Below is a Facebook conversation that took place between me and a "friend" recently. It serves as a shining example of how many of us think when it comes to politics. We think in terms of teams. If my team does something wrong, I ignore it. If the other team does something wrong, I constantly point to it while bashing and berating those who "play" for the other team.
Here is a summary of the initial post followed by some direct quotes: Trump sucks. Republicans suck. Christians who support Trump suck. Black Lives Matter is only after equal justice. Islam is a religion of peace. Radical Christianity should be feared. The KKK supports Trump therefore Trump is a racist. If you support Trump or are a Republican or a Christian who supports Trump or you disagree with anything that was said, you should de-friend me on Facebook. No debate is necessary. I almost forgot, no analysis or opinion is offered on the elephant in the room, Hillary Clinton.
If you can support Donald Trump and all of his racial tactics and the preaching of his hatred or any other type of hatred you can kindly remove yourself from my Facebook friends list. I don’t have time for the hate.
Trump is constantly speaking and playing on the fear and hatred of Americans.” A lot of you claim to be a Christian and can still support him. God truly preaches against hatred. Read some of these scriptures.
You claim Hillary Clinton is a liar and a murder but yet you are the ones who support the senseless killings of young black youth and say that the #blacklivesmatter movement is a hatred movement and will say all lives matter or blue lives matter. Yes they do all matter but the movement is not about hate it is about equal justice for the senseless violence.
Trump preaches on the fear of Americans and terrorism by saying only one religion preaches hate or that only one or two races are coming to America and raping, robbing, and killing Americans. Christianity doesn’t preach Hatred and neither does Islam. Hate comes from the Devil and the false teaching from any religion.
Some of the worst terrorist in America came from Radical Christianity. There are numerous radical Christian the worst of them all and they support Trump is the KKK don’t need to say much more about them. Trump has retweeted numerous untrue post from KKK members that were untrue and then say all he did was retweet it. Let’s make America White again. I am not trying to debate anything you want to say just remove yourself because you support the hatred and violence that comes out of his mouth. Guess what he lies too.Me:
I have no problem with people getting on their soap boxes. I do it all the time. You are a good person and mean well. My only issue is the one-sided nature of your speech.Friend:
I will not defend Donald J. Trump because I believe the over-reach of the federal government in general and the executive branch specifically is at fault for much of what ails America today. My guess is you felt similarly about Mitt Romney and John McCain. Neither of them were saints. Both had lots of flaws as did candidate Obama and President Obama.
My problem is you crucify Trump and choose to ignore Hillary Clinton's record other than to point the finger at those who call her a liar (which she clearly is) and a murderer (not sure I've seen claims that she kills people).
The problems in the country lies in the lack of state and local control. They are addicted to federal dollars, which come with strings attached. Those strings rarely serve the local people's best interest. The president (whoever it is) should be looked upon with suspicion and/or concept because of the power he or she wields over the 330 million Americans. We fought a revolution to rid ourselves of a king and now we find ourselves saddled with another one who resides at Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C.
Me:My problem is with the racial tone of Donald Trump. He plays to the crowd. I also said they call her a murderer but yet the same ones will defend a cop who killed an innocent black man praising them. My problem is with the republican party claiming to be Christians but support a man that said he doesn't even ask God for forgiveness. You have never been pulled over because you fit the description, couldn't buy a house because they didn't want you in their neighborhood because you was black. I am not closed minded or have to vote democrat. And no I didn't feel the same about McCain or Romney. I do like McCain.
Thanks for taking the time to respond to me. However, I am going to call you out again. You bash Trump. You bash Republicans and say nothing about Hillary. You are critical of Trump's tone. "He plays to the crowd." And Hillary does not? Obama did not? Kerry? Gore? None of the Democratic candidates "played to the crowd." The only reason we are having this dialogue is because we have both been played by both sides of the spectrum.
Who is this innocent black man killed by a cop? Are you referencing the guy in Milwaukee? Or are you making a broader point? I've never heard anyone "defend a cop who killed an innocent black man praising them." Who praises murder?
What I am in search of in this insane political environment is honesty among people who see the world differently. I certainly did not grow up in the same environment as you but how does that change the truth?
You say Republicans "claim to be Christians". Who said that? Look at the national Republicans. As a group do they act like Christians? They are no different than the Democrats in D.C. All they care about is power and control. That is why many of the establishment Republicans claim that they will vote for Hillary. They think that a President Trump will upset their apple cart. It's all about personal preservation of power. I'm pretty sure Jesus did not preach along those line.
Talk to me about the Democrats? Are you saying that it is ok for the Democrats to perpetually promise to take care of minorities by taking from the rich and giving to the poor when that promise never materializes?
Are you saying that, just because Democrats do not play the "Christian" card, they are off the hook when it comes to their personal behavior? You quoted a bunch of scripture in your original soapbox post but I do not understand why you do not hold the Democrats to the same standard as you do Republicans. The Democrats are the Party of "choice". They believe that a woman has the right to "choose" to terminate a human life. How can a Christian support that? I'm pretty sure there are a few scriptures in opposition to that.
Do you see how complicated this gets when you try to fit a square peg (Christianity) into a round hole (Democrats or Republicans). There is something bigger than these two destructive political parties. Again, I know you are a good person. All I am looking for is an honest and civil dialogue. And I will not accept your challenge to de-friend you just because I disagree with you. We already have too many Americans walking around with blinders on. Two more of us will not make the world a better place.
