An Open Letter to DJT Supporters

Dear DJT Supporter,

Your decision makes me feel dismayed, disappointed, and just plain angry. I know that many of you—maybe even most of you—are good at your core, that you are not like those gun-toting, violent-minded domestic terrorists that attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The belief that you are inherently good and want to do good to others makes me have hope for you. But I also think you have been very naïve, easily led astray by a false teaching that uses fear and disinformation to control the unthinking masses. It’s a tactic that has been used by kings, emperors, and rulers of all stripes throughout human history. If you paid more attention to history, you would understand that.

I know some of you are my friends, coworkers, fellow church-goers, and relatives. That makes seeing you make such a choice all the more difficult. I understand how some of you feel. You think life begins at conception, therefore you are opposed to abortion. You think men have authority over women, therefore you couldn’t bring yourself to vote for a woman. You are concerned about rising prices and taxes, therefore you support a conservative economic agenda. You are afraid of anything with even a hint of “socialism,” therefore you support limited federal government. Some of you believe marriage is only for one man and one woman, therefore you voted based on “traditional” family values.

But some of you were motivated by more insidious thoughts. You believe America is the greatest nation on earth, conveniently ignoring what the Bible says about God’s attitudes towards nations. You believe Jesus will return with an army and establish a 1000-year reign on earth, ignoring the fact that such a teaching contradicts Jesus’ own words. You believe immigrants—both documented and undocumented—are the root causes of our social problems, conveniently ignoring the Bible’s multiple admonitions to welcome the stranger. You think healthcare for all is “socialist,” choosing to overlook the fact that the U.S. is one of the world’s only developed nations that doesn’t have a national healthcare system. You think you’re saving “those precious babies,” dismissing the health and welfare of the women and girls who are carrying those “babies,” often against their will.

Do me a favor, all of you: don’t you ever dare tell me that you love me. People who sincerely love me don’t want to harm me. When you cast your vote for DJT and his authoritarian agenda, you told me in no uncertain terms that you care more about your personal interpretation of the Bible, or your fear of LGBTQ people, than you do for me. So don’t lie to my face by telling me you care about me, because you clearly don’t.

And don’t tell the women and girls in your life that you love them. When you cast your vote for DJT, you told them that their agency over their own bodies is not as important as the unthinking, unbreathing zygote in their womb. Not only that, but you also supported a convicted sexual predator as your president. What kind of message does that send to the women and girls in your life?

Don’t tell the black and brown people in your lives that you love them. When you cast your vote for DJT, you showed your support for a racist, xenophobic agenda that promotes white nationalism, which is completely against the teachings of Christ.

Don’t tell the disabled people in your lives that you love them. When you cast your vote for DJT, you affirmed mockery of people with disabilities, those who are clearly among “the least of these” that Jesus himself healed, socialized with, and loved despite their being “unclean” in the eyes of Jesus’ society.

You say a stronger economy was your primary motivation to vote for DJT? Fine. Put your money where your vote is. Build your bank accounts and stock portfolios, then do as Jesus commanded the rich young ruler: go and sell all you have and follow Christ.

You say protecting the unborn was your primary motivation to vote for DJT? Fine. Use those hefty savings accounts to support as many unwanted children as you can.

You say “making America great again” was your primary motivation to vote for DJT? OK. Make America the kind of place where the poor and oppressed of the world can find sanctuary, safety, and self-determination. After all, that’s what made America great in the first place, not wealth-hording capitalists or a strong military, but ordinary men, women, and children from around the world who were searching for a place where they could thrive and be themselves. That’s what makes America great.

But in the meantime, please, please, please don’t lie to me and say that you love me, because I know that in your heart, you don’t mean it.

Respectfully in my anger and hurt,

A DJT opponent

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