The Fruit of Trump
As a United Methodist clergy person, I’ve had to defend my “fruit”
in order to move forward in the ministry candidacy process. My character has been, and will continue to be,
judged by the results of my work, the impact and influence of my words on others, and whether I bring out the best in people or whether I harm others.
That has me thinking:
maybe we should apply that same fruit-focused litmus test to our
political candidates.
The thing that absolutely bothers me most about Trump’s candidacy and election is that he creates, stirs, and/or emboldens hate in some people…
and that is scary as hell, particularly
for my friends of color, friends with disabilities, friends who identify as
GLBTQI, and friends who work with immigrants (I should know more immigrants
myself). This isn't just some hypothetical. Trump has actually advocated violence and joked about assault.
And it's affected people. That stirring and emboldening of hate... it's the fruit from the tree of Trump. Good fruit might be mixed in—absolutely—but when you have this kind of fruit (a few examples below), you have
to start wondering about what's going on with the tree.
Fruit in pictures...
Fruit in stories...
From a school counselor friend:
Today one of my students who is Black, told me what happened to him yesterday on the way home from school. With tears in his eyes, he said another boy told him, "Didn't you hear? Trump got elected so get to the back of the bus!"
That time my son used Trump to justify being mean. My son was in a bad mood sitting next to his sister but not liking that she was next to him, so he starts:
Son: "You're nasty! Stop touching me! I want to build a wall! With this pillow!"
Me: "Hey, that's not nice, be kind to her! You sound like Donald Trump right now!"
Son: "Yeah well Trump won!!"
Fruit in video...
During election night, Trump supporters were chanting "Lock her up." https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-updates-on-the-2016-election-voting-and-race-results/as-trump-amasses-wins-his-supporters-chant-lock-her-up/
During his election night speech, someone yelled something about Obama. The first word is inaudible, but any guess is... well.... http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/11/08/donald-trump-entire-victory-speech-election-sot.cnn
This is fruit. All of it.
How do you know when your fruit is bad? A David Duke endorsement is probably telling.
On Facebook, I posted about my frustration that we now have a President Elect that David Duke had endorsed. A FB friend replied, "David Duke could endorse you, does that make you a bad person??"
Well.... If someone like David Duke ever supports me, that is going to be a pretty good indication that something seriously went wrong with me, with my ministry, or with my life. If David Duke endorsed you, what would you think about yourself? I'm thinking it might be time to take a serious inventory of the tree.
Moving forward? Really?
Like so many of you, I am struggling how to move forward. We told our kids last Wednesday morning, "We will respect the office of president. But we will not tolerate hate. So much of what Trump says and does is not ok. Not ok for you to say. Not ok for him to say, even though he's going to be president. And some of it is even dangerous. This is the stuff we want you to speak out against."
I agree with President Obama; if Trump is successful, we all win. I hope for that. I do so much. And I will also fight like crazy to figure out how to conquer the hate that seems to have been uncovered in this election. We can't just let things go. We have to continue to shine the light on what's not ok. We have to examine the fruit.
Trump's election has absolutely recommitted me to working even harder for justice, love, tolerance, and peace in this world. This is an all-hands-on-deck effort. This election has lifted the covers; hold on tight.
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