So, I sit in a coffee shop in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Donald Trump is the next President of the United States.
My days are filled with seeing children who live in slums, talking to women who have escaped the clutches of sex trafficking, and hearing of the darkness my friends and people I love deeply experience when they go out and do bar ministry.
Not to say that Donald Trump being President doesn’t matter but some things matter more. Especially in terms of our country. The reason I don’t deeply desire to return to the United States isn’t because of who the President is but who the American people have become. Both self-righteous on either side, claiming the other is worse, horrible, and throwing names here and there because of the election results. Hate won, but not because Donald Trump is President but because the American people have let hate rule in their hearts and, let me reiterate, it’s on both sides.
I see more love in one day in a country that is a militaristic dictatorship then I do on my timeline of the most free people in the world. I see the love of children who have less than nothing most days, the love of women who have been through and seen worse things than anything you could ever imagine, the love of my teammates who, no matter who won, we still respected and loved each other, and the love of a people who are deeply mourning the death of their beloved King.
Yes, Donald Trump is President and he has a record of someone who is filled with hate, but there’s more to the United States than our President. The more, is US, American citizens, who have a great capacity for love and kindness. The negativity I have seen and heard the last few days from people back home is more negativity I hear and see in Thailand.
I think the important thing that people seem to forget is to listen. In the United States we listen to respond, not to understand. When you talk to someone who voted for Trump or someone who doesn’t like him, is upset, or is scared, then ask questions and LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND! Do not listen to just respond with why they are wrong. Listen to hear their side, why their political ideals line up with their candidate, and why they feel they way they do.
Another thing to remember is that it’s not the end of the world nor the end of the United States. With the way our government is set up, one man cannot destroy a country in four years. Yes, the House and the Senate are majority Republican but that doesn’t mean they are going to side with Trump on everything and give him everything he desires. There are still other amazing people who have power and the capability to change things in the United States, including you and me.
From 8,000 miles away the problems in the United States seem small and miniscule, trust me. If you really want to make the world a better place then go find somewhere, locally or not, and just love people and let people show you what true, uninhibited love is. The acts of those freaking out, those spewing hate from whatever side, and those rioting in the street for whatever reason, is distracting you and taking you away from the love of that is in front of you.
I know this blog post isn’t going to change anyone’s mind or alter how you feel about the election but my hope is to encourage you to love. Love people who you don’t agree with, love the ones who are insulting you for your beliefs, love those who burned the American flag, love those who are acting out their racist beliefs… just love them. Anything short of loving them isn’t going to change anything but will send all of us into the never ending spiral of hate and destruction of fellow citizens and, sometimes, friends.
One thing our host here in Thailand made explicitly clear, is that before we could participate in doing bar ministry is that we had to love everyone. We had to love the girls selling themselves on the street, we had to love the ladyboys who sell themselves to fellow men, we had to love the “John’s” who buy, abuse, and sometimes rape women for their pleasure, we have to love the pimps who force women into selling themselves, abuse them, tear them apart emotionally, and try to trap them in this lifestyle, and we had to love the bar owners who allow and encourage all these things to happen in their businesses. Why? Because anything short or love doesn’t enact change. Love is what calls these girls to boldly run away from those lifestyles, love is what called a man to stop selling women and turn to Jesus, love is what’s going to make a difference in terms of these next four years and anything short of that will continue to divide our country and, that, my friends, is what is going to be our destruction, not whoever the President is.
