What I'm Waiting to Hear Trump and Hillary Say

This isn't a reflection on a weekly pericope. It's just another rant. As always, the following opinions represent the views of your Old Religious Guy and are not a statement of policy from my congregation or the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

We’ve certainly heard a lot from our presidential candidates in the last few month and, doubtless, we are going to be in for a lot more. Here are a few things I’m waiting to hear Trump or Hillary say:

1.      America’s military is not fighting for our freedom. Okay. “Fighting for our freedom” sounds really good and patriotic, but I don’t think our freedom is in any jeopardy from ISIS, Al Queda, the Taliban, or any other foreign terrorist. Terrorism is the last resort of the powerless. No turbaned Talibani are going to come parachuting out of the sky and launch a commando-style takeover of Chicago or Los Angeles. There won’t be any ISIS battleships shelling the Jersey shore and launching troops into Wildwood or Atlantic City. Our freedom, in this sense, is actually pretty darn secure. What our military men and women are fighting for is rule of law which is intended to protect the sovereign freedoms of other nations. They are fighting and bleeding because the world is made up of more than just Americans, and it is the moral duty of the strong to protect the week.

2.      The greatest threat to the freedom and liberty of Americans is not terrorism or government regulation. It is—and always has been—POVERTY. Think about it. If you don’t have the bucks, your choices are really limited. You can’t land a good job because you can’t pay for a good education. You can’t get out of your crumbling neighborhood because you can’t afford to live anywhere else. Your kids are stuck in rotten schools. You are a slave to public transportation. You can’t work because you can’t afford child care. If there’s crime rampant in your neighborhood, you are a prisoner of your home. If you participate in this crime, you’ll become a prisoner of the state. We’ve heard an awful lot about protecting the middle class in this election, but I’m waiting to hear a sensible and compassionate suggestion about how to alleviate the pain of the poorest Americans.

3.      Support of Israel is not necessarily support of the Israeli government. Sometimes this government is just plain wrong. They have violated United Nations resolutions by continuing to build settlements in the West Bank. Palestinians, whether Muslim or Christian, are human beings too and equally entitled to live in their own, peaceful homeland. Blind support of Israeli government policies is a tacit agreement to oppression. I’m certain many in the Arab/Muslim world see the United States as backers of oppression. Support for Palestinian rights might go a long way toward changing the view many have of the US. (And I also believe that the view some Fundamentalist American Christians have that Israeli control of all of Jerusalem fulfills Biblical prophecy is nonsensical and heretical. We are ALL God’s people, and God is not a real estate agent!)

I guess what I’m asking for is a little less jingoism. The words and phrases we use have power. I’m just waiting for our leaders and would-be leaders to tell what I believe to be some simple truths. Let me know what you think.