Please don't let Ugly win.

Oh my LORD, the election. I spend most of my time flabbergasted with my jaw hanging open. I finally got a few of my thoughts together and here they are:

I believe that Trump knows exactly what he’s doing. While he doesn’t have experience in the political realm, I do think that he is aware of the fact that he can’t lead our country based upon insults and bullying. He’s doing it because he knows it gets attention, in the exact same way that a naughty third grader does. It’s very effective. We are all just the suckers that have tuned in to watch. I watched intently at the beginning because I thought it was hilarious, a bad joke, more reality television to pickle my brain. Bad behavior gets headlines, and press, and airtime. He may actually have ideas about policies and how to get things done, who knows? Make no mistake, I am not a fan of his in any way, shape or form.  However, I’m not nearly as afraid of Trump as I am afraid of some of the people who follow him and appear to believe that his shenanigans are totally acceptable. He may act totally normal once he gets into office, but his followers don't know this. 

This really isn’t a political post. It’s about the nasty part in all of us, and whether or not we decide to let it come out.

I am well acquainted with my bitter, ugly side. Most people who know me would be appalled if they could get inside of my head. I call people names, tell them to grow the f up, criticize their parenting, tell them they’re horrible people, tell them they’re lazy and life will never hand them anything. This all occurs IN MY HEAD. There are times when I feel like a badass and I think to myself, “I’m going to tell that person off today, I’m tired of their crap and they need to hear it.” But I never actually do it, because not only is it unprofessional and ineffective overall, it’s not kind. Negativity just breeds more negativity.  I try really hard to be kind, even when I’m being wildly unkind in my own mind. I try hard because it’s how I was raised, it’s how I am trying to raise our children, and because I know that kindness is what works in the world. I know that kindness is what God wants from me, regardless of how frustrated I become. I have a filter. I believe that most people do.

The dangerous thing about giving that nasty side of Trump center stage is it gives some people license to let that demon in themselves out of the cage and into the light of day. This is a man who has said disparaging things and mocked the following groups: women and their bodies, immigrants, Mexicans, refugees, gay folks, disabled people, black people…Lord, who is left?  He has advocated for killing terrorist's families, which is a war crime. He repeated, into a microphone, when a person at one of his rallies called our current president a pussy. He’s said he would “bomb the shit out of ISIS.” Does he truly think he can do these things? Does he not understand that he has to get Congressional approval on nearly everything? He’s got to know this, he’s got to be saying this for shock value. But he also knows that there is a very specific demographic in America that would drink every drop of this up. These are the people at his rallies who when seeing protesters removed are yelling, “Kick his ass! Light that m’fer on fire!”  These people believe he means it, and these people believe that this kind of leader would make this behavior not only okay, but revered and respected.  This terrifies me.

He apparently has huge support from the evangelicals. As a Christian, this hurts my soul. Most of the things that come out of his mouth prove how much of a Christian he is not. And I can’t just heckle his sorry attempt to quote scripture by saying “It says in TWO Corinthians...”  Yep, I found that super amusing, but a lot of faithful people don’t know the Bible well and I am one of those people! For the people watching who don’t really know anything about Christianity and what it really represents, this becomes who they think American Christians ARE. This is tragic, folks! Cruel, unkind, judgmental, greedy, hateful…these traits are the polar opposite of what true Christianity is supposed to be. I am positive that there are people in our country, searching for faith and contemplating whether or not they want to investigate church and Christianity. And I’d imagine there are some who see this joker out there, claiming to be a Christian and think, ummmm, no thank you. I want no part in this madness. And if that’s what I thought it was, I wouldn’t have anything to do with it either! The crazy Christians get the most press, like the Westboro folks. This has always bothered me, and made me feel like I have to defend my beliefs to some. What if one of these people becomes the leader of the free world?  Do I think Trump is a practicing Christian? Probably not, but that’s not my business and not what I base my vote on. But other people think he is, other people think this kind of “faith” is something to aspire to. So what do we do with this realization?

What’s going on right now is so much bigger than this election. I think there is a chance that this person could win. I believe we will become an international joke and America will gain a more negative reputation than it currently has. But it has a larger implication for us as human beings. If we begin to feel justified in letting that vitriolic, evil, nasty element that lives in all of us out in the open on a regular basis, what will the world look like?  HELL. It will look like hell.

We're better than this. I pray it doesn’t happen.