The Bargain

One month ago, Tropical Storm Helene rained down hell on the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The mountains I was born in, the mountains I love like they are a part of me, crumbled as the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers raged. The destruction was catastrophic. Never before in recorded history had Western North Carolina suffered this much loss from a single storm. Rising nearly thirty feet out of their banks, our rivers swept away the precious places, communities, and neighbors that we all loved.

As the dust settled, we saw the best of mountain folk come out in force. Neighbors banded together to clear downed trees, distribute supplies, conduct wellness checks, and serve all those who were in need. Churches across the region became supply hubs for their communities. On the ground, it felt like all the division fomenting in this country had been instantly healed by this crisis. Countless acts of love, self-sacrifice, and empathy followed in the aftermath of the storm. Then Donald Trump started running his mouth.

Trump began to exploit the devastation of Western North Carolina to his political advantage, spreading lies and misinformation about the government’s response. Filling people with fear and anger toward the first responders and agencies who were there to help them.

A few weeks later, he rolled into Swannanoa, NC for a photo op, causing gridlocks on the few highways and roads that haven’t been washed away. His political stunt prevented Ashevillians from accessing potable water, and supplies, and getting to medical appointments.

As he stood there on camera in front of the rubble of Swannanoa, a place he had never known or loved, he smirked at one point and pulled out a “french fry certification” pin from his jacket, displaying it proudly for all to see. That moment was a distillation of who Trump is. As he stood among the ruins of other people’s lives he said “Look at me. This is about me. I’m the most important thing here.” I will never forget that moment. It proved to me what I had always known, Donald Trump is not a good man.

In Genesis, when God called the world “good”, he meant it. As the Creator, he is the very fount of goodness, the source from which all other good things flow. From every star he fixed in the sky to the creeks and valleys, he carved out of mountains, all of it was good. This means the task he charged us with, to steward this world and all his goodness hidden within, is one of our highest callings. The measure of a man is found in how well he loves and cares for the people and places given to him.

To be a good man is to look outside yourself and put others’ needs before your own. A good man will use the breath and strength that God has given him to lift others up, show empathy to the hurting, protect those who are weak, contemplate the life of hellbender salamanders, marvel at his niece’s smile, and laugh. A good man must always laugh freely and often.

Donald J. Trump is not a good man.

He is a destroyer. A lair. A brute.

His mind is warped by a deep-seated egomania that strips him of empathy.
His conduct has divided our nation and put our security at risk.
His lies have threatened to undo the fabric of our democracy.

Since the 2016 election Trump and the chaos he sows has broken families, friends, and churches apart. The whirlwind of controversy, misinformation, and scandal that surrounds him has one purpose: to exhaust and numb us.

We must not let it.

It is time for all good people in this country to say “enough.”

This is why I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to be the next President and Vice President of the United States.

I am voting for Harris for three primary reasons:

• To preserve the constitution and democratic norms of our republic.
• To ensure our national security and standing in the world as a leader.
• To fight for a better and kinder nation for my child to grow up in.

On all three of these points, I believe that Kamala Harris is the clear choice over her opponent. An elderly 78-year-old man in cognitive decline who at every turn in the last decade has proven himself to be wholly unfit to serve in the Oval Office.

Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election were unequivocally disqualifying. His chances of ever being re-elected should have ended on January 6, 2021. Any president who attempts to call up a state secretary after losing an election to “find 11,780 votes” for him should be barred from office. Full stop.

That Trump is unfit is not just my opinion, it is the opinion of men and women who served in Trump’s administration. General Mark Milley, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said of Trump that “he is the most dangerous person to this country” and that “he is a fascist to the core.” This assessment was echoed by Trump’s former Chief of Staff General John Kelly who, just last week, went on record to say that Trump met “the general definition of a fascist” and that Trump had remarked on multiple occasions that “Hitler did some good things.” When not one but two highly decorated four-star generals who served during a former president’s administration say he is dangerous, we need to sit up and pay attention.

These men are not partisan hacks. They are military veterans who have served their country with dignity and honor for decades. If they are issuing these warnings about Trump publicly, the stakes of this election are grave. Especially when you consider they are not two lone voices shouting in the wilderness. Joining them are 700 national security experts, his former Secretary of Defense, scores of former Cabinet members, and his own former Vice President who have all spoken out; warning against a second Trump term. Never before in U.S. History have so many former members of a President’s administration opposed their re-election.

