Finally, Some Post-Election Thoughts

It is now almost a month and half since the election. I have not written about it yet, except on social media. It’s been difficult to put into words the depth of what I’ve been feeling and to do it in a charitable way. I admit I wrote a long, (unpublished) razed-earth post that made me feel better but would convince precisely no one and would only serve to make me and people who see things as I do feel superior about our opinion.

I have been struggling to find perspective. While things are coming into clearer focus now than in early November, I know there is still much I need to understand. Please accept this rough draft of thoughts that I am processing and working through.

My heart is deeply with the groups, especially of fellow Christians, who are feeling  betrayed by white evangelicals right now.

My heart hurts that so many white, conservative Christians dismiss and ignore the voices and stories and concerns of fellow believers who may have a different perspective on politics and race. My heart is also with everyone who worries that the bombastic and threatening language the PEOTUS used during the campaign will come true. My heart is with the downtrodden—including the white poor and other vulnerable groups—because vulnerable communities are always the ones who suffer most when power abusers get control.

It has become more clear over the last month or so that voters for the PEOTUS cannot be put into easy categories. They hold a wide range of views and have a wide range of concerns.

Some are even people of color. Some are moms with just as much concern about justice issues as I have. Many just really couldn’t hand a victory to Clinton corruption. There are a lot of people who were concerned about the PEOTUS’s way of talking and acting, but when they compared the two candidates’ flaws, they came to a different conclusion than I did. I wish they would have considered a third-party candidate, but a lot of people feared that such a vote would hand a victory to Clinton. I disagree strongly with that conclusion, but as Russell Moore (himself a strong Trump critic who has faced heat from his own people for his stand) has pointed out, our issue should be less with the “lesser of two evils” people and more with those who embraced the ungodly aspects of the Trump candidacy as if they were good.