Big Donald, Little Marco, Lyin’ Ted, and My Dad – What’s the Alternative?

I’ve watched two of the 11 Republican presidential debates. For some reason, I decided to watch last night’s debate.

Within the first 15 minutes, viewers were inundated with insults and even references to penis sizes. Good Lord. This is what American politics has come to.

The Huffington Post ridiculed the debate, calling it a “Cock Fight.”

I received an email this morning from my very Republican Dad. He’s one of those Republicans who votes down the party line. And that’s okay. I’m one of those Democrats.

Despite our political differences, I love my Dad as much as I love anyone. And I know he feels the same about me.

The morning after the Republican Debate, he wrote to me, “I guess one cannot run for office unless one puts the most negative construction on all that one’s opponent says and does.”

He’s right. Politics seems to be about putting a “negative construction” on your political opponent. The politician who can project the most negative image upon their opponent will be victorious. Politics, then, is based on scapegoating our neighbors. And the best scapegoater wins.

That sums up the current state of American politics. Last night Donald Trump mocked Marco Rubio by calling him “Little Marco.” Rubio then sarcastically called Trump “Big Donald.” Then Trump called Ted Cruz “Lyin’ Ted.”

If my third grader acted like these guys, I would immediately put him in therapy.

My Dad is a staunch Lutheran. I mean that in a good way. He wrote that he often thinks of Luther’s explanation of the Eighth Commandment – “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Luther’s explanation of the Eighth Commandment is the best alternative to scapegoating. Luther claimed, “We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.”

To understand how this works in practice, I’d like to tell you a bit more about my Dad. We are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. But when it comes to politics, he listens. He takes in my concerns and, while he may not agree, he puts “the best construction on everything” that I say.

Politicians are not evil people. They are people just like the rest of us. All of us can easily fall into the trap of scapegoating others. It’s hard for any of us to break the cycle of relating to others through scapegoating, but my relationship with my Dad gives me hope. In our families, at work, on social media, we can take up Luther’s advice. We can stop scapegoating one another. We can stop defaming our neighbors and we can start speaking well of them. We can start putting the best construct on everything they say.

And we can disagree while we do that. How do we disagree without scapegoating? From personal experience, I know it’s hard to do that in the midst of political debates, but my Dad has shown me it is possible. We can listen to the other and find something good in what they believe. We can say things like, “Oh, I see your point. I acknowledge your fear about that, but I think there are other solutions to solving that problem…”

That, I think, is the best alternative to the bickering and scapegoating that is currently dominating American politics.

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