Bible-thumping etiquette teacher for Trump
I first encountered Donald Trump during the Republican primary debates. As he took on his opponents with vitriol and poorly chosen words, I’d tell my husband, “I will never vote for this man. He is simply Rude with a capital R.” I loved the night Sen. Marco Rubio dished it back, giving Trump a dose of boys-will-be-boys, and me a dose of front-seat boyish braggadocio.
I am not a reality TV viewer, and having never heard him utter, “You’re fired,” I simply began listening to Trump relative to the key issues Americans face. Of course we need to secure the borders, and of course we need to improve job growth in America. We must lower our debt, and we certainly must value the life of the unborn child. When I listened to the Trump children speak of him with respectful reverence, I had to question my early summation of Trump.
As an etiquette teacher, I have corrected brash and character-challenged individuals. When I decided to vote for Trump, many of my friends said: “You, an etiquette consultant, can vote for someone so uncivil?” The more I encountered televised interviews, the more I realized that if his prickly corners were carved away, his strength on the issues would surface. I read his list of possible Supreme Court nominees and recalled how President Obama’s liberal appointees had voted. Judgeship appointments would be crucial in the following years, and Hillary Clinton would be appointing “Obamaesque” lawyers who would tilt the court even further left.
I have taught the Bible. I know God creates life in a mother’s womb. I also know that he wants discerning believers to take part in government. To use as an excuse against voting that Trump is rude or worldly does not hold water, because God has always used imperfect people for his glory. When God used David, whom he called a man after his own heart, he used a human David who not only committed adultery but also murder. God uses people like Trump and like me who are sinners but whose specific issues, such as the life of the unborn child, align with his word.
I know that Barack Obama is as far from aligning with Christian values as any president we have ever had. And with 30 years of public service doing little for the issues Christians value, Clinton is simply more of Obama.
It was in listening to Mike Pence that I realized this Biblethumping etiquette teacher could without guilt vote for the Trump-Pence ticket. Watching the vice presidential debate, I was engaged by a calm leader who would be able to bring quiet and reason to a normally contentious Senate. I believe Trump’s experience in hiring will give him the discernment to select a team to indeed make America great again.
Neither eloquence nor unworldliness can save our cherished America. Radical change is needed to fix the problems that have crippled our country, especially from the past eight years. I believe the Republican platform, Trump, Pence and justices who know and uphold the Constitution will bring exactly that.