Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
If Donald Trump Had Been an Honorable Man . . .

If Donald Trump Had Been an Honorable Man . . .

Last updated on: November 6, 2017 at 7:47 am by Christy Thomas

If Donald Trump Had Been an Honorable Man . . . 2017-11-06T07:47:01-05:00 Christy Thomas

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

If Donald Trump had been an honorable man, he would have been exactly what the country needed. Perhaps the most significant casualty will be Christianity.

He would have brought in wise and creative people who would say, “This system is stuck. I’m going to unstick it and help it regain its vitality” and “this regulation was necessary at one time, but it is no longer. I’m going to eliminate it.”

If Donald Trump had been an honorable man, his educated aides and advisors would look at the health care situation: “We have a real challenge with our health-care situation in the US. We know that too many with inappropriately vested interest are making decisions. We are aware that the Affordable Care Act needs some important restructuring to stay viable. We need other voices at the table. We need to find creative solutions that work within our free-market economy. As we do, we must stop bringing too many on to financial ruin when faced with impossibly high health care/drug/insurance cost bills.”

If Donald Trump had been an honorable man, his advisors would say aloud and in private: “Washington functions as a closed-off society, unknowing and uncaring about what is happening in much of the US. It’s time send them away and put fresh voices and fresh ideas at work here.”

If Donald Trump had been an honorable man, his advisors would discuss serious economic disparities: “There is growing resentment against the extremely wealthy. And let’s face it folks: we who sit at these tables are among them. It does none of us any good to have so many making a minimum wage that has not for a long time meant a decent standard of living, even with two wage earners in the household. People living in despair are people from whom revolutionaries are drafted, revolutionaries who might destabilize the US in an already unstable world. It is in our self-interest, as well as just good sense, to get wages up and invest far more in job growth and US manufacturing. We also need, as the wealthiest segment, to pay a disproportionate share of income taxes. How do we do this?”

If Donald Trump had been an honorable man, his advisors would speak honestly of corruption and scandal: “A corrupt government will eventually collapse on itself. Everyone who has decision-making power must immediately divest themselves of any assets that could bias decisions. Yes, we will expose our financial lives to the world. That’s the nature of public service. We must put the common good above our own. Anyone who even has a whiff of scandal or corruption about them will have their employment terminated. We are going to drain the swamp, and it starts with us.”

If Donald Trump had been an honorable man, his advisors would insist on surrounding themselves with expertise: “We need the most knowledgeable people around us as advisors. We need to hear multiple viewpoints about subjects that are controversial. Even as we work to break through the red tape and strangling rules, we need to be aware that the safety of our people is in our hands.”

If Donald Trump had been an honorable man, his advisors would speak honestly of primary concerns: “The economic health and security of the US is our primary concern. We want to focus on what is best for this country. If anyone in the administration has at any time been in the pay of a government outside the US or if anyone in this administration owes money to a foreign bank, put all that information on the table right now. The people of the US have the right to know if some of these obligations or entanglements could be detrimental to our self-interest. All of this information must be disclosed well in advance of Senate Confirmation hearings. We will not tolerate lies and omissions. If discovered, you will be asked to vacate your office immediately.”

If Donald Trump had been an honorable man, he, aware of his needs, would have said: “I expect extreme loyalty from my staff. We cannot function if we cannot trust one another. But on top of loyalty, I expect you to speak up if you see problems. I promise to receive your words with respect.”

If Donald Trump had been an honorable man, the truth would matter, and Trump would say: “We have emerged from a grueling campaign and an unexpected victory. The vote was close—and I did not win the popular vote. Yes, a lot of my campaign rhetoric belittled and disparaged my opponents. Those tactics did bring a victory but now is time to heal and go forward and prove that they put the right person with the right team in place. We also have to acknowledge that there are many questions right now about Russian influence in the US election process. We must get any possible interference brought to light and addressed so that it doesn’t happen again. I pledge my support to any legitimate inquiry process.”

But none of this happened because Donald Trump is not an honorable man. Trump’s staff, advisors and Cabinet members are either so morally compromised as to be unable to function, or so unqualified that all they can do is destroy without any plans to rebuild. He replaced an admitted and unhealthy swamp with even more massively disease-bringing pestilence. The promised focus on doing serious work to help the growing dispossessed and disenchanted citizens of the US has been lost in the quest to win something in Congress, anything, no matter how much damage it does to the people of our nation.

Their lies and “forgotten” conversations wrap ever strengthing tentacles around them, rendering them increasingly on the defensive and ineffective.

A pro-Trump columnist for the Wall Street Journal wrote this in an opinion piece:

To understand the dance of death in Washington now between Donald Trump, Robert Mueller and the media, you need to watch the first 10 minutes of “The Wild Bunch,” Sam Peckinpah’s classic movie of the Old West.

It shows a trapped scorpion struggling in the dirt as it fights off hundreds of ants. A group of children are watching the scorpion fight the ants, and sometimes they poke it with a stick.

