Nihilism as a Threat to Politics, Religion and Morality

  By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

            Twenty-five years ago the Cold War ended and the world proclaimed the victory of democracy over communism.  This year’s presidential primaries indicate that the declaration of victory for democracy may have been premature.  Our democracy of liberty in law is being challenged by the socialism of Bernie Sanders and the nihilism of Donald Trump.    

            Nihilism is defined as the denial of the existence of any basis for knowledge and the general rejection of customary beliefs in religion and morality.  In democratic politics, nihilism disdains all social, political and economic institutions.  Donald Trump exemplifies those principles, and could well make the Republican Party the Nihilist Party of America.

            Nihilism has revolutionized politics before.  Russian nihilists exploited fear and anger to undermine the legitimacy of the Czarist regime and pave the way for the Bolshevik revolution of 1917.  They created a political vacuum that was filled by Soviet Communism.  If American neo-nihilists are successful in putting Trump in power, our libertarian democracy will be in jeopardy.

            In the U.S. populist demagogues have gained political power using nihilistic tactics to exploit fear and anger.  At the end of the 19^th century “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman built a political dynasty on racism in South Carolina; and in the 20^th century, “the Kingfish”, Huey P. Long, did the same in Louisiana.  It’s not hard to imagine the damage that Trump could do to democracy in America with his nihilistic and nativist proposals if he were elected President.

            Nihilism can contaminate religion as well as politics.  Karen Armstrong has noted “…that there is an inbuilt nihilism in the more extreme forms of fundamentalism.”  She cited scandals of TV evangelists in the 1980’s as well as examples of Jewish and Islamic destruction and annihilation in the name of God/Allah.  Armstrong could have cited Jerry Falwell’s endorsement of the nihilism of Donald Trump this past year, as well as continued religious violence overseas.       

            Globalization and the increasing pluralism of America require that its politics reflect the ideal of reconciliation rather than the prevalent norm of divide and conquer.   Religion can help achieve that objective.  The greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors as ourselves, including our neighbors of different races and religions, is a common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.  Nihilism rejects such altruistic moral ideals and exploits fear and anger to promote a divisive politics that has become the norm in the U.S.

            The Democratic Party may look good relative to Trump’s Republican Party, but it has contributed to the political malaise that has given rise to populist demagoguery and nihilism.  Hillary Clinton and other Democratic politicians represent a corrupt wedding of partisan politics with special interest groups and the wealth and power of Wall Street.

            To combat the rise of nihilism in the U.S., our two-party system should be expanded. Instead of one party holding the reins of power and a single “loyal opposition” party, there would be other parties to provide shifting coalitions of power to prevent gridlock and provide more choices for voters.  Such multi-party systems have long been the norm in other democracies.

            In the realm of religion, history illustrates that Christianity and Islam have sought to divide and conquer rather than promote religious reconciliation.  Both religions have promoted exclusivist beliefs and a judgmental god who condemns unbelievers to eternal damnation.  That kind of proselytizing only leads to more interfaith division, anger and hostility.

            Thomas Jefferson was a Deist who promoted the moral principles taught by Jesus, but he had little use for institutional Christianity.  He wrote: “I consider the doctrines of Jesus as delivered by himself to contain the outlines of the sublimest morality that has ever been taught; but I hold in the utmost profound detestation and execration the corruptions of it which have been invested by priestcraft and kingcraft, constituting a conspiracy of church and state against the civil and religious liberties of man.”

            Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers advocated individual rights beginning with the freedoms of religion and speech, but they understood that individual rights had to be balanced with obligations to provide for the common good to avoid populist demagoguery and nihilism.  Today, in their zeal to promote their individual freedoms and their exclusivist faith, Christians seem to have forgotten their communal obligations and argue that their religious freedom allows them to discriminate against those who do not share their traditional sexual preferences.

