Bob's Blog

It was an inappropriate comment! Hillary Clinton’s calling half of Trump’s supporters a “basket of deplorables” was so much more than a regrettable comment. That kind of language, particularly from a presidential candidate, must always be condemned. If we didn’t learn it in kindergarten, then surely the last four years have taught us that words matter, and that name-calling never enhances communication nor encourages understanding between segments of the population that are at odds with one another. Hillary’s justifiable attempt to call out the racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic portions of the “MAGA” community was lost, all because she did so in such an offensive way.

As a follower of Jesus I believe that no one is deplorable! In the eyes of God no PERSON is ‘deserving of condemnation,’ which is actually what ‘deplorable’ means! But actions? At times actions MUST be condemned. And today, four years after Hillary made that claim against Donald Trump’s supporters, their actions must declared to be nothing less than deplorable. And even that, is putting it mildly!

For almost four years now we have had a president who has done nothing but attempt to monopolize the news-cycle with anything and everything that would draw attention to himself. Fact-checkers of every ilk have revealed a pattern of daily lying, and leaders of both political parties have expressed concerns about his ineptitude. He continues to stoke the worst sides of American culture: White privilege, patriarchy, Islamophobia, homophobia, selfish consumerism and narcissistic consumptionism. And he reveals his lack of character and integrity whenever he opens his mouth! His attitude and behavior are far too often, nothing less than deplorable.

Needless to say, continuing to support this man, after four years of him revealing who many of us have known him to be, is also deplorable! Sacrificing the office of the Presidency by putting such a poor example of what it means to be an American in the White House, because of some naïve attempt to turn back the clock on Roe v. Wade, as if the will of the vast majority of Americans regarding a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her body, is deplorable! Continuing to selfishly support a man simply because of a concern for one’s own stock portfolio, or individual IRA or 401K, is also deplorable. And lest anyone reading this might possibly be a subscriber to the nonsense called Qanon, the belief that Donald Trump might be about some kind of grand scheme that could bring about good for anyone but himself is not just ignorant, but it too is deplorable. But most tragically, for anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus, refusing to acknowledge the mockery he has made of the Christian faith, and believing that one can, or should, ever overlook a person’s unGodly character, simply because we think they might further our political agendas, is . . . yes, deplorable. It is like getting into bed with the devil, and such action must always be condemned.

Failing to hold Donald Trump accountable for his failure to defend the constitution – with regard to voting rights, freedom of speech, the right to peaceful protests, and standing up to enemies both foreign and domestic — including Russia and White Pseudo-Supremacy — is deplorable.

Refusing to acknowledge his ignorance on the world stage, his marring of America’s reputation in international settings, and his failure to renounce the world’s most abusive and oppressive dictators, is deplorable!

Accepting his manipulative ways when it comes to disingenuous support for the military and military families, for religious freedom, and for the BIPOC community, is both ignorant AND deplorable.

And accepting his inexperienced, inept, and ill-informed leadership, as well as that of so many of his appointees, in so many important areas of American governance, is deplorable.

Over the past four years I have worked hard to try and understand how anyone could have voted for this man. I’ve spoken to his supporters, read countless articles and books, and watched interview after interview with those eager to “make America great again.” Some simply disliked Hillary too much to cast a vote for her. Others rightly thought Trump was the only one who could advance the evangelical part of the conservative agenda. And, like many Democrats who only vote for Democrats, some Republicans were only willing to vote for another Republican. There are all kinds of reasons people voted as they did in 2016, and not all of those reasons were deplorable! Nor were all of the people who voted for Trump.

But if after witnessing this administration’s assault on American life over the past four years, people are still willing to declare an allegiance to Donald Trump, then deplorable is a more than appropriate way to describe the politics of such people. Further, regarding Donald Trump as God’s ambassador, or any kind of Divine gift to America and the world, is nothing short of sin. It is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; and like any sin, needs to be acknowledged and confessed.

No! No person is deplorable. But actions are. And this president and his administration have offered up a basket-full of a deplorable actions. As such, is there really any better way to describe any continual and on-going support of him, or his administration? I don’t think so. Deplorable actually sums it up quite well.