What Would Jesus Do? An Open Letter to the Christian Community
We have 13 days left. My plea is to the Christian community I grew up around who are voting for Trump. I know policy and partisanship dictates much of who we vote for. Policy reflects our belief system and partisanship reflects our values. Traditionally, Christian ideology aligns with Republican standards of family: pro life, man and wife unions, and 2nd amendment protections. To those who are still either undecided or willing to stray from their firm commitment to party line, please…I implore you. I grew up with Christians. I went to Catholic school. I learned Bible Verses every week for 16 years. Chapel & mass were not excuses to get out of class and delay school, but were actually places where I, a Hindu, learned how similar the teachings of Jesus were to lessons from my own religion. This is to say I’m not unfamiliar with Christianity or Catholicism. What I am unfamiliar with, however, is the continued, loyal and blind support Christians seem to pour into a candidate, the President, who consistently says, acts and operates on a platform of hate, lies, narcissism, and a complete disregard for anyone’s feelings and lives other than his own agenda. Is this the type of candidacy that Jesus would support?
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Christians and Catholics are some of the most loving, community oriented people I know. I had always been welcomed into my classmate’s and friend’s home with open arms. I was treated no differently than their own children even though their skin color was white and mine was brown. You upheld this bible verse. Is Trump doing the same thing? He objectifies women. He’s cheated on his wife. He uses vulgar language. He lies. He has generalized ALL Mexicans to be criminals & rapists, he’s generalized ALL Muslims to be terrorists, he’s generalized ALL blacks to be lazy and on welfare. Truth is backed up by facts. Facts are actual events, statements uttered, undisputable beliefs. Today is Wednesday. That is a fact. Donald Trump made these statements. These are facts.
Think about the people you know of these minorities. Do you think it would be offensive if someone boldly expressed this to them? That this was the way the national leader saw them? Or is it not a big deal? If you are in the latter camp, what if those generalizations were made against you or your family? And other people supported him in their claim? That you are lazy or a terrorist or a rapist just because you’re white? Do you have to wait for the pervasiveness to affect your daily life and thoughts for it to become “a big deal?” Trump has actually been sued by the Dept of Justice for racial discrimination. When I grew up, saying the n word was one of the biggest offenses you could commit. It’s still not ok to say the word, but it seems like it is ok to openly endorse someone who is racist. Is being a racist, hating someone simply because of the color of their skin, not big enough of a reason not to support Trump? Are Trump’s actions consistent with Jesus’s universal words of love?
In the most unprecedented and inhumane action, Trump ordered the separation of more than thousands of families who tried to cross the border into the US with their children. I’m sure many of you are parents. If you committed a crime, do you think it’s equitable that your children be punished for your actions even if it’s for the betterment of your child? This isn’t about politics or policies or laws or even to some extent our daily lives. At the root, it’s about human decency and compassion. To empathize that if you were ever in a situation where you didn’t have the same opportunity as these people, you would do anything in your power to escape it. If you were a mother in El Salvador or Mexico fleeing domestic violence in a country where police action is corrupt, nonexistent or indifferent to your hardship, would you protect your children at any cost and seek a better life? Would the punishment to then have you physically separated from your young children be an appropriate one? How would you feel about that same government denying basic necessities like food, water, clothing, shelter, or medical attention to those children, aching and crying and screaming to be with their parents. Does the punishment fit the crime? These are not made up stories of one or two or even of hundreds of migrants. This is not fake news. This existed. And now this “leader” can’t even find parents for 545 children. These are all their stories and it is at the very minimum devastatingly heartbreaking. Is this the type of person Jesus would advocate for?
I believe in God. I believe that there is justice and there is compassion. I can’t believe that there is a Jesus or Buddha or Brahma that would ever believe in this type of deplorable action. This horrifying sense of indecency spirals way beyond any outcry for voter issues. At the end of the day, you are voting for a human being. You are voting for someone that you believe Jesus would proudly support, not necessarily just because of their issues, but because he is a good person. A person who may not be righteous to the issues you believe in, but a person who, nonetheless, does boast love and acceptance of all people, a person who treats people the way they themselves would want to be treated. To my many Christian and Catholic friends who are disgusted with the hypocrisy, who have voted Republican their entire lives, who choose to look at the hateful person this man is, thank you for making the strong and conscious decision to vote differently.
At the end of the day, you are voting with your conscience and if in good faith, you can proudly say that you promote a person who is undisputedly and overtly racist, sexist, and a pathological liar, then those are the values you are entitled to support. If voting for a person like that gives you pause, then challenge yourself to vote for the alternative. Our future is depending on you.