            A great irony of the current political season is that evangelical Christians have made Donald Trump the presumptive GOP nominee for President, even though his political views contradict the teachings of Jesus.  The most common rationale given by Trump supporters is: ”He stands up for what is right.”  Jesus defined what is right as sharing God’s reconciling love with others, and that reconciling love can defeat the divisive forces of nihilism.  There is no more important responsibility for Christians in a democracy than to apply God’s reconciling love to their politics, as expressed in the greatest commandment to love God and their neighbors as themselves.  If they don’t do that, their faith is as dead as a body without spirit. (James 2:14-26)

                 

Notes and References to Related Blogs:

On The dangerous nihilism of Trump voters, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-dangerous-nihilism-of-trump-voters/2016/05/04/0cf3fbe8-1212-11e6-8967-7ac733c56f12_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines. On The rank nihilism driving the GOP’s acceptance of Trump, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-rank-nihilism-driving-the-gops-accepatance-of-trump/2016/05/16/f6e02c14-1b9e-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines; on how fascism comes to America, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-how-fascism-comes-to-america/2016/05/17/c4e32c58-1c47-11e6-8c7b-6931e66333e7_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines; and on Lindsey Graham Backing a “Race-Baiting, Xenophobic Religious Bigot,” see http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/the-republican-party-decides-to-settle-again/483890/?google_editors_picks=true.

   

On nihilism in fundamentalist religions, see Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God (Random House, New York, 2001) at p. x in a New Preface, Chapter 10 and in Afterword.

         

On how obsessive individualism and a distrust in government has produced a nihilistic “Patriot” movement armed with guns and the Constitution and that sees America under threat, see http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2016/05/21/armed-with-guns-and-constitutions-the-patriot-movement-sees-america-under-threat/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines.

On how a multi-party system might improve politics in the U.S. two-party system, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/05/26/we-really-have-four-parties-so-why-not-four-candidates/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_popns.

On the views of Thomas Jefferson on the teachings of Jesus and how religion shapes concepts of legitimacy in politics, see the Introduction of The Teachings of Jesus and Muhammad on Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy (the J&M Book), at pages 10-15 and 332-335 and End Notes, posted in Resources at http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/ and at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/.

References to related blogs posted in the Archives at http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/ and at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/: See Religion and Reason, December 8, 2014; Faith and Freedom, December 15, 2014; The Greatest Commandment, January 11, 2015; Love Over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy, January 18, 2015; Is Religion Good or Evil?, February 15, 2015; Religion and Human Rights, February 22, 2015; The Kingdom of God, Politics and the Church, March 15, 2015; May 10, 2015; Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy, April 12, 2015; Religion, Human Rights and National Security, May 10, 2015; De Oppresso Liber: Where Religion and Politics Intersect, May 24, 2015; Liberation from Economic Oppression, May 31, 2015; Confronting the Evil Among Us, June 28, 2015;  Reconciliation in Race and Religion: The Need for Compatibility, not Conformity, July 12, 2015; Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities, August 9, 2015; How Religious Fundamentalism and Secularism Shape Politics and Human Rights, August 16, 2015; The Power of Freedom over Fear, September 12, 2015; Politics and Religious Polarization, September 20, 2015;  Who Is My Neighbor?, January 23, 2016; The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves, January 30, 2016; Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy in Faith, Freedom and Politics, February 27, 2016;  The American Religion and Politics in 2016, March 5, 2016; Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America, March 12, 2016; Religion, Democracy and Human Depravity, March 19, 2016; Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery, March 26, 2016; Standards of Legitimacy in Morality, Manners and Political Correctness, April 23, 2016; The Relevance of Religion to Politics, April 30, 2016; Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation, May 7, 2016; and Religious Fundamentalism and a Politics of Reconciliation, May 21, 2016.

    

Religious Fundamentalism and A Politics of Reconciliation

  By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

            Religious fundamentalists who referred to themselves as evangelical Christians made Donald Trump the presumptive Republican nominee for President, but Trump’s arrogant and mean-spirited rantings and his narcissistic lifestyle do not even remotely reflect the teachings of Jesus.  Michael Gerson has gone so far as to characterize Republicans who support Trump as conservatives making a deal with the devil.

            Religious fundamentalists believe that their ancient scriptures and laws are the inerrant and infallible word of God and that their exclusivist religious doctrines define the one true faith.  Fundamentalism is not unique to Christianity, but among Christians fundamentalists are a minority while they are a majority among Muslims in Islamic cultures.  The fundamentalist belief that God favors one religion and condemns all others has been a divisive and hateful force throughout history and continues to cause much hate and violence today.

            How can fundamentalists believe in a god who orchestrates hate and violence?  Perhaps because their exclusivist religious beliefs negate the idea taught by Jesus and other great prophets that God loves all people, regardless of their religious beliefs. 

