By Rudy
Barnes, Jr.
The quality of government in a
democracy depends upon the accountability of elected officials to voters, and also
the accountability of voters to God’s will—which is that we love our neighbors
as we love ourselves. That is the moral
imperative of the greatest commandment,
which is a common word of faith for
Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
The accountability of voters to
God’s will is a matter of stewardship, and stewardship in a democracy requires that
the resources of government are used to make a better world for everyone. Americans have been given much, so that much
is expected from them. That is the
message of the parable of the talents
at Matthew 25:14-30 (see commentary in Notes
below).
America is more divided and
polarized by politics today than since the Civil War. That is not so much the fault of Donald Trump
as it is of those voters who gave Trump the power of the presidency. To be good stewards of democracy voters must
support candidates who promote a politics of reconciliation based on the shared
values of the greatest commandment.
Accountability and stewardship in
democracy are based on a voter’s standards of legitimacy, and those standards
are shaped by religion. Most Americans
claim to be Christians, but in their politics they have ignored the moral
imperative of their faith to love others as they love themselves. To be accountable as good stewards of
democracy, Americans must elect leaders who balance individual rights and wants
with providing for the common good.
Nicholas Kristof has asserted that
those who voted for Trump out of frustration with their unfortunate
circumstances should not be considered “bigoted, unthinking lizard brains” by
their neighbors. I beg to disagree. Anyone who voted for a “…demagogue who
vilifies and scapegoats refugees, Muslims, undocumented immigrants, racial
minorities [and] who strikes me [in Kristof’s words] as a danger to national
security” is either a bigot or is inexcusably ignorant.
Those voters who supported Donald
Trump should be held accountable for acts that threaten to unravel the fabric
of American democracy. They cannot claim
ignorance of his corrupt character or the importance of the office he
sought. His notorious business dealings,
his reality TV show and his rude, crude and divisive campaign rhetoric clearly
revealed a man unsuited to be our nation’s leader—unless you happen to be a
Wall Street billionaire.
It is especially ironic that most
Trump supporters were white Christians who voted for a man who is the
antithesis of Christian morality. The
church bears some accountability for this political fiasco, both in the religion
it promotes and the politics it often ignores.
The prosperity gospel of Trump supporters is idolatrous. It promotes belief in a plastic Jesus devoid
of altruistic moral standards and a false god that rewards such belief with
worldly success.
Idolatry is the worship of a
false god, and any religion that promotes a corrupt populist demagogue like
Donald Trump is idolatrous. Given the
corrupt nature of politics with its competition for popularity, money and
power, voters cannot expect Christ-like candidates; but the stewardship of democracy
requires that they reject populist demagogues like Donald Trump.
The privileges of freedom and
democracy depend on voters exercising their responsibility to be good stewards of
their democracy and being accountable to God’s will to love their neighbors as
they love themselves. The election of
Donald Trump was a failure of stewardship and accountability. It portends the demise of freedom and democracy
unless voters can become accountable to God as better stewards of democracy in
both their religion and politics.
Notes and commentary on related
topics:
On
Nicholas Kristof’s view that Trump voters
are not the enemy, see https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/23/opinion/even-if-trump-is-the-enemy-his-voters-arent.html.
For commentary on the parable of the talents at Matthew
25:14-30 as a matter of Christian stewardship, see pp 192-195 of The
Teachings of Jesus and Muhammad on Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy,
a primary resource at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/ that is posted
at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3gvZV8mXUp-aTJubVlISnpQc1U/view.
On Matthew Fox describing how idolatry affects us today, especially
in our politics, see https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=mm#inbox/15ab286074673e6b.
On faith and freedom, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2014/12/faith-and-freedom.html.
On the greatest commandment as a
common word of faith, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/the-greatest-commandment-common-word-of.html.
On love over law: a principle at the heart of legitimacy, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/love-over-law-principle-at-heart-of.html.
On religion as good or evil, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/02/is-religion-good-or-evil.html.
On God and country: conflicting concepts of sovereignty, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/03/god-and-country-resolving-conflicting.html.
On a fundamental problem with religion, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/05/a-fundamental-problem-with-religion.html.
On the future of religion: In decline or growing?, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/06/the-future-of-religion-in-decline-and.html.
On freedom and fundamentalism, see
http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/freedom-and-fundamentalism.html.
On balancing individual rights with providing for the common good, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/balancing-individual-rights-with.html.
On how religious fundamentalism and secularism shape politics and human
rights, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/how-religious-fundamentalism-and.html.
On legitimacy as a context and paradigm to resolve religious conflict,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/legitimacy-as-context-and-paradigm-to.html.
On politics and religious polarization, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/09/politics-and-religious-polarization.html.
On who is my neighbor? see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/01/who-is-my-neighbor.html.
On the politics of loving our neighbors as ourselves, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/01/the-politics-of-loving-our-neighbors-as.html.
On the relevance of religion to politics, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/04/the-relevance-of-religion-to-politics.html.
On religion and a politics of reconciliation based on shared values,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-politics-of-reconciliation_19.html.
On irreconcilable differences and the demise of democracy, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/irreconcilable-differences-and-demise.html.
On discipleship in a democracy: a test of faith, legitimacy and politics,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/12/discipleship-in-democracy-test-of-faith.html.
On saving America from the church, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/01/saving-america-from-church.html.
On
the need for a revolution in religion and
politics, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/02/the-need-for-revolution-in-religion-and.html.
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