Political Change In America – Not About Race & We Can Work Together

The November 8, 2016 elections in America made an unprecedented change in the political, economic and social expectations in America. It is an unexpected change that would remain key in leadership change in the United States and all over the world. The two major political parties in the country, the Republican and the Democratic parties have over the years shared power in the White House and Congress. But the 2016 elections seemed different with its campaign, expectations, and outcome as well as reactions to the results. America’s political system has served as a model for democracy all over the world and it worked well for the people. It is a system founded by people of distinct character who laid a foundation for justice, peace and happiness. It is a political system which has evolved over 200 years with smooth transitions from one government to the other. But something was amiss in the 2016 elections. There was an open manifestation of sharp divisions in the polity, which was alien to American elections; but which was seen to have been built up for a couple of years. No one would expect to see two political rivals agree because they are in the political ring to win. They would therefore plot different strategies to defeat the opponent. But it has never gotten as bad as we witnessed during this past election.

Some people crossed the line of decency that America is known for by attacking opponents of their political beliefs. There were open protests and some in anger burnt openly the symbol of the United States sovereignty, the American flag. Everyone on the divide held to their views and no one wanted to accept that their actions were not appropriate. Like in any contest, a winner and a looser would emerge. The only decent behavior would be for the looser to go back to the drawing board and strategize for the future. In the 2016 election, it was different; the looser, though promptly accepted the result still created an atmosphere for chaos and uncertainties in the body polity. Several indecent methods were devised to change history. There was the clamor to use popular votes as against the electoral college that had always been the case in past elections. This was canvassed only when the loser and the winner was already known. Also used was the issue of the Russian interference in the political process, and some political activists were short of asking Americans to go back to the polls when Putin would have been caged from interfering. However, everyone accepted that the actual election votes were not tampered with; it was only the negative information inside the democratic party that were exposed by the WikiLeaks. All agitations did not seem to work or change the outcome of the election. And we should realize that our individual high intellect and our perceived position in society does not overwrite the personal decisions or choices of the majority, no matter how lowly they are. This is the beauty of democracy.

The Main Issue:

How did we become so divided in the American polity? The coming of Obama in the 2008 elections as president no doubt was a spectacular and welcome change. It was a change that was desired by not only the blacks but supported by the whites and other races in America. It was a change that made America more valued all over the world; a nation in which anyone from any race can aspire to be president. But it turned out to be a change which rather than giving hope for the ordinary American, created a further polarization of an already divided America. Many people wrongly canvassed that it was an opposition against the black race which president Obama purportedly represented. Every agitation by other people, not only the Whites, were regarded as opposition against the black race. I was stunned by the interpretations and conclusions of some individuals as to why Trump won the election. Per Jamelle Bouie, a Slate’s chief political correspondent, Trump happened not just because of anger over jobs and immigration; White voters voted with the hope that Trump will restore the racial hierarchy upended by Barack Obama. Jamelle is entitled to this opinion but he is not completely accurate. Many indeed voted because they are concerned about the direction in which America under the Obama administration was headed. I agree that some were opposed to him based on his color but such ungodly characters are present in all races. Among the Whites, Blacks or Others, are individuals who treat others wrongly because of color. The point is that it is not all oppositions to the Obama administration’s policies that were based on race.

As in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, I believe that to some extent we now live in an America in which American children are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. The issue therefore, was not just the color of the president but the character. I say this because individuals of us have the inkling to discriminate against others for whatever reason because of the sinful condition of our hearts. And this is common in all races, ethnicity and tribes all over the world. But if Americans could elect a black president in 2008, they made a big difference in the world. America is therefore not alone on racial issues; racism is in every nation in which human dwell. Our prayer is that a majority of us will look pass it, learn to accept others for who they are, forgive one another and live in peace and harmony. The president fell to the baits of some racial bigots within our black race who see every White as opposed to the Blackman, which in itself is racism. If we dwell on the experiences of the past and actions of a few among the white folks who continue to reignite the negative past, racism will continue to thrive in America. We must therefore, particularly the Christians, walk past these satanic events and put on the clothes of forgiveness to heal our society of the past wounds. As a black man who was not born here, I appreciate the frustration my kinsmen born in the United States pass through. But the point is to recognize that the way out of this problem is to determine to forgive the past and let us cultivate a new friendship that cuts across race and give the benefit of doubt for the actions of others. President Obama’s failed policies being blamed on the Whites who did not like him further polarized the nation. Our black brothers’ attitude based on this perception aggravated the issue and created more problems for a divided nation.

