Why I am opposed to the Republican Party
I have written some things that are fairly inflammatory, denouncing the Republican Party and declaring Donald Trump and his supporters enemies of Christ and the Constitution. Why? What is my "beef?" My viewpoint is very nearly aligned with that of many evangelicals, so why would I take such a strong stance against the political party with which they're most likely to self-identify? Isn't that just going to stir up anger against myself from those most likely to listen to the things I'm saying overall? Perhaps, yes. But I'm more concerned with awakening those who have been lulled to sleep and in speaking truth than in saying the things most likely to soothe the senses, lull them into a false sense of security, and lullaby them to sleep again. If you are angry at the things I've written and you haven't walked away already, please hear me out. I hope to make all things clear.
First, I am not a Democrat. I do not follow the left, but I think they are right about many things, just as the Republicans are about some things. For that reason you may label me as being left of center. Perhaps that is so. I care not. I care only for the cause of Christ and the Name of our God, and I hope you do, too. I was once a Republican voter, many, many years ago. I haven't been for a long time, mainly because my understanding of Scripture has matured and God has opened my eyes to many truths. When I look at the right, I no longer see a group committed to the ideals of Christianity, moral righteousness, and fiscal responsibility. I see a group committed to dismantling the federal government, securing for themselves, their posterity, and their cronies privilege, power, and wealth, and manipulating their base into whatever furor they can muster. I see a group opposed to allowing others the same benefits of immigration that their ancestors enjoyed upon lands often stolen from Native Americans. I see a group who lack empathy and compassion for their fellow human beings. I see a group who use their spoken Pro-Life stance and, for some, their unspoken anti-gay stance as leverage to bribe Christians into compromising their values.
Many will not speak it, but I know what I'm talking about. There are quite a few people among the churches who are opposed to the Democratic Party for the following reasons:
Their stance on abortion.
Their stance on homosexuality.
Their “socialist" agenda.
Their stance on immigration.
How am I different from those Christians who see it this way? I am opposed to abortion, but I believe that if the church was really trying to help and love their neighbor, it'd be a far less attractive and common option. I do not condone homosexuality, but I believe that God will judge the world, while we are to judge the Church. They should be granted the same rights before the law as everyone else. It is not good to have dishonest scales. If they want the same benefits and pitfalls of marriage as heterosexuals, that's between them and God. If they are not Christians, who am I to set myself up as their judge? If they are Christians, that is a matter to be handled by a Church far closer to the one Jesus built than the one I commonly see in America. As for socialism, I care not, but I do believe that the same God who said to care for the poor would have us tax the wealthiest in this nation to care for them. We should have universal healthcare. We should ensure that everyone in our nation has an equal chance to prosper via free and exceptional education. We should ensure that the violence on display by the authorities is not used to silence free speech, nor used to punish minorities for being different from the majority. These things are good, and any Christian who disagrees with those points does not properly fear God or care for the things for which He cares. Hear me: I am not defending all speech. I am saying that violence is not to be used as a tool of suppression or oppression.
As for my stance on immigration, I say that you who are hypocrites ought to be ashamed. You want to buy cheap food from the grocer, but you care not that it's cheap because some poor soul worked the fields for little compensation. You want to preserve jobs for Americans, but these are jobs you probably would not want or, with some rare exceptions, jobs you're not qualified to do because our system is built to favor the wealthy and their heirs. You want a strong military, but you look the other way when the poorest among us send their sons and daughters to die for this nation because that sort of socialism, moving wealth from the wealthy to the poor, is just fine with you. You deny Puerto Rico the sovereignty of statehood and proper aid and disaster relief, but you're just fine with all the Puerto Ricans who die for this county in our military because that's their only way out of poverty. You enjoy the privilege of watching minorities go to work in the jobs that are the backbone of this nation while you sit at home during the pandemic protected from the very things they risk their necks against every single day. Yet you do not want to give them a hand up or even allow them to join in our great nation. You say, "Let them come by the legal methods." But the ones who could afford to do so, who manage to get a pass from the system designed to sort them out, are few and far between. Most cannot do it. And you would not want them to because who then would do the jobs Americans do not wish to do? Who then would tolerate the treatment they receive at the hands of farmers? I could go farther in my condemnation, but I would have to say things that would disturb those whose ears are soft and sheltered.
Why is our nation producing a glut of filth and abominations in pornography and the church is silent on this? Why is our nation producing a sewer overflowing its capacity with child pornography? Why is our nation content to allow women and girls to be trafficked in massage parlors around the very places Christianity is proclaimed to be the heart and soul of culture? Is it not because the church in America has stumbled into sin and darkness? Is it not because it is guilty of partaking? Why is disease rampant and having its way with us? Is it not because the church is not being the Church it was called to be? And what is the right doing but looking at Donald Trump and saying, "Yes, our side is winning for once."? Look at the man. If you think he and his Republican sympathizers are properly representing Christ and His cause before the nations, you are sadly mistaken. If you think he is a defender of the things you hold dear, how is it you've ignored the great and egregious errors he's committed to your shame? The Republicans care not for Christ, the Name of our God, or the values He's given us. They speak of fiscal responsibility in a subtext of moral righteousness, but do you know who else did that? Judas! Look to the pursekeepers! See what you've joined yourself to and weep!
And another thing—stop calling yourself a Republican if you aren’t wealthy, a politician, and/or interested primarily in the security of your own interests and/or comfort above the needs of others. Where would we be if Christ took the attitude of the Republican Party? Out of luck and without hope at the very least.