Thread by @sometimesalight

This tracks w/ what I'm seeing anectdotally. Folks who held their noses in 2016 are now pro-Trump. This might be the first time I've believed in the slippery slope theory.

https://twitter.com/CTmagazine/status/1317965185131438083

A few other things I'm hearing:

1) Some of these folks don't like MSM &believe Trump is unfairly critiqued. They see him as underdog & this elicits a level of sympathy. Folks have flat out told me that they now support him precisely b/c they see him as under attack.

2) For voters who are never going to vote anything but R, it was easy to be anti-HRC & vote Trump as "lesser of two evils." It's harder to be anti-Biden. For these folks, the reasoning must shift w/ opposition candidate. Biden almost requires pro-Trump posture.

3) Political divides are real & personal. 2020 election is both revealing & creating division even w/in families. So need to justify a vote (in either direction) takes on larger significance. Folks end up leaning into decision more when under scrutiny.

The thing that concerns me about all of this is that the more we align ourselves w/ particular candidates, the less margin we have to critique them & hold them accoutable.

When we align our identity or moral rightness w/ a particular party, vote, or candidate, we lose objectivity b/c our rightness is bound up w/ theirs. We can't question them w/out questioning ourselves. And nobody's going to do that willingly.

ISTM, that the best thing for Xians is to be frank about the pragmatics of voting & as much as possible, retain a level of objectivity. I'm not suggesting detachment or lack of concern for social evils. I'm suggesting a different position & posture.

But to do this, our righteousness & safety must be rooted outside the political sphere. And when it is, we become an asset to society b/c we can speak into the process in distinct ways.

Do not think for 1 minute that Xians are the only ones tempted to find righteousness & safety in the political process. What Xianity does offer is a way to escape that temptation. It offers a way to silence those existential concerns which in turn frees us to seek common good.

When our righteousness is safe in Christ, when our future is secured through the Resurrection, we become a benefit to our communities b/c we're no longer worried about using them to save ourselves. We are able to freely love God & our neighbors as ourselves.

We're freed to speak truthfully & objectively about both good & evil b/c our acceptance & condemnation is not in question. We can serve others precisely b/c we don't need their approval. We do not need the tribe or the party b/c we belong to God & his kingdom.