In Washington’s wild bunch, the scorpion is Donald Trump and the children delighting in his struggle are the Washington press. Robert Mueller is their poking stick.

It’s sad because the nation did need an honorable Donald Trump. We did need an informed outsider who could function more independently of the sycophants and lobbyists and corrupt politicians who care only about their careers rather than the health and justice of the nation they were elected to serve.

What we did not need is a petulant, ignorant person who values loyalty over truth or competence, and whose own business practices haunt him. Perhaps, because he just didn’t care enough to find out what his staff was going, he is not guilty of collusion with the Russians to win the election. Nonetheless, his business entanglements with Russia, including a likely history of money laundering and possibly crushing debt, may at some point bring him down. Simple honesty could have prevented all this. But Trump does not know that kind of honesty.

We have a complicated kind of government, inherently unstable

Government, as envisioned by our founding fathers has always been somewhat volatile. The problem with moving from autocracy, like royal families or dictators, to a democratic republic is that a lot of people get to help make the decisions and also get to question the decisions of others.

We don’t have a consistent ruler at the top. That is by design, but it also means that change, often genuinely radical change, becomes the constant condition. Our form of government always been problematic, often severely corrupt and inept, never, ever smooth. Nonetheless, somehow, slowly, and in many ways, we have become a more just society.

Many of us wonder if the US will survive this presidency. As much as I hate to say it, we will probably survive it better than a Hillary Clinton presidency. Note, I did vote for her, despite my misgivings, because I could see early on the problems with Trump’s character.

Although Clinton was far more prepared to take office, the same stench of corruption, legitimate or not, surrounds that family. The press beating taken by Trump would have been nothing compared to the one she would have been subject to. I suspect she would have given us a failed presidency, and it would have been blamed on her being a woman.

We need clean individuals for clean politics

Is it possible to clean up politics? Yes, but it requires clean individuals. Here’s where the church could have a role in the future of the US. Not the kind of role that the Evangelicals played in this one when they married this inappropriate and fundamentally indecent man.

No, the role of the church comes from any influence we may have left to practice the reality of a good God interested in redeeming the entire world, to teach morals and to internalize truth and integrity. I say, “any influence we have left” because I am thinking the big casualty of this election will not be our system of government but the community of faith.

Pastors like Robert Jeffress have soiled the name of Jesus by their unwavering support of Trump and their unwillingness to call him to account. They, like what we thought was the incorruptible John Kelly, the current Chief of Staff, have sold their collective souls to stay on the good side of a man who is slowly and inexorably being exposed as an unfit human being, cruel, only self-serving and without self-control.

It’s all sad. My ever-present hope, however, is that new life always follows death. Perhaps from this debacle, something good will emerge.

US Capital photo by Martin Falbisoner – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
Scorpion photo by Shantanu Kuveskar – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Previous Post

November 1, 2017

Let's Not Conflate "Sick" and "Evil"

Next Post

November 3, 2017 Sacred Customer Service, Healthy Feet, and The United Methodist Church

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category " obedience abortion accommodation accountability administration adolescence Advent advice an ordinary death anxiety apology apportionments Ash Wednesday ask thoughtfulpastor baptism betrayal Bible bondage calling certainty change character charity children Christianity Christmas church church as garden clergy clergy credentials closure comfort compassion competition compromise Confirmation conservation conservative conspiracy theories consumer conversion coronavirua corruption courage covenant cultural context death Deconstruction discipleship discord divorce doctrine doing good drugs dysfunctional Easter Easter; Resurrection education election entertainment envy escape evaluation evil exclusive church exercise faith faithfulness family fasting fear feast featured film review finances first world problem food forgiveness fundamentalist garden gay marriage General Conference generosity giving thanks GLBT glory good government grace guilt habit happy harmony hateful acts healing health health care heaven hell hello/goodbye heresy hidden agenda holiness homelessness homosexuality humility hymn hypocrisy Imago Dei In training inclusive church indulgence injustice innocents insurance intolerance itinerancy joy Justice kindness Kingdom of Heave kingdom of heaven language laughter laundry lawsuit leadership Lent LGBTQ liberal life Little Things Matter longform meandering thoughts memories mercy metaphor metrics miracle misfortunes morality Mormon Muslim mystery worship natural disasters New Category Name nutrients older adults oppression pain Paleo paperwork partnered pastor peace pension pharmaceutical placebo politics poverty prayer privilege public schools questions quiet racism rain reason reconciliation religion repentance requirements rescue respect rest resurrection retirement Sabbath sacrament sacred salvation same-sex marriage sanctuary schism schooling science SCOTUS secrecy separation of church and state sexism sexuality short cuts silence sin sleep soil spiritual journey stillness suffering surgery sustainable church teacher technology thank you theology therapy thinking tolerance TOS trust truth Uncategorized welcome Why Easter? wisdom women worship

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 March 2025 February 2025 December 2024 November 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 July 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 October 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 July 2007 March 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz