Eric Suwall

Minot

Many MAGA-conservatives (MAGACons) think an FBI investigation over Trump’s mishandling of classified documents is politically motivated despite the evidence uncovered, including: 1. pictures of the mishandled/stolen documents, 2. testimony by several Trump associates who saw Trump casually flaunting said documents, and 3. taped audio of Trump discussing classified documents with people lacking security clearance. There was also a request from the National Archives that Trump return missing documents, which he declined to do and lied by saying that he had. This led to the FBI raid on his home and seizure of classified material.

MAGAcons cry that there is a double standard, demonstrated by how Trump and Hunter Biden’s cases are being handled. Even though Trump is an ex-president peddling classified documents and Hunter only the unelected, prodigal son of a sitting president, we are expected to equate a man attempting to enrich himself off his father’s name and failing to pay taxes for two years with a former president who compromised national security and potentially engaged in treason. This “what-about-ism” is a classic trick of fallacious argument: rather than deal with the issue at hand, try to make the issue about someone else. Voters should not be fooled: regardless of what Hunter Biden did, we must take Trump’s actions seriously.

A Democratic congress and an impartial Justice Department have both brought evidence against Trump to light, much of it available for MAGACons to review. Bizarrely, his supporters still fawn over him. This may lead one to wonder: is there any evidence that would convince a Trump-voting zealot to question allegiance to their demagogue? How many lies can MAGAcons digest before finally realizing that they’ve been fed a diet of manipulation and deceit?

Let me recount a few issues the Trumpist-GOP has instructed supporters to lose their minds over: Obamacare would ruin healthcare (it didn’t; we all still have medical access, generally at a lower price and with 40 million more Americans insured); same-sex marriage would ruin the institution (it didn’t; straight people still get married); allowing women and LGBQT+ people into the armed forces would undermine morale (it didn’t); Democrats will take away your guns (no guns have been taken away); Democrats want socialism (nothing has been socialized, nor is there any talk of socializing any industry); Democrats will raise your taxes (your federal taxes have probably gone down since 2020). The list goes on. Now let’s look at a few GOP claims that disregarded science and facts: climate change is a hoax (the world just had its hottest day on record, Canada is on fire, the Amazon rainforest is in a cycle of permanent decline, tropical coral reefs are collapsing, etc.); trickle-down economics will lift all boats (did your boat go up since 1980? The Federal deficit sure did, mostly accrued during GOP administrations); The government is the problem (yet privatization of government services has led to higher costs, worse outcomes, increased corporate welfare, and a ballooning national debt).

This short-list of GOP fear mongering is as predictable as it is tedious, and frankly, if you are still enthralled with a supposedly Christian political party that valorizes greed and individualism while doing nothing Christian, but you shun an inclusive party that actually does the things Jesus suggested (like strengthen communities, help the poor and heal the sick), I think Jesus/God would like to remind you of some commandments and beatitudes that you have clearly forgotten.

I ask any Republican voter this: what has the GOP ever done to make this country better? Social Security, Medicare, the EPA, Interstate Highways, the Farm Bill (yes, the one many ND farmers rely on), Voting Rights, Marriage Equality, Assistance for the needy, Public Education, etc. have ALL been democratic achievements. Even North Dakota’s state bank and grain elevator were created by Democrats.

Name one thing in the GOP platform that is intended to make American’s lives better: demonizing trans people and immigrants, making guns more available despite record gun deaths, underfunding schools and letting kids go hungry, privatizing all public services, increasing subsidies for corporate farming, controlling women’s bodies, and trying to make all Americans live by one Christian religion – these are all Republican priorities. None of these issues help 99.9% of this country; rather, they polarize the citizenry, keeping us fighting amongst ourselves while the filthy rich get filthier.

The GOP may tell you that Democrats are the party of “identity politics”, but look closer: which party is making personal choice and identity into a wedge issue? Republicans. Who is trying to cancel everything that they disagree with, from books to beer? Republicans. Who is trying to expand the role of government so that it is involved in our most intimate, personal decision-making? Republicans. Finally, who is trying to turn a religion based on love and forgiveness into a license to discriminate? Republicans.

Let’s really consider the Republican claim that Christianity is the foundation for law in America. America has never been a “Christian Nation” nor was it intended to be one. The First Amendment is clear about this. Even the inclusion of God on our money and pledge is a relatively new development, occurring during the 1950s’ Red Scare. While I laud personal faith and religious convictions, demanding that others should be forced to live by Christian rules does not make for a free country. Rather, it would make America a theocratic autocracy. If you like that model, Iran and Saudi Arabia are exemplars; are those societies we really want to emulate?

Luckily, in America, you are free to live by Christian orthodoxy if you choose, but you are not free to tell the rest of us that we have to comply with your beliefs. Sure, we liberals ask that you treat minorities, gays, etc. as equal human beings, but we do not demand that you get gay-married, invite minorities into your home, or read books that you find offensive. Many Christians, however, do demand that the rest of us live by their convictions. We ask for tolerance while they demand obedience. And if you are one who demands biblical fidelity, be consistent: divorce, tattoos, many foods, non-procreational sex, and even polyester and football go against the bible. Why are they exempt from your ire? Religious convictions are increasingly used as a legal loophole for discrimination and hate, and if Jesus saw what MAGACons were doing in his name, he would be disgusted.

A recent editorial in the MDN was right about one thing: America’s digression won’t end well. Our country was becoming more tolerant, more accepting, and more charitable; but since Trump got elected, we’ve seen him and his conned army unleashing American Carnage upon the rest of us. In the ten years I’ve lived in North Dakota, I’ve sadly watched formerly “Nice” people transformed into “Nasty” ideologues; and across the nation, once-informed voters have been corrupted into partisan fanatics.

Well, to all of you Trump-loving theocrats-in-waiting, know this: the majority of America doesn’t want your scripture, your rules, or your violence. It is increasingly clear that the Religious Right has become the American Taliban intent on instituting their own version of Sharia Law. We liberals loudly say: that is un-American, and we reject your Christian Nationalism, your discrimination, and your hate.