But the people refused to listen to Samuel's warning. "Even so we still want a king," they said. "We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle." So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, and the Lord replied, "Do as they say, and give them a king."
1 Samuel 8:11-22
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| As you read this post you may think that I'm engaging in hyperbole. But keep in mind that this image wasn't disseminated by the president's detractors, but by Trump himself. |
This is the third time that I've witnessed an event never before seen in my lifetime. The first was the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The second was the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. And now, we have the reign of Trump. No matter where you stand when it comes to Trumpism, I think we can all agree that his actions are without precedent in the history of our country. In terms of impact, I really do believe that history will judge Donald Trump as America's most consequential president, with really only Lincoln providing any real competition. In an occasional series of posts, I'd like to document this remarkable moment, just as I did for the pandemic (Dispatches from Coronaville) and the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd's murder (Angry). My posts will fall under the title, "What's Going On." And my goal will be to cut through the noise--and there is a lot of noise--and get to the essence of what is actually going on in this country.
One thing is clear. The United States of America is undergoing rapid and far-reaching change. What does it all mean? And what lies ahead? Some say a new American Golden Age. Others worry that a second American Civil War looms on the horizon. And still others suggest we are witnessing the rise of a Fourth Reich, an American one. I'm highly skeptical of the first. I have my doubts about the second--in a sense, I think that maybe that Civil War is already over, without a shot being fired. I probably lean more closely towards the third possibility, though there are some key elements lacking in Trumpism that were present in the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. I'm also reminded of the end of the Roman Republic (though, again, without the civil wars). Just as the Roman senate continued to exist as ancient Rome shifted from republic to empire, I believe our three branches of government will continue to exist. However, all meaningful power will be in hands of the executive branch going forward. President Trump is our Julius Caesar, seizing the reigns of government solely for himself. What I'm really curious about is who will be our Augustus, the second Roman emperor who solidified and made permanent what Julius had begun.
What Trump's election, and the continued support of his faithful, reveal is the myth of American exceptionalism. We've allowed ourselves to believe the flattery of our politicians over the years--that somehow, we, the American people are just different from the rest of the world. We believed that they're not like us, to borrow a phrase. We were told we were a freedom-loving people that fought to overthrow a tyrannical king and would never stand for another one. I believe The United States of America was exceptional, yes, in it's form of government--in it's novel pursuit of a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. It was the American idea, the American experiment, as flawed and as hypocritical as it often was, that was truly unique. It was an experiment got out of the lab if you will, and expanded in it's reach much further than the founders could ever have imagined. It's an experiment that has come to an end.
Because in the end, the American people are just like people all over the world, throughout history. We wanted a king, just like people always have. Something in human nature wants to worship. We want a charismatic, powerful leader we can bow before. We want a King David, a Caesar, a William the Conqueror, Peter the Great, a Queen Elizabeth I, a Lenin, a Hitler, a Putin, a Bukele, a Trump. We want a strong man who will judge us and lead us into a battle. We want someone who will "fix it" for us. We want someone who with one sweep of his sword or stroke of his pen, will wipe out our enemies within and without and lead our country to greatness.
Now granted, there are many of us who don't like this particular king. But I wonder if even those in the anti-Trump camp are as true to the principles of democratic republic as we would like to believe or if it's mainly the man and the policies we dislike. What's happened to our siblings on the other side of the political aisle should serve as a cautionary tale. The American Right has always been more worried about the rise of the tyranny than the Left. They were ready, with their second amendment rights to fight for freedom and democracy. But the fact that tyranny came from the Right instead of the Left has caught all of us flat-footed, revealing a hard truth. That a principled stand for the democratic self-government is only of concern to us if it is our own freedom, our own beliefs, our own way of life that is under threat. The Right (except for a few lone voices crying in the wilderness) finds itself unable to stand up to a tyranny that champions an ascendant and muscular conservativism. And the Left had no plan for this at all, and is left stymied.
In my view, there is one ray of hope glimmering among the darkening clouds of authoritarian rule in America, and that is our first amendment rights, especially the free press. For now at least, there is nothing preventing dissenting voices from speaking out. Whether via old media or the various tech platforms, including little blogs like like this, the government is not preventing us from protesting vigorously what is going on right now. When that changes, well, then we are well and truly enveloped in darkness.
I'd like to close this first entry of the What's Going On series by shifting from the political to the spiritual. What does it mean for us as Christ-followers to live in the time of the king? What are we to do? How should we live? The answer, I think, is simple--and it's the same answer it has always been. To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. The counsel is the same whether we rejoice at our heroic new king, or mourn the passing of our former republic. His Kingdom is not of this world and our first allegiance is to that Kingdom. We are called to do the right thing. To love everyone and to be a blessing to everyone, even our enemies. We are to be humble, fearless, and deeply focused on walking with Jesus.
It will not be easy--it never has been. Most people when faced with a severe cost to following these simple instructions-to do justly, to love mercy, and to keep walking with God--have chosen to take the broader, easier path. We all like to think that we would have worked on the Underground Railroad, that we would have hidden the Jews in our homes, that we would have marched with Dr. King. But the truth is is those are the people that are truly not like most of us. To be like them in the days ahead will take extraordinary courage, deep conviction, and, for those of us who love Jesus, a total commitment to walking in lockstep with our One True King.