            In a globalized world of increasing religious pluralism, religions and the politics they shape are in need of reconciliation.  The greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors as ourselves is a common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, and the story of the good Samaritan makes it clear that our neighbors include those of other religions.  But that universality has been ignored by Christian and Muslim fundamentalists.

            In addition to Christian fundamentalists who have supported Donald Trump, Muslim fundamentalists have supported radical Islamist violence, and Jewish fundamentalists have used violent tactics against Palestinians.  For all of them religious fundamentalism has subordinated the moral imperative to love others to exclusivist religious doctrines that prevent reconciliation.    

        

            God’s will is to reconcile and redeem humanity, while Satan’s will is to divide and conquer; and Satan does a convincing imitation of God.  That is obvious with those “Christians” who support Donald Trump and those “Muslims” who support Islamist violence.

            Religious beliefs shape our politics, for good and bad.  Fundamentalists should be held accountable for subordinating the greatest commandment to love all others to exclusivist beliefs that condemn those of other religions.  That should be as much a political priority as one of religion to promote a reconciliation of the divisiveness caused by religious fundamentalism.

            In America political reconciliation should begin with voters rejecting the mean-spirited and divisive politics of Donald Trump and all Republicans who do not disavow them.  That does not mean supporting Democrats who promote partisan divisiveness with their own special interest politics coupled with the corrosive influence of Wall Street wealth.  Voters should consider third-party candidates who promote a politics of reconciliation and the restoration of legitimacy to American democracy.

            Religion is the primary source of the standards of legitimacy (what is right) that shape American domestic and foreign policies.  Islamist fundamentalism promotes distorted concepts of legitimacy that support Islamist terrorism.  To minimize religious divisiveness at home and to undermine Islamist violence overseas, America should promote religious and political reconciliation with a common word of faith, along with fundamental freedoms that begin with the freedoms of religion and speech.   

            The moral imperative to love others as we love ourselves doesn’t provide easy answers for the difficult political issues of our day, but it does provide moral parameters for elected officials.  Donald Trump has ignored those moral parameters, yet his supporters admire him for standing up for what is right.  Exit polls indicate that many Trump supporters consider themselves evangelical Christians.  That indicates a disconnect in their religion and politics.  They have confused God’s will with the will of Satan, and need to be reminded that Jesus taught reconciliation and redemption, not condemnation and division.   

References to Related Blogs at http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/ and Notes:

For previous blogs on related topics, see Religion and Reason, December 8, 2015; Faith and Freedom, December 15, 2014; The Greatest Commandment, January 11, 2015; Love Over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy, January 18, 2015; Is Religion Good or Evil?, February 15, 2015; Religion and Human Rights, February 22, 2015; The Kingdom of God, Politics and the Church, March 15, 2015; May 10, 2015; Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy, April 12, 2015; Religion, Human Rights and National Security, May 10, 2015; De Oppresso Liber: Where Religion and Politics Intersect, May 24, 2015; Liberation from Economic Oppression, May 31, 2015; Reconciliation in Race and Religion: The Need for Compatibility, not Conformity, July 12, 2015; Fear and Fundamentalism, July 26, 2015; Freedom and Fundamentalism, August 2, 2015; Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities, August 9, 2015; How Religious Fundamentalism and Secularism Shape Politics and Human Rights, August 16, 2015; The Power of Freedom over Fear, September 12, 2015; Politics and Religious Polarization, September 20, 2015;  Who Is My Neighbor?, January 23, 2016; The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves, January 30, 2016; The American Religion and Politics in 2016, March 5, 2016; Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America, March 12, 2016; Religion, Democracy and Human Depravity, March 19, 2016; Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery, March 26, 2016; Standards of Legitimacy in Morality, Manners and Political Correctness, April 23, 2016; and The Relevance of Religion to Politics, April 30, 2016.

On Michael Gerson’s assertion that Trump supporters are conservatives making a deal with the devil, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/conservatives-cave-to-the-cave-man/2016/05/16/314bbf6e-1b89-11e6-9c81-4be1c14fb8c8_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_opinions.

Religion, Legitimacy and Politics

  By Rudy Barnes, Jr. 