When we weigh these warnings with an increasingly dangerous situation overseas the stakes become even more dire. We are potentially facing an infliction point that could send us spiraling into another major war. Autocracies like Russia and China are working to diminish the power and influence of America and with it other liberal democracies across the world. I do not trust a man who is increasingly mentally unstable, intentionally stole and stored classified material in a bathroom, and praises dictators to meet this moment with the courage and clarity it needs.

I want my child to grow up in a safe and thriving democracy that is marked by empathy and love of neighbor, not fear and anger. Whatever policy disagreements I may have with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz I believe they will honor their oaths to the Constitution and be capable of serving a purpose greater than themselves. I believe they represent a turning of the corner in this era of carnage. We can begin the slow work of restoring Americans’ faith in the rule of law and government institutions.

There is no way to simply shut the lid on this pandora’s box that Trump has unleashed. The polarization and anger of the American electorate cannot be healed by one election result or administration. Joe Biden’s presidency is proof of that. This is why we cannot grow weary in striving for a future where our nation is not plagued by conspiracy theories, misinformation, and racist lies that stir up Americans’ mistrust of their neighbor and government. We must take another step in the right direction, Kamala and Tim are that step.

I am compelled to push back against this chaos while fixing my hope in God’s mercy for two reasons.

The first is my 17-week-old son or daughter who is growing more each day and will, by God’s grace, be a citizen of this nation very soon. It is hard to think of myself as a father before I’ve even met my baby girl or boy for the first time, but I am. As their dad, it is my sacred duty to love and protect them. I cannot and will not vote for a man who I know puts their life and their future at greater risk. I care about the kind of world and country they will be born into. I do not want them to be born into the same carnage we’ve lived through for the last decade.

Peanut if you read this one day, know how much your mom and I already love you. I can’t wait to share all the wonder and goodness of this world with you. There is more good and beauty to be found than darkness, I promise you.

The second reason I’m fighting is for my 3-year-old niece who holds more love and grace in her smile than you will find on God’s green earth. As someone who is autistic, she needs specialized support to thrive but there is a real risk that Trump’s policies could strip her of many medical benefits and rob her of access to public education. I will not let the jackals who wrote the policy playbook of Trump’s second term near my niece’s future.

For these two I would take on the world. For my precious onion-sized child and the most beautiful niece in the world, I would do anything. These are the precious lives that have been given to me to steward and protect. I cannot protect all children in the world but I can protect these two that God has placed in my life.

I am voting for Kamala Harris and against Donald Trump for these reasons and dozens more. A man who was found guilty of sexual abuse, 34 felony counts, and is facing dozens more serious criminal charges could not get a job at McDonald’s, which is why Trump only pretended to work there. Why should Americans hire him back to the highest office in this country? Last time he was in the White House he mishandled the response to a global pandemic, allowing it to spread more quickly. A study of the White House’s pandemic response under Trump found that nearly 400,000 American lives could have been saved if he had not consistently downplayed the threat and undermined the guidelines of his advisors.

Trump failed Americans during COVID because in his world there is no one more important than Donald Trump. His inability to serve a purpose bigger than himself is what led him to ask his chief of staff John Kelly “what’s in it for them?” when touring a section of Arlington National Cemetery where recently killed service members are buried. Self-sacrifice is a concept that is mystifying to Trump. He cannot conceive of bending down to serve others, rather he expects everyone to bend over in absolute loyalty to him. Trump’s inability to be empathetic on any level is evident in the wake of his political influence.

The MAGA movement represents a rising tide in America of right-wing forces that wish to splinter our democracy and pull us closer toward fascism. Behind Trump is a wave of men like JD Vance, Elon Musk, Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, and Tucker Carlson. Sycophants and hucksters who are leading millions of American men off a cliff into a churning sea of anger and cynicism. These men have zero concern for truth, beauty, or the common good. The end goal for those within MAGA’s orbit is to wield power, power to ensure the flourishing of the select few, not all Americans. Trump has repeatedly threatened to turn the U.S. military on American citizens who oppose him and his candidacy, labeling them “the enemy within.” His threats to wield the full power of the federal government to go after his political enemies are deeply antithetical to the core principles our nation was founded on. This is America, not a banana republic.

