The unthinkable is happening. One of the country’s two major political parties has become the party of Donald Trump; and at this point in the presidential election, he appears both likely to win the Republican primary and to be quite competitive. I don’t need to enumerate the unthinkable things he has done or that he plans to do if re-elected,[1] as I assume my readers are aware. My intention here is to explore “what now?” and “how can we adopt a wider view?”
I’ve been wrestling with this question. Typically I approach challenges by information-gathering. The more I can learn and understand about a subject, the greater my peace—even if the subject is challenging. But these days, my old mode of operation isn’t working. Lately, if I take in too much news about Trump and the election, anxiety is right on its heels. Anxiety may be reasonable, under the circumstances. Yet I don’t find it constructive.
At a time when I need the widest possible aperture, narrowing my aperture to the day-to-day vagaries of electoral politics and Trump blinds me not only to voluminous beauty, but to a historical perspective, a mystical perspective, a faith perspective. I’m thankful for intelligent, thoughtful people who analyze and report political goings-on, but I don’t need to dip into their stream every day. Certainly not multiple times a day.
Widening my aperture, I’m taking in more music. I’m reading and writing more poetry. Whatever gives you a wider view, I commend. Whether it’s music and art, walking in nature, reading novels, reading scripture, hanging out with loved ones, foraging mushrooms, learning a new language, and so on. We need the widening not only to remember that this too shall pass, but because these things expand our hearts, which are so at risk in these times of contracting. We need to up the output of love, whatever it takes.
We also need to talk to friends and community (and if possible, family) about what’s happening here politically, about Donald Trump. It’s so important that we talk about it. The temptation is to amuse/anesthetize ourselves out of awareness. So let’s keep sharing what’s real. Talking to loved ones is another way to open our hearts, since through constructive, heartful conversation we embolden and enlighten one another.
And the perennial recommendations apply: encouraging people to vote and using our voices to speak out against Trump—whether we have a voice in arts, literature, business, education, ministry, social service…
Finding words that are expansive
Lately I’m reading and studying Dietrich Bonhoeffer, someone I will surely write about more in the future. The German Confessing Church of the 1930s-40s, of which Bonhoeffer was a key leader, has so much to teach us about spiritual courage. Something I am struck by as I read Bonhoeffer’s letters from prison is the extent to which scripture kept his aperture wide, even when his world shrank to a 5×8’ cell. At no point did he lose faith.
This week, Bonhoeffer was on my mind as I read a Book of Common Prayer passage that buoyed my faith and widened my aperture. I conclude with these words:
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light riseth up in the darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 832)
NOTES
[1] “In speeches, interviews and campaign videos, Trump has promised to:
- Use the military to participate in the largest deportation of undocumented immigrants in American history;
- Order the National Guard into cities with high crime rates, whether local officials want it or not;
- Prosecute Californians who protect minors coming to the state for gender-affirming care;
- Impose a 10% tariff on almost all foreign goods, increasing prices for consumers;
- Appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” his political opponents, beginning with Biden;
- Purge the federal civil service of anyone who questions his views.” (https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-09-24/mcmanus-column-trump-second-term-agenda; also, see: https://www.axios.com/2023/05/21/trump-2025-vision;https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2023/07/20/trump-campaign-presidential-power-grab-2024-election/70430661007/)
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