This website will augment and expand on those topics on http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/.  It will include interfaith issues in the broader context of religion, legitimacy and politics.
   
Religion is institutionalized faith, and for believers it is the primary source of those standards of legitimacy that define what is right.  Values, moral standards and laws are components of legitimacy, and a distinction must be made between voluntary moral standards and obligatory laws to provide liberty in law.  Liberty begins with the freedoms of religion and speech, and those fundamental freedoms cannot exist in nations that enforce apostasy and blasphemy laws.

Politics are about making laws and public policy, and that includes conducting military operations that are “an extension of politics by other means.”  In democracies where a majority of people are religious, politics are shaped by religious standards of legitimacy.  Politics are different in democracies that protect liberty with human rights and in those Islamic cultures that have no human rights to protect minorities from a tyranny of the majority.    

Secular standards of legitimacy can shape religions just as religions shape culture, and standards of legitimacy vary from place to place.  Beginning in the 18^th century, advances in knowledge, reason and the natural law of the Enlightenment transformed politics and religions in the West, but there was no such transformation in Islamic cultures where apostasy and blasphemy laws continue to deny the freedoms of religion and speech and deny women and non-Muslims equal justice under the law.

One way to reconcile these conflicting concepts of religion, legitimacy and politics is to conform them to the moral imperative of the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors as ourselves.  It is a common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike that can enable us to promote a politics of reconciliation and restore legitimacy to our politics, both at home and overseas.

Religion shapes our concepts of legitimacy, and our concepts of legitimacy shape our politics.  If we ignore that reality, we do so at our peril.

See the following blogs on related topics at http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/: 

Religion and Reason, December 8, 2015; Faith and Freedom, December 15, 2014; The Greatest Commandment, January 11, 2015; Love Over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy, January 18, 2015; Jesus Meets Muhammad: Is there a Common Word of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims Today?, January 25, 2015;  Is Religion Good or Evil?, February 15, 2015; Religion and Human Rights, February 22, 2015; The Kingdom of God, Politics and the Church, March 15, 2015;  The Power of Humility and the Arrogance of Power, March 22, 2015;  May 10, 2015; Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy, April 12, 2015; Religion, Human Rights and National Security, May 10, 2015; De Oppresso Liber: Where Religion and Politics Intersect, May 24, 2015; Liberation from Economic Oppression, May 31, 2015; Reconciliation in Race and Religion: The Need for Compatibility, not Conformity, July 12, 2015; Fear and Fundamentalism, July 26, 2015; Freedom and Fundamentalism, August 2, 2015; Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities, August 9, 2015; How Religious Fundamentalism and Secularism Shape Politics and Human Rights, August 16, 2015; The Power of Freedom over Fear, September 12, 2015; Politics and Religious Polarization, September 20, 2015;  Who Is My Neighbor?, January 23, 2016; The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves, January 30, 2016; The American Religion and Politics in 2016, March 5, 2016; Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America, March 12, 2016; Religion, Democracy and Human Depravity, March 19, 2016; Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery, March 26, 2016; Standards of Legitimacy in Morality, Manners and Political Correctness, April 23, 2016; The Relevance of Religion to Politics, April 30, 2016; Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation, May 7, 2016; and The Arrogance of Power, Humility, and a Politics of Reconciliation, May 14, 2016.  .

  

The Arrogance of Power, Humility and a Politics of Reconciliation

  By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

            The arrogance of power and its aversion to humility is characteristic of politics.  That’s why it is so difficult to reconcile politics with the teachings of Jesus.  Michael Gerson has described the moral anomaly of evangelical Christians supporting Donald Trump:

“[Those who support Trump] detest weakness in themselves and others. The country, in their view, has grown soft and feeble. Their opponents are losers, lacking in energy. Rather than despising bullying — as Ryan, Romney and all the Bushes do — they elevate it. The strong must take power, defy political correctness, humiliate and defeat their opponents, and reverse the nation’s slide toward mediocrity.

…This type of leadership can motivate, usually through resentment and anger. What it cannot do is inspire. …In American history, inspiring leadership has often been informed by religion, which (at its best) universalizes our empathy.

…The Republican Party is not engaged in a policy argument; it is debating the purpose of politics. …Trump is attempting to place nativism at the center of U.S. politics. Those who resist are not enforcing the rules of a private club.  …They are opposing a candidate who mocks disabled people, demeans women, engages in ethnic stereotyping and encourages religious bigotry.

