Today, I watched the inauguration
of the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. I
watched the proceedings including his televised speech alongside a fair number
of Americans. As I did so, something unexpected happened, emotions began to
rise to the surface. I turned to the person next to me and said, “Speeches like
that would not be allowed in England.” I felt sad for my country, overwhelmed by
what I was seeing and hearing, and somewhat envious.
Speech after speech made
reference to God and quoted from the Bible. The Beatitudes were even read out
in full to respectful and contemplative silence in the gathered crowds. There
was no mockery or question surrounding the existence of God, He was present at
every stage of the inauguration.
I had expected Vice President
Mike Pence to talk about God—he is a Christian after all. I had not expected
Trump himself to not only talk about God but to suggest that God was the most
important aspect in the protection of America. He even quoted from the Bible
during his speech!
I noted an absence of references
to himself—everything was “we,” a refreshing change from outgoing President
Obama. Sure, Trump has his faults and skeletons—we have heard enough of them in
recent media coverage--he is not a perfect man. But, he is willing to admit changing his mind when he is
presented with evidence--on abortion for example—that suggests at least some
level of humility.
Recovering myself, I wondered
whether the UK media had censored the reporting of the inauguration, maybe
cutting out some of the references to faith. I wondered whether the political
commentary would discuss the naivety of the American people in making God a central
part of the day’s events. The media bias
against all things Christian in Europe has resulted in a skewed interpretation
of what is going on in America.
Travelling backwards and forwards
between England and America a fair few times in recent months and listening to
political discussions on both sides, it is apparent that there is a misrepresentation
or misunderstanding in relation to America’s opinion of Trump.
In Europe, I have heard sympathetic
comments like “I just feel so sorry for the Americans,” and “I don’t think they
realised what they were letting themselves in for,” as if they made some type
of mistake or acted in ignorance. I have also heard the incredulous “How could
they have voted for him?” and “What were they thinking?” The other type of
response has been to make personal accusations about Trump and to label him
with all sorts of derogatory labels which don’t bear repeating.
It is clear that Europeans are
outraged and insulted on America’s behalf, but a lot of the offence has to do
with Trump’s lack of political correctness. Americans appear to be ten years
behind Europe in the march of the politically correct brigade and loss of free
speech—maybe that has caused the divergence.
Here in America, the vast
majority of people I have spoken to are excited and enthusiastic about a Trump
Presidency. They believe it is time for change, that Obama didn’t deliver and
indeed frustrated the will of the people a lot of the time, as well as failing
to adhere to his election promises. That Hillary Clinton would’ve continued to
be embroiled in one scandal after another and that the excuses would’ve started
to wear thin, if they hadn’t already. People just don’t trust her and there are
those who are convinced that she is “evil.”
Trump talks about putting America
first which angers the globalisationists, but isn’t that what all our
governments should be doing—dealing with their own domestic issues and
prioritising their own people? At least he’s being honest instead of spouting
politically correct rhetoric about open borders and free movement under the
misguided notion that this is embracing and celebrating diversity. His speech
didn’t leave room for racism or discrimination in any capacity. It was
heartfelt albeit ambitious—removing Islamic terrorism from the face of the
earth is unlikely to be something that is achievable anytime soon, but with God’s
help he can try!
Trump appears sincere in his
desire to “make America great again,” he has a VP who is a Christian and by all
accounts he is listening to those around him. There are millions around the
world praying for him. He quotes the Bible and speaks of the protection of God
as something necessary for America’s survival. That has got to be a good start
for the 45th President of the United States.
Let’s pray for the American
people, for Donald Trump as their President and for Mike Pence as he works
alongside him. Whatever happens in America will affect all of us to one degree
or another and with a Christian Prime Minister recently being appointed in
Britain these are interesting times.
No comments:
Post a Comment