Dear Editor,
I was saddened by Martyn Whittock’s exceedingly long and blistering attack upon Donald Trump and those US evangelicals that choose to support him (‘How US evangelicals could affect the entire world’). I am far from being any fan of Trump – his vast ego, thin skin, and graceless speech, make for a toxic combination. It is no wonder that so many are offended by him.
And yet, though his words may be graceless, increasing numbers feel that he is speaking truth into their situations that has too long been denied by others. Recent polls have been notable in discerning a significant movement of both black and hispanic voters in his direction. Again it is no wonder that Trump’s political opponents are becoming so alarmed.
But sadly they make the mistake of attacking the man rather than his policies. Indeed, they now feel so anxious about his political appeal that they are trying by every conceivable means to remove him from the ballot paper – even grotesquely contorting the law to do so. These are the gutter politics of Putin and other despotic third-world regimes – ‘If you can’t beat him, imprison him’!
Which is why I am so surprised by my brother-in-Christ’s extraordinarily one-sided analysis of current US politics – how can any truly neutral observer fail to see how deeply flawed both sides of the aisle are? For every sin of Trump, there are equal sins by the other party – but not one gets mentioned.
This letter does not allow for a reasoned response to the many points that Martyn Whittock makes, but let me make just one.
He states that ‘democracy itself is in peril’, elaborating that Trump and his supporters have a ‘hankering … (inter alia) … for restricting things like voting in elections’. This accusation is straight out of the Democratic Party playbook, who for their own reasons are seeking to have all ID restrictions on voting removed. Whereas Trump simply seeks to implement the recently polled wish of three-quarters of the US electorate – that voters should show some form of photo ID before voting. If Democrats genuinely want to avoid a repeat of the fraud accusations made at the last presidential elections, then they too would side (alongside Trump) with that overwhelming desire of the electorate.
Yes, ‘democracy itself (may indeed be) in peril’. But when pointing the finger at Trump, one should remember the three fingers pointing back at oneself.
I am vastly relieved to have no vote in the forthcoming US elections. It is a challenging choice, and, rather than slur, we should pray for and honour our evangelical brothers and sisters over there who will have to make it. Praying also and always ‘for all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness’.
Yours sincerely,
Keith Jowett
By email
