The tragedy of a potential Trump victory

What we lose when villain wins.

We're three days out from the election. I turned in my absentee ballot last week. My job is done, and there's nothing left to do but wait. Over the next few days, I plan to binge movies, take in a concert with a friend, and spend Tuesday with my kids while we're off school and work. But I wanted to put one final thought out. I realize it won't change minds, but it's cathartic for me. I'll have more movie stuff next week.

I honestly don't consider myself a very political person. Outside of election season, I don't spend much time thinking about taxes, policies or the general workings of things. I think Roger Ebert's words on politics best sum up my own:

"Kindness covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”

We all hold our political positions imperfectly. I can't imagine any of us vote for a party we 100% agree with; if so, there's probably a compromise being made that elevates party over our deeper beliefs. When I vote, yes, I'm considering the life I want for my family. The economy, national security, and taxes all play into things.

But I also believe, especially as a Christian, that I am called to love my neighbor, and there is a way to do that with my vote. I'm not blind to the fact that I am a cis, straight, white Christian male. And let's be honest: no matter who wins the election, things usually benefit people like me. And so, my vote necessarily must take into account how the people we elect will govern in a way that affects my neighbors of color, my neighbors in the LGBTQ community, my female neighbors (and members of my household), and my neighbors from other cultures and religions. To vote in a way that brings them hardship or continues to cause them fear is wrong. I want to vote in a way that ensures they will have peace of mind and the opportunity to flourish, whether they hold to my beliefs or not. I am not saying this necessarily always lines up with a certain party. I've voted for Republicans in the past. I've voted for third parties in the past. I'm not saying there's a "correct" party to vote for; but to not take the fears and hardships facing these communities into account in your vote — whomever you vote for — is to do wrong to your neighbor.

But I also vote in an aspirational manner, especially for the highest office. The president, ultimately, doesn't have full power over passing laws, and it's why voting for other offices is so important. But the president sets a tone. They are often a symbol of our hopes and values. Whether we like it or not, they're the person our children look to as an embodiment of what it means to lead and the personification of our country.

Which is why I believe Donald Trump has, since announcing his candidacy in 2015, presented such a unique and tragic problem for our country. I've said this before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but he is the rare public figure about whom I've never heard a single good word regarding their character. Growing up in the 1980s, he was a living caricature of unbridled greed, known more for his infidelities and scandals than for his business successes. He was a media figure not because he had a knack for success but because he was a blowhard and a bully. The Apprentice capitalized on this image, and nearly every article about it was accompanied with some news story about how he was calling out another public figure as a "fat, disgusting pig." He was the go-to example for preachers when they needed an illustration about someone gaining the world and losing their soul. He was a pop culture joke. When The Little Rascals movie needed someone to cameo as the villainous rich kid's father, who do you think they turned to? (He also failed to reunite Kevin McCallister with his family).

As president, Trump reveled in division. He called reporters the enemy of the people. He mocked people with disabilities. He stoked racism. He bumbled through the response of a pandemic that left hundreds of thousands dead. He encouraged a riot rooted in treason in which several people died. He believes outlandish conspiracy theories and uses citizens' lack of media literacy to spread them. He's a huckster who exploits Christianity for his own gain, even though it's fairly evident he's never cracked open a Bible unless it's to sign the back page.

The tragedy of another Donald Trump victory is that the villain wins. Even if his policies are good — and I'm not convinced they are — how do we encourage our kids to be law-abiding citizens and that the ends don't justify the means when it's possible to have 34 felony convictions and still be elected to the highest office in the land? How do I tell my daughter that men who take advantage of women will be brought to justice when a man found liable of sexual assault — and who openly bragged about grabbing women — can win the presidency twice? How do I tell people that Christianity is good, true and a noble way to live when the word "Christian" in our culture is now identified closely with people who hold crosses while storming the Capitol and championing a bully and liar who laughs at others' misfortunes and scoffs at Jesus' command to love our enemies?

I'm not going to stoke fears about the end of democracy or the crumbling of the American experiment. I'm not going to try to convince anyone that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are flawless (I dislike that they've continued to coarsen our political discourse) or that I even agree with every one of their policies (Harris, in particular, seems fine with letting innocent women and children in Gaza continue to die, and I don't know that either party has a sufficient response to immigration). I'm not going to try to convince anyone to change their vote or say that I don't believe they're a true Christian if they vote for Trump or that I'll unfriend anyone who does. We will vote, we will vote for imperfect leaders, and we will need to learn how to live with and love each other regardless of who we vote for.

But I am going to mourn what another Trump victory would say about our character and values. As a Christian, I believe we all have a desire to see justice done. And I believe that, one day, all things will be made right. But it's sad to see so many people willing to say "let's defer justice so we can get cheaper gas." He presents a unique problem, and a victory for him would rob evangelicals of any claim to character and model for our children that bullies do succeed.