continue to indicate<\/a>, many Americans find the reflection comforting and appealing, so they support him. Many others are deeply disturbed by it, and so we protest. But no matter where you fall on the spectrum, it seems, that what we hate in Donald Trump is actually a reflection of what we hate about ourselves. When we look at Donald Trump, we are seeing is many of the current values of Americans, both liberal and conservative, being incarnated.<\/p>\nThis may be hard to accept, but I wholeheartedly believe that it\u2019s true. It is time that we as a nation step back and take a hard look in the mirror. We are among the most powerful and wealthy society on the planet, with the ability to singlehandedly end extreme poverty and mediate peace in conflict countries, but instead, we continually chose to wage violent wars and consume more. We are a nation founded by immigrants, yet we treat those who are not born and bred Americans as second-class citizens, if we allow them citizenship at all. We are a nation whose founding principles were religious liberty and freedom of conscience, but we marginalize and are intolerant of those whose views and beliefs don\u2019t match the politically correct consensus. In a very real sense, we are Donald Trump. We demonize and scapegoat this one individual who embodies all of the things that we have become. But once Trump has left the spotlight, another will rise, who will likely be even more extreme that him, unless we make significant reforms to our nations principles and values.<\/p>\n
I hope that many will continue to be deeply disturbed by and call out the appalling ideas being propagated by Donald Trump. I hope we continue to hold him accountable for his hateful rhetoric and that when it comes time for the primaries that we as a nation do not give this man a legitimate chance to vie for the Presidency. But more than all of that, I hope that we will take a long hard look in the mirror and realize that much of what we hate about Trump is what we have come to embody as a nation. Unless we confront our own bigotry and hypocrisy, there is no hope for change. Unless we remember the principles that guided our founding fathers, those of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and stain forward to adapt and expand those principles for our ever changing world, we will continue to be a breeding ground for people like Trump, and will continue to see a spread of his ideology at the by those who are simply looking for a leader who speaks their mind and keeps them comfortable in their privileged lifestyle. But we must stop seeking to protect our own personal privileged, stop seeking to be comfortable and instead to be good, to pursue equality and justice for all people, and to advocate for and protect the freedom of conscience and speech of every person on our planet.<\/p>\n
These are the keys to our flourishing as a nation and these are the very values that are being attacked by Donald Trump. But these values are also being attacked, much more silently but equally as aggressively, by the way we are conducting ourselves as a nation as a whole. If we can identify and uproot this from our culture and politics, America may become the shining \u201ccity on a hill\u201d once again. If we don\u2019t, we may well see the collapse of our society. The choice is ours to make. I pray that we chose rightly.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Donald Trump has been blowing up the media for the past week with his suggestion that we ban all Muslims from entering the United States. This is just another insane suggestion from the presidential candidate who has advocated for building a wall to keep out Mexicans (a majority of whom he believes are \u201crapists\u201d), has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1830,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breaking-response","category-revangelicalbettertomorrow"],"yoast_head":"\n
We've Created Donald Trump<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Donald Trump has been blowing up the media for the past week with his suggestion that we ban all Muslims from entering the United States. This is just\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"We've Created Donald Trump\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Donald Trump has been blowing up the media for the past week with his suggestion that we ban all Muslims from entering the United States. This is just\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nomad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-09T17:52:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-12-09T18:01:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/files\/2015\/12\/19225749489_a3fb550b85_b-300x168.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brandan Robertson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brandan Robertson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html\",\"name\":\"We've Created Donald Trump\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-09T17:52:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-09T18:01:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/05d344bef267d95763341df2d47e4830\"},\"description\":\"Donald Trump has been blowing up the media for the past week with his suggestion that we ban all Muslims from entering the United States. This is just\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"We’ve Created Donald Trump\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/\",\"name\":\"Nomad\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/05d344bef267d95763341df2d47e4830\",\"name\":\"Brandan Robertson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d376d4c65add801cc19ed0d2e5d90e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d376d4c65add801cc19ed0d2e5d90e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brandan Robertson\"},\"description\":\"Brandan Robertson is a leading progressive Christian writer, activist, and speaker, working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal. He has been called one of the \u201cmost influential voices in the modern LGBTQ Christian movement\u201d and is passionate about helping people of faith understand the complexity and beauty of human sexuality, creating unlikely partnerships with communities of all faith's and no faith, and empowering people to be agents of renewal in their community, culture, and world. Brandan has a B.A. in Pastoral Studies and Bible from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois and is pursuing his Masters of Divinity degree at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He