The main issue in America since the beginning of the Obama administration is the total departure from the known ideological stand of the American nation, and the principles on which it was founded. The eight years of Obama has almost changed America and what America stands for. And I believe it was the ambition of Obama to change America. Making a radical U turn for people who have established a known and working system could be very terrible for those who have gotten used to the system. The Obama administration took the America nation to the far left which has almost destroyed its original foundation. It is the first-time America has adopted strange attitudes in both domestic and foreign initiatives. The new road that the Democratic Party under Obama has taken America is sobering. It is believed in some quarters that another eight years of Obama would change the country radically such that it would be difficult for anyone to recognize America. These are the issues that should have dominated our discussions and not race. The counter offensive of our black brothers and sisters using the unfortunate past experiences of racism in America tend to portray that all blacks are liberal. This is certainly not the case, there are many black Americans who cherish our Christian values more than any political gain. We will therefore talk ourselves away from racial issues that Satan has used over the years to divide us on our good purposes in life.

American System:

America has always been governed by any of the political parties with an understanding that the country operates in a free market economy. The United States of America was founded on a conservative capitalist ideology. Capitalist economic system is based on private ownership of the means of production. The whole essence of private ownership is for those who supply the capital to run the business with a view to making profits from their operation. The idea is for individual initiatives in private enterprise to benefit from their enterprise and be able to take care of their God-given responsibilities to their immediate family and meet other obligations, including employed labor used to manage their private enterprise. A people that have chosen this ideology are determined to develop a healthy competition which will impact on the economy, leading to acceleration of growth of industry and production and that would make life good for the society. It is to encourage all to work hard.

It is an ideology based on the Bible as espoused by apostle Paul, who instructed the Thessalonians to beware of lazy people in the Church who put their burden on others. Paul said: “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 2 Thess. 3:6-12.

Anti-American ideology:

The ideology of communal living was in the church alongside the capitalist initiatives. In the early days of the Church, the people were bound by the love of Jesus Christ, as they “Continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” Acts 2:42-45. “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common”. Acts 4:32. It was a practice in which everyone was involved in their business initiatives and they ensured that no one in the church lacked anything by looking after the welfare of all. The wide gap between the rich and the poor being witnessed today in our society is a result of selfishness that has dominated our society which does not show the love of Christ on which the original ideology was built. It was a system in which it was inappropriate for anyone not to work but depending on the common pool to eat.

Satan, a counterfeiter of godly characters soon got some individuals to lazy around and engage in being busybodies. He therefore led some folks to embrace an ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the establishment of socioeconomic order structured upon the common state ownership of enterprise with a view to eliminating social classes. According to theories, the social classes, are the working class who work to earn their livelihood, and who usually constitute the majority of society; and the capitalist class who set up the enterprise, employed the proletariat, and managed the means of production to make profit. The entrepreneurs are always the minority group in the society. The point is that the classes need each other for survival and should be seen working together for their common good. However, a strange class is created through the overbearing of government in the management of the system, a class of people who do not work but wait for government benevolence to live. Governments can only achieve this by passing the burden of maintaining them to the first two classes, entrepreneurs and workers through excessive government taxes.

Welfare was introduced in the early church to care for the needy (who are usually groups who could not work, widows, and orphans who have no good support). It was not meant to create lazy and idle people who wait for government to feed them. The problem with any of these modern-day ideologies is that they are operated based on self-interest and not the love of God on which the original ideologies were operated. This has always resulted in self-destruction. Any ideology operated without the knowledge and fear of God is bound to spell doom for the nation. Capitalism or communism/socialism will be evil when God is absent in its operations. The leaders of the typical socialist government often seek to dominate the lives of the society. They claim to be serving the interest of the poor and needy but end up throwing the entire society into poverty. Welfare of the needy has been part of the program of American system of government but the last eight years of the Obama administration in the US was characterized by open abuse of the welfare programs that has turned able-bodied individuals into government parasites. This was one of the reasons many people have become used to lazing, and idling around the cities with no job to do; not because they could not secure a job but because they felt good not working. Many of them thought they were better off not working if they could access all essentials for their living without having to work. For example, Obama introduced free phones which no working-class American can qualify for, but those who are unemployed have more than one set of free phones. Agents who promote and sell free government phones receive commission all at the expense (high tax) of those who work. Companies and businesses were looking out elsewhere to operate because of excessive taxes. The spirit of personal initiative and entrepreneurship was dampened and it became unreasonable to strive to succeed. The irony of the system is that it is not built to do the godly work of helping the poor, rather it was a populist program built for the political class to look good and hold on to power.

The objective is to capture the hearts and minds of the people, remove human reasoning, and perceiving government as acting in the peoples’ interest. The people will tend to see the leader as an alternative to God because he/she produces answers to their prayers. The reasoning faculty of the people is literarