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Opportunity in the Chaos

Opportunity in the Chaos

Last updated on: August 4, 2016 at 9:09 am by J. R. Daniel Kirk

Opportunity in the Chaos 2016-08-04T09:09:45-08:00 J. R. Daniel Kirk

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I do hope that, given our two options, Hillary is elected. I’m not entirely happy about this. I wish she had at least an inkling of the injustice that is the apartheid state in Israel right now. I wish she cared that large piles of corporate money make for corrupted politics. I wish she were a more compelling speaker, because sometimes America needs a good speech to get us all on the same page. Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 9.58.38 AM

But my hope that she be elected is really an expression of my greater desire, that we might move toward a politics where we never hear derogatory phrases such as, “The Republicans in Congress.”

If there has been a singular fault of the past eight years it has been the failure of the White House to cultivate relationships across “both sides of the aisle.” There is no “Republicans in Congress.” There is only Congress. My greatest hope eight years ago was that by electing someone capable of articulating a coherent sentence or paragraph we might move to a politics of greater diplomacy both nationally and internationally. Instead, we have seen a perpetuation of secrecy, individual action, and unilateral killing as first lines of action from the Executive.

Last week there was an Evangelical theologian who demonstrated his lack of credentials to teach his ethics courses by publishing an article on why voting for Trump is morally justifiable. In a rejoinder piece, Scot McKnight said that what the author should have said was simply, “Donald Trump is a Republican, therefore vote Trump.”

We are a deeply partisan people, and frankly I find it unbecoming. I’m not interested in a party being successful or victorious. That’s the grain of truth I heard in both the speeches of Cruz and Bloomberg.

Blessed Are the Compromisers

What I want to hear over and over again in the next eight years is, “We have worked together with the members of Congress and come up with…”

Those words are not the markers of our times.

They represent their own idealism: an idealism in which politics and diplomacy are valued, where working together with people who are different to arrive at a common solution is celebrated even if the results are slow and plodding and even maddening. Yes, I know that Congress bears the brunt of the blame. Yes, I know that we keep electing people who lead us into such ruts.

But maybe this is precisely the opportunity that awaits us in the chaos of this election cycle. In a year in which most of us aren’t happy about our nominees might it be a time for a more collaborative style of governance? Either that, or a strongman. Those might be our choices.

I want more of the internet-free state of mind and peace of heart that I’ve been living in for the past month or two. I want more of a world where my every moment isn’t about the passion of how right “we” are and how idiotic or corrupt “they” are.

I want a world led by the blessed peacemakers.

“Blessed are the compromisers—for they will soon have no job to report to.” Perhaps. But it’s a beautiful and life-giving way to go.

Featured Image: “Pizzagender” © Topher McCulloch | flickr | CC 2.0

Image: HillaryClinton.com

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