Commentary: The view that God chose Donald Trump to do what he's doing has more to it than meets the superficial eye.
I first heard this from a local Christian friend. My response cited some of Trump's bad conduct. She said God often chose unusual folks: that Winston Churchill was a drunk, and Lincoln was bad news in some way, so Trump fit right in. I scoffed; but is God using Trump? And for what?
The answer may depend on your view of the United States. I love my country, its natural beauty, and the freedom and liberty espoused by those who founded it (despite their prejudices). Having motorcycled through all 48 continental states, discovering obscure wonders and oddities, I love its various eccentricities.
However, history contains a great deal of bad conduct by our government (and us).
While preaching freedom, we participated in denying freedom to Iran, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Guatemala, Chile, and dozens of other nations. We tried to deny Cubans and Vietnamese freedom, but they proved too much for us.
Among nations, ours is the kind of rich, fat, selfish fellow that Jesus said would have a tough time reaching Heaven. Camel through the eye of a needle?
We have embraced the role of the richest, most powerful nation using and abusing less powerful ones, and during the past half-century have obscenely increased economic inequality within our country. Jesus preached peace, tolerance, and charity. More and more, our government stands for greed, intolerance, and every kind of friction.
While God told us to be good stewards of the Earth, we cannot muster even the inadequate sacrifices saner nations are making to minimize the more destructive effects of climate-change. Under Trump, we are loosening our limited regulation of industries that dispense poisons into our air, water, and food.
While God discouraged us from killing our fellow humans, and the U.S. flag symbolized peace for much of our nation's life, during the past half-century we have initiated or escalated or covertly backed many wars, probably more than has that loathsome oligarchy called Russia.
We have more to answer for than will fit into this column.
So God, with his usual brilliance (and a keen sense of humor) has chosen Trump as our means to destroy ourselves, or, with luck, humble ourselves and learn something. Perhaps humility? One lesson is that discontented people will vote for a con man. If it no longer feels like our china shop, we'll invite in the bull.
Trump already has most of the world laughing at him, and us.
He and his greedy pals are destroying a government we took centuries to build. We've recently seen what he's doing to the State Department, which matters more than most of us realize. He's undermining our military strength by improperly interfering with military discipline to suit his political aims. He's destroying us economically by his policies (feeding the short-term greed of the already wealthy) and by his war on science, which will lessen our ability to lead the world around the next technological bend. He's eviscerated the Environmental Protection Agency and weakened our judiciary.
Of course, despite his dangerous bumbling, Trump is nothing new. He's enacting the long-time Republican agenda. He's merely a grotesque exaggeration of what too many of our politicians are, regardless of party. He just doesn't bother to cover his tracks or mask his odor.
Well done, God!