writes regularly for Patheos, Huffington Post, Red Letter Christians, Sojourners, and IMPACT Magazine and has been a featured contributor to a number of major media outlets such as TIME Magazine, XO Jane, The Washington Post, and Dallas Morning News. Brandan is a popular commentator on numerous nationally syndicated radio programs and television networks such as MSNBC, The Drew Marshall Show, State of Belief, The Takeaway, Tell Me Everything with John Fuglesang and Stand Up! With Pete Dominick. Brandan's work has been profiled in a number of prominent newspapers and magazines including TIME Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, POLITICO, Associated Press, The Oregonian, and Religion News Service. Brandan is a successful political organizer and a sought after consultant to churches, denominations, and faith-based organizations on issues of the faith of the millennial generation and the building bridges across religious, cultural, and political divides. He is the founder and executive director of Nomad Partnerships, a non-profit which seeks to connect, convene, and mobilize faith leaders to improve their impact and witness in the world. He also served as the immediate past National Spokesperson and Program Director of Evangelicals For Marriage Equality and now serves on the organizations board. He is also an initiator for The Convergence Initiative. Brandan currently resides in Washington, D.C.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/brandanrobertson.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/author\/brandanr\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"We've Created Donald Trump","description":"Donald Trump has been blowing up the media for the past week with his suggestion that we ban all Muslims from entering the United States. This is just","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"We've Created Donald Trump","og_description":"Donald Trump has been blowing up the media for the past week with his suggestion that we ban all Muslims from entering the United States. This is just","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html","og_site_name":"Nomad","article_published_time":"2015-12-09T17:52:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-12-09T18:01:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/files\/2015\/12\/19225749489_a3fb550b85_b-300x168.jpg"}],"author":"Brandan Robertson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brandan Robertson","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html","name":"We've Created Donald Trump","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-12-09T17:52:54+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-09T18:01:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/05d344bef267d95763341df2d47e4830"},"description":"Donald Trump has been blowing up the media for the past week with his suggestion that we ban all Muslims from entering the United States. This is just","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/2015\/12\/09\/weve-created-donald-trump.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"We’ve Created Donald Trump"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/","name":"Nomad","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/05d344bef267d95763341df2d47e4830","name":"Brandan Robertson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d376d4c65add801cc19ed0d2e5d90e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d376d4c65add801cc19ed0d2e5d90e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Brandan Robertson"},"description":"Brandan Robertson is a leading progressive Christian writer, activist, and speaker, working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal. He has been called one of the \u201cmost influential voices in the modern LGBTQ Christian movement\u201d and is passionate about helping people of faith understand the complexity and beauty of human sexuality, creating unlikely partnerships with communities of all faith's and no faith, and empowering people to be agents of renewal in their community, culture, and world. Brandan has a B.A. in Pastoral Studies and Bible from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois and is pursuing his Masters of Divinity degree at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He writes regularly for Patheos, Huffington Post, Red Letter Christians, Sojourners, and IMPACT Magazine and has been a featured contributor to a number of major media outlets such as TIME Magazine, XO Jane, The Washington Post, and Dallas Morning News. Brandan is a popular commentator on numerous nationally syndicated radio programs and television networks such as MSNBC, The Drew Marshall Show, State of Belief, The Takeaway, Tell Me Everything with John Fuglesang and Stand Up! With Pete Dominick. Brandan's work has been profiled in a number of prominent newspapers and magazines including TIME Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, POLITICO, Associated Press, The Oregonian, and Religion News Service. Brandan is a successful political organizer and a sought after consultant to churches, denominations, and faith-based organizations on issues of the faith of the millennial generation and the building bridges across religious, cultural, and political divides. He is the founder and executive director of Nomad Partnerships, a non-profit which seeks to connect, convene, and mobilize faith leaders to improve their impact and witness in the world. He also served as the immediate past National Spokesperson and Program Director of Evangelicals For Marriage Equality and now serves on the organizations board. He is also an initiator for The Convergence Initiative. Brandan currently resides in Washington, D.C.","sameAs":["http:\/\/brandanrobertson.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/author\/brandanr"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1830"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3542\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/revangelical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"19225749489_a3fb550b85_b\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/430\/2015\/12\/19225749489_a3fb550b85_b.jpg\")
<\/a>suggestion that we ban all Muslims from entering the United States<\/a>. This is just another insane suggestion from the presidential candidate who has advocated for building a wall<\/a> to keep out Mexicans (a majority of whom he believes are \u201crapists<\/a>\u201d), has said he knows how to single-handedly defeat ISIL<\/a> (but doesn\u2019t want to tell anyone), and has said captured soldiers aren\u2019t war heroes<\/a>.<\/p>\n