'Conservative, patriotic zealots on the Right are not exempt from hateful speech'
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In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on President Trump, we need to take stock of our toxic environment in America where podcasters, politicians and pundits’ traffic in hate, corroding our culture. We know it’s a sin to be angry about things God is not angry about, but do we realize that it’s also a sin not to be angry about things He is angry about?
Watching a demonically inspired 20-year-old discharge his weapon with murderous intent on a former U.S. president and kill a devoted husband and father at the scene, recognizing an inexcusable lapse of security on the grounds plus continuing to put up with those incessantly bombarding us with rage-filled rhetoric and imagery of violence – it’s time to do as the Bible directs: “Be angry yet do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26).
Pastors can no longer play it safe trying to avoid addressing cultural issues like this but instead must warn their flocks of what’s impacting them and their families as “watchmen on the wall.” Jesus told us we were to be “salt,” preventing societal decay. “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand” (Ezekiel 33:6).
Exposing Evil
Hate mongers drum up vitriol on both right and left sides of the political spectrum, but the latter leads the pack by regularly branding our former president as “Hitler … Nazi … racist … fascist dictator … the enemy of democracy … MAGA extremist.” So should we be surprised when someone fueled by incendiary statements steps up to “take him out”? After all, Biden recently told donors on a phone call, “We’re done talking about this debate. It’s time to put Trump in a bull’s-eye!” [Note: Later he admitted it was a “mistake,” but the damage was done.]
We can no longer look the other way or plead ignorance. Lives are literally at stake! The grieving sister of the husband and father shot as a bystander in the Butler, Pennsylvania, event said, “This hatred for one man took the life of the one man we loved the most.” The hatred is irrational, and the rhetoric is dangerous.
Speaking Specifically
Consider the irresponsible cover of the once-respectable New Republic magazine portraying Donald Trump as Hitler with the headline “American Fascism. What it Would Look Like.” How about MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough pontificating on his “Morning Joe” show that pretends to be a “legitimate” news program: “Trump kept Hitler’s speeches next to his bed … you hear it in his words and see it in his rallies – fascist Hitler-like rhetoric!”
One of the panelists on “The View” (started by Barbara Walters as a fun and stimulating time for “lady chat”) twice labeled former President Trump as the “Antichrist!” The day after the Trump shooting, Martha Radditz (ABC) told listeners that Trump said, “If I don’t get elected, there’s gonna be a bloodbath for this country!” when the actual March 16 reference was 100% about economics and Trump’s proposal for tariffs on foreign cars.
How about Stephen Colbert – CBS; Joy Reid – MSNBC; Joy Behar – ABC; Jim Acosta – CNN? And how about political race baiters with animosity on steroids like Lynn Cheney, Maxine Waters and Adam Schiff? The ongoing drumbeats of invective and insidious personal attacks must stop, and we need righteous anger motivating masses to speak up.
Resisting Republicans
Republicans espousing conservative values receive the brunt of the attacks. Consider that Presidents Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield and William McKinley were assassinated; Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Trump missed being fatalities miraculously. Donald declared, “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening” while Reagan told John Beckett, co-founder of Intercessors for America, “I firmly believe in intercessory prayer, and I know that it’s prayer that sustains me.”
Time to Turn
Conservative, patriotic zealots on the Right are not exempt from hateful speech (especially ambitious podcasters!). They’re fewer in number and visibility but they’re out there, and they need to likewise turn and curb the vitriol. (I’m not referring here to comical parodies done by the likes of the Babylon Bee – Christian counterpart to “Saturday Night Live.”]
President Trump is known for being bombastic and a “street fighter,” but since his brush with death scores are praying not only for his safety but more of a statesmanship that does seem more evident since July 13 and expressed commitment to unify America.
Franklin Graham spoke at the Republican National Convention and has made a personal appeal to Mr. Trump to remove the inappropriate cuss words in his rallies. Maybe he’ll also soften some of his trademark sarcastic “nicknames” and steer clear of spontaneous mockery that squirts outta Teleprompter speeches. (I cringed when he poked fun at Nancy Pelosi’s 82-year-old husband’s hammer attacked at his home.) All of this is corrosive to our culture and should be stopped.
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outburst, and blasphemies with all malice, be taken away from you” (Ephesians 4:31). Proverbs 6:16-19 identifies six areas God hates because they bring enormous harm to individuals, marriages, families, relationships, reputations, careers and society itself. In this list is “pride, lying, hands shedding innocent blood [abortion?] and sowing discord.”
Here’s the Deal
In a similar seriously divided time in our history, another president, Abraham Lincoln, set an example for us to follow when he said, “With malice toward none” meaning there should be no intention to harm others, “and with charity for all” meaning we should demonstrate God’s love to all, including enemies and opponents. The brilliant, black statesman and Christian leader George Washington Carver left his legacy by challenging us with these words: “I will never let another man ruin my life by making me hate him.”
It’s time for all of us to draw upon the grace of God and do our part. With the 2024 presidential election drawing near, let’s lower the toxic temperature in our nation and elevate civility as we engage in respectful and robust discussions with those whom we differ. In our quest to restore America to the vision and values of our Founders, our time is rapidly running out.
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