…Hating losers and the weak is fundamentally inconsistent with Christian ethics, and other sources of moral judgment, in every income quintile.  Make no mistake. Those who support Trump, no matter how reluctantly, have crossed a moral boundary. They are standing with a leader who encourages prejudice and despises the weak. They are aiding the transformation of a party formed by Lincoln’s blazing vision of equality into a party of white resentment. Those who find this one of the normal, everyday compromises of politics have truly lost their way.

…We are seeing, in the word of G.K. Chesterson, Lunancy dancing in high places.  None of this requires a vote for Hillary Clinton.  But it forbids a vote for Donald Trump.”

            Trump’s supporters have said they support him for standing up for what is right.  If they support Trump’s standards of legitimacy, they ignore the teachings of Jesus that describe the moral standards of legitimacy summarized in the greatest commandment.  Exit polls indicate that most Trump supporters consider themselves Christians.  If so, they need to be reminded that Jesus taught reconciliation and humble service rather than division and exploitation of the weak.  Christians who support Donald Trump have lost their way, and according to Dr. David Gushee they should repent and confess their resistance to Trump. (see Gushee's commentary in Notes below) 

A politics of reconciliation and humble service is needed to redeem a political culture pervaded by the arrogance of power.  Jesus made that point when he told his disciples: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.”(Mark 10:42-44)  Earlier, Jesus had told his disciples, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

            The disciples believed that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah who would restore the power and glory of ancient Israel, and they wanted to participate in that power and glory.  Jesus disabused them of that idea, and distanced himself from those Jewish zealots of his day who were committed to overthrowing Roman rule.  According to Jesus the kingdom of God did not require a political revolution since it was not based on worldly power but instead on the power of God’s love to reconcile and redeem all people.

            Lord Acton’s observation that Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely continues to be validated in politics.  Power produces pride based on a sense of superiority over others, while humility—the antithesis of pride—is based on the belief that we are all equal in the sight of God.  Humility is not based on weakness, but on strength that enables us to follow the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors—even those we would rather avoid—as we love ourselves. It is a standard of legitimacy that can reconcile us and redeem our politics from the corruption of worldly power and pride.

            The ascendancy of Donald Trump in the Republican Party illustrates the relevance of religion to politics.  The support of so many Americans—many of them evangelical Christians—for Trump’s vulgar narcissism and nativism, with his mocking of disabled people, demeaning women and encouraging religious bigotry, illustrates how the arrogance of power has eroded political morality in the U.S.  It is in stark contrast to the moral imperative to reconcile and redeem humanity through the love of God and neighbor taught by Jewish prophets, Jesus and Muhammad.  Our democracy will fail without a renewed commitment to that moral ideal. 

References to Related Blogs and Notes:

For previous blogs on related topics, see Religion and Reason, December 8, 2015; Faith and Freedom, December 15, 2014; The Greatest Commandment, January 11, 2015; Love Over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy, January 18, 2015; Is Religion Good or Evil?, February 15, 2015; Religion and Human Rights, February 22, 2015; The Kingdom of God, Politics and the Church, March 15, 2015;  The Power of Humility and the Arrogance of Power, March 22, 2015;  May 10, 2015; Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy, April 12, 2015; Religion, Human Rights and National Security, May 10, 2015; De Oppresso Liber: Where Religion and Politics Intersect, May 24, 2015; Liberation from Economic Oppression, May 31, 2015; Reconciliation in Race and Religion: The Need for Compatibility, not Conformity, July 12, 2015; Fear and Fundamentalism, July 26, 2015; Freedom and Fundamentalism, August 2, 2015; Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities, August 9, 2015; How Religious Fundamentalism and Secularism Shape Politics and Human Rights, August 16, 2015; The Power of Freedom over Fear, September 12, 2015; Politics and Religious Polarization, September 20, 2015;  Who Is My Neighbor?, January 23, 2016; The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves, January 30, 2016; The American Religion and Politics in 2016, March 5, 2016; Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America, March 12, 2016; Religion, Democracy and Human Depravity, March 19, 2016; Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery, March 26, 2016; Standards of Legitimacy in Morality, Manners and Political Correctness, April 23, 2016; The Relevance of Religion to Politics, April 30, 2016; and Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation, May 7, 2016.

