

He brought jobs back to American and restored dignity to trade relations

Obama said it would be impossible to...but Trump DID it. 

He took the fiery darts meant for us...every day for four years, with the vast majority of the press never givng him a single ounce of credit for his accomplishments.

He put up with death threats towards his family, a barrage of insults towards his wife and young son...

It's amazing how a quick google search of ugly things said about Donald Trump comes up with pages and pages of things Trump said. Not one page, not one article about what has been said about Trump. And you really believe the media isn't biased? The Democrats aren't full of hate and envy? What the Democrats do not like about Trump is they finally met their match. Somebody who could beat him at their own game. 

For years, they have been mean, ugly and intimidating to Republicans, trying to bring them down. Now that Republicans are fighting back, the Democrats don't like it a bit. I can't say I blame them, but I think the soft Republican party is gone.