Reactions to Trump voters II

Levi Miller and Daniel Miller (“Why Many of Us Voted for Trump,” December) cite the early Christian and Constantinian church to justify voting for Donald Trump. Constantine, like Trump, was hardly a Christian. He used Christianity for his own gain and established Christianity as a state church, contrary to the Anabaptist tradition. When the church gets in bed with the state, the children are always ugly.  

Tom Howard, Portland, Ore.

 

My faith shapes my political commitments, and vice versa. I understand heal­ing to be the heart of the gospel. For me, this entails policies to heal systemic injustices to women, people of color, the differently gendered, the 38 million Americans living in poverty, the 26 million with no health insurance, the mentally disabled and the undocumented. If wealthy folks paid more taxes, this alone could provide a living wage and affordable housing, perhaps even shelter, food and health care, for those living on the street. Wealth and political power are joined at the hip, stoking economic inequity. As one with roots planted in a Mennonite soil of frugal, con­servative living, I am skeptical of government run by billionaires. Truthfulness, empathy, respect for others and commitment to the common good are necessary qualifications for public office. Vowing to take revenge on political opponents while publicly maligning them runs counter to the pressing need to bind up the wounds of our divided nation. ­Civility should still matter. 

Do most “conservative” Mennonites cast their votes for politicians who claim to be conservative? What, indeed, do we mean by “conservative” these days? I hope we can continue the conversation. Thank you to Levi Miller and Daniel Miller for starting it.

David Sudermann, Northfield, Minn.

 

We’ll have work to do in the Trump administration. Please join me as we ramp up our food pantries to serve many more low-income people due to massive disruption of agricultural production and jobs lost from shuttered immigrant-owned businesses. Join me as we help our hardworking, law-abiding, business-owning immigrant families plan for the devastating possibility that their U.S.- born children will come home from school to find their parents are in an internment camp for deportation. Join me in supporting unions, laws for a living wage, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and help with health insurance premiums — all essential buffers in an otherwise heartless market economy but now under threat.

Join me in supporting enforcement of antitrust laws that prevent monopolies from hurting us all and distorting the market economy. Join me in calling our government to a “more modest military approach” (Levi and Daniel Millers’ words) than our bloated defense industry.

Join me in speaking truth about Donald Trump and his corruption, business fraud, tax cheating, sexual abuse, near worship of billionaires and uncontrollable lying. Some of Trump’s Cabinet choices illustrate the serious consequences of his character, imposing on all of us new battles for safe medicines, creation care, protection for consumers and the execution of justice. Many believe the scale of these likely disasters will be unprecedented.

Ruth Stoltzfus Jost, Harrisonburg, Va.

 

Levi Miller and Daniel Miller speak from a place of privilege and power. They claim a market-oriented economy provides more opportunities. While this may be the case for many White men, the American capitalist economy (especially when allowed to operate without sufficient regulation) has led to environmental disasters, climate change and a profit-driven healthcare industry. Such policies have hollowed out the middle class, transferred more wealth to the top 1% of Americans and led to vast income inequality.

Miller and Miller promote the benefits of Christendom, in stark contrast to the witness of our Anabaptist forebears. While Christendom might benefit White middle- class and wealthy communities, they fail to acknowledge the colonial conquest, genocide, slavery and violence against women that Christendom brought to people in the Americas and around the world. 

They claim character is important but minimize the effects of Donald Trump’s words and actions. His lies about the 2020 election have led to increased polarization, as people no longer agree on basic facts. His hateful rhetoric about Asians, Muslims, women, transgender people and others has led to huge increases in the number of hate crimes and misogynistic threats.

Linda Gehman Peachey, Lancaster, Pa.

 

The call for a “modest” military approach and an isolationist foreign policy misses the mark. True peace doesn’t come from disengagement. It comes from confronting injustice and violence with non­violence and courage. We are to declare every person’s dignity and challenge systems of harm. Much of American Christianity — marked by nationalism, division and power — is the opposite of the gospel. Let’s reject politics that hijack faith and reclaim the radical, countercultural Christianity of Jesus.

Chris Scott, Winchester, Va.

 

Voters had an opportunity to choose between love and hate. One candidate offered caring for the stranger, the other anger and hatred. One sought truth and wisdom; the other spewed lies while promising the chaos and destruction he adores, as proven by an earlier term in office. It is naive to expect anything different now. How will Anabaptists follow Jesus with these realities surrounding us? I hope AW continues to provide food for thought as we seek answers and faithfulness. 

Arlen Epp, Elkhart, Ind.

 

I am thankful AW printed “Why Many of Us Voted for Trump.” It helped me to understand the mindset of those who voted that way. Would it be possible to have an article on why others voted for Kamala Harris? I do not vote. I have brothers and sisters in the family of faith who have voted each way, as well as those who didn’t vote. Regardless of how we did or didn’t vote, all followers of Jesus are instructed to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:2). May God grant us the grace to do so.

Vernard Guengerich, Goshen, Ind.

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