On Michael Gerson’s commentary, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-victory-inspires-lunacy-in-high-places/2016/05/09/16048aa2-160b-11e6-9e16-2e5a123aac62_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines.

The Rev. Dr. David Gushee is Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University and President-Elect of the Society of Christian Ethics.  Gushee helped draft a statement on why Christians are Called to Resist Donald Trump:

…Our statement is not a mere declaration of political preference or candidate taste. It is about something much more fundamental.  This line from early in the document summarizes the heart of our concern:

The ascendancy of a demagogic candidate and his message, with the angry constituency he is fueling, is a threat to both the values of our faith and the health of our democracy. Donald Trump directly promotes racial and religious bigotry, disrespects the dignity of women, harms civil public discourse, offends moral decency, and seeks to manipulate religion.

Our analysis is that Donald Trump has gained the following that now puts him on the brink of the Republican nomination by exploiting the economic stresses and cultural tensions that exist in our rapidly changing society. He has risen to power by deliberately inflaming resentment, in particular white, male, working-class, “Christian” resentment. We say it this way:

Donald Trump…is manipulating…anger for his own political advantage – at the expense of the common good. Trump is shamelessly using racial resentment, fear, and hatred – always dangerously present in our society – to fuel a movement against “the other,” targeting other races, women, cultures, ethnicities, nations, creeds, and a whole global religion.

These offenses go as far back as his playing the “birther” card against President Obama many years ago, and include his attacks on Mexicans and other immigrants, his statements about American Muslims celebrating after 9/11, his mocking of a disabled reporter, his numerous calumnies directed against particular women, the atmosphere of violence at some of his rallies, his attacks on certain media members and the threatening environment for reporters at his rallies, and his tendency toward making threats and personal attacks on his political opponents.

…The situation appears especially threatening to many who are members of religious and ethnic minorities in the US, and to many women as well. They live with the direct or feared consequence of a candidate who has taken the low road so frequently and effectively, and created a movement around him in doing so.”

…Think about it. As of May 1, 2016, a man who has done and said these things is the likely candidate of one of our two political parties for president of the United States. This is astonishing. It is a moment in which everyone must stand up and be counted.

Our children and grandchildren will one day ask what we did in election year 2016, when Donald Trump was running for president.”  See http://religionnews.com/2016/05/01/christian-resistance-donald-trump/

Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation

  By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

            The problem with America is not Donald Trump.  He is only evidence of the problem.  The real problem with America is that so many Americans support Trump.  To avoid a disaster for our democracy, Americans must reject the politics of suspicion, divisiveness, anger, vulgarity and moral depravity that are exemplified by Trump and embrace a politics of reconciliation.   

            For American democracy to continue to be a beacon of light for the rest of the world it must reject Trump’s vulgar demagoguery and be reconciled to a communal vision based on the greatest commandmentto love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves, with the understanding that our neighbors include those of other races and religions. 

            On November 8, Americans will go to the polls.  It will be the only poll that counts for the next four years.  The prospect that Trump can gain the support of a majority of Americans in November is terrifying to those who support a progressive democracy that honors traditional values.  Andrew Sullivan has described the Trump phenomenon as “…precisely what the Founders feared about democratic culture: feeling, emotion, and narcissism, rather than reason, empiricism, and public spiritedness.” (see the URL for the Sullivan article in Notes below) 

            Sullivan believes that elites can save democracy from the likes of Trump, but the health of our democracy ultimately depends upon ordinary citizens rejecting demagoguery with a broad-based standard of moral legitimacy sustained by faith.  That is where the greatest commandment comes in as a common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.  For secular humanists, that moral imperative is expressed in Kant’s categorical imperative.   

            The ugliness of human depravity and political divisiveness of the current political season has underscored the need for political reconciliation based on a sound moral foundation.  Better education and economic reform are continuing needs, but they are not the root cause of our problems in America, or of the religious hate and violence that has prevented libertarian democracy in Islamic cultures and that now threatens the rest of the world.  Only reconciliation based on the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors can save us from ourselves.

            Plato, Edmund Burke and other notables have warned us of the dangers of democracy.  Plato recommended a philosopher king over self-rule, and Burke warned Americans that in a democracy we forge our own shackles.  Perhaps Walt Kelly’s Pogo the Possum said it best when he observed, We have met the enemy and it is us.  It was an acknowledgment of the human depravity that threatens any democracy that gives everyone the right to vote.

            Despite the reservations of Plato and Burke, democracy is still the best alternative for governance when it is coupled with human rights and the secular rule of law.  But a healthy democracy requires that its politics are based on sound moral principles, even if there are major differences on how to apply those moral principles to political issues.  Such differences require the freedoms of religion and speech and a modicum of manners to sustain lively public dialogue on religious and political issues.

            One of the biggest challenges for American democracy is to balance our individual rights with the collective obligation to provide for the common good.  Providing equal justice under law, the national defense, domestic law enforcement and public welfare are all essential to the common good and require coercive taxes to pay for them, and those taxes, laws and government regulations are necessary constraints on individual freedom.     

            America’s democracy has depended on a strong middle class, and its strength has been based on free enterprise.  The middle class is now in decline, the victim of the unrestrained greed of big business.  Capitalism is a particularly challenging conundrum for libertarian democracy since it is motivated by personal ambition, selfishness and greed.  Because big business and banks exploit the public for profit, they require government regulation; but regulations that discourage free enterprise hurt the common good.  Therein lies a daunting moral dilemma.

            America the Beautiful is a great hymn of faith that celebrates the goodness of American democracy and the need for political reconciliation to …crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.  Christians have a special responsibility to resist the demagoguery of Donald Trump since evangelical Christians supported him in the GOP primaries.  To preserve American democracy from dangerous divisiveness and demagoguery we need to balance our individual rights with promoting the common good.  That means making the greatest commandment the moral common ground on which we reconcile the divisive nature of our politics.

            Religion is the primary source of our standards of legitimacy, which include moral and legal standards.  Religious rules cannot be made law without violating human rights, which is evident in Islamic cultures where apostasy and blasphemy laws violate the freedoms of religion and speech.  Americans have been reluctant to even discuss mixing their religion and politics, but to prevent the corruption of their democracy they must embrace the moral imperative of the greatest commandment as common ground for political reconciliation.  It allows people of faith to relate their religion to their politics in a positive way that respects their many differences.

           

Notes and References to Previous Blogs on Related Topics:

Previous blogs on related topics are: Religion and Reason, December 8, 2015; Faith and Freedom, December 15, 2014; The Greatest Commandment, January 11, 2015; Love Over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy, January 18, 2015; Religion and Human Rights, February 22, 2015; Religion, Human Rights and National Security, The Kingdom of God, Politics and the Church, March 15, 2015; May 10, 2015; Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy, April 12, 2015; Liberation from Economic Oppression, May 31, 2015; Freedom and Fundamentalism, August 2, 2015; Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities, August 9, 2015; How Religious Fundamentalism and Secularism Shape Politics and Human Rights, August 16, 2015; Politics and Religious Polarization, September 20, 2015;  Who Is My Neighbor?, January 23, 2016; The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves, January 30, 2016; The American Religion and Politics in 2016, March 5, 2016; and Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America, March 12, 2016; Religion, Democracy, and Human Depravity, March 19, 2016; Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery, March 26, 2016; and The  Relevance of Religion to Politics, April 30, 2016.

Andrew Sullivan describes the Trump phenomenon as “…precisely what the Founders feared about democratic culture: feeling, emotion, and narcissism, rather than reason, empiricism, and public spiritedness.”  See  http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/america-tyranny-donald-trump.html#. 

The categorical imperative of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant is a deontological ethical theory developed as a result of Enlightenment rationalism.  It is based on the view that the only intrinsically good thing is a good will, and that an action can only be good if the principle behind it is duty to the moral law.  Kant’s moral law acts on all people, regardless of their interests or desires.  It requires that for an action to be permissible, it must apply it to all people without a contradiction occurring. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantian_ethics.

Kathleen Parker has noted the moral deficiencies of democracy articulated by Plato and exploited by Trump at  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/plato-would-have-predicted--and-been-horrified-by--trumps-rise/2016/04/26/3805cb80-0bec-11e6-a6b6-2e6de3695b0e_story.html.

On Why Christians are “Called to Resist” Donald Trump, see http://religionnews.com/2016/05/01/christian-resistance-donald-trump/.