Growing up as a conservative I was taught that the founders of this nation and the documents they drafted were sacrosanct. The Constitution was a document to be revered and upheld not trampled upon as Donald Trump has done repeatedly. I never thought I would live to see a day when a major political party in this country would become a haven for men like Trump. The Republican Party has traded the Constitution for a man — a man who has emboldened the worst forces in our nation, including racism, xenophobia, and misogyny.

Hatred for our fellow man has marked the darkest moments in our nation’s history. Generations of Americans bled and sacrificed much to push those who would seek to divide us into the dark fringes. Now Trump and his ilk have helped them step back into daylight. This was plain to see for anyone watching the ugly and profane rally that the Trump campaign held at Madison Square Garden this past weekend. During the rally, a stand-up comedian called Puerto Rico an “island of garbage,” used crude language to describe how Latinos love “making babies”, and joked about black people “carving watermelons.” It didn’t end there.

Speakers lined up to hurl insults at Kamala Harris calling her “the antichrist” and stating she had “pimp handlers”, at one point Tucker Carlson falsely claimed that Harris’ was a woman of “Samoan-Malaysian” descent with a low IQ, an insult that Trump has repeatedly hurled himself. There is simply no way to defend these remarks. They are dredged up from the ugliest periods in our nation’s history. And yet, Trump has not disavowed anything that was said, instead opting to call the rally a “lovefest.”

This darkness that has festered within the Republican party under Trump’s influence should be alarming to all good and decent people of this nation. But it should be particularly gut-wrenching to those who follow Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It is to me.

As Christians we are called to love our neighbor, welcome the stranger, be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. Beloved, I ask you. Where is the light in Donald Trump?

Of course, our political institutions are full of flawed people. There exists no perfect political party, candidate, or person in our nation. We live in a fallen world and as a result, we are all broken people who are working within imperfect systems. I know that many good and decent Americans will choose to vote for Donald Trump or another candidate in this election. While I don’t agree with their decision, I likewise do not hold it against them. I sympathize with Christians of good faith who wrestle with the question of abortion. Similarly, I understand the grief and anger many feel for the thousands of innocents who have been killed in Gaza.

A vote cast at the ballot box does not have a bearing on the faithfulness of a Christian or reveal anything about the status of a person’s soul before God. There can be impure or sinful motivations behind a vote but the act of voting itself is a matter of civic duty, not salvation.

The fate of the Kingdom of God is not being decided in this election. God is moving, working, and bringing all things together for his glory and the good of his people regardless of who wins. The prosperity of America may fade, and markets will rise and fall, but Christ shall remain on his throne.

It is also true that it is part of God’s design and plan that we live in this country, a democratic republic with a constitution and established laws that govern us. While we are sojourning through this world, the Lord calls us to seek the peace and prosperity of the land in which we live. It is good and right to work within this imperfect system to improve the lives of our family, friends, and community. To do otherwise would be to give over to cynicism and fall short in our task to steward this good world that God has so graciously given to us.

Elections have consequences. I refuse to throw my hands in the air or give in to despair. There is too much at stake for the people and places I love. For my wife and child, my niece, and the mountains I call home, I will press on. I will use the life and strength God has given to me to help make our community and country a better place. To the best of my abilities, I will protect them and all that I hold dear from men like Trump.

Because there will always be men like Trump — men who ravage the beautiful, good world God has given us for personal gain; men who clear-cut old-growth forests and trample over the weak; men who cannot see beyond themselves. Men who never contemplate the life of hellbender salamanders or glimpse the goodness of God in their niece’s laugh.

No matter the outcome of this election, I will always oppose such men.

By God’s grace this time next year my wife Bry and I will be chasing a baby around. We will be raising a whole new human person. I can’t wait to meet them and experience the wonder of this world through their eyes. To pass on to them all the love I have bound up in my heart. The kind of love that shines light in the dark and hidden places of Creation.

In his novel, Jayber Crow, Wendell Berry wrote “It is not a terrible thing to love the world, knowing that the world is always passing and irrecoverable, to be known only in loss. To love anything good, at any cost, is a bargain.” This is a sentiment that I have rooted my life in and that I intend to teach my child. To love and cherish all the good people, places, and creatures in this world that God has given us for a short time, even when it comes at great cost.

When brutal and vain men want to strip mine this world for their gain and break it open to satisfy their grievances, stand up to them and love what is good. This is the work the Lord has given us until He returns to make all things new, Western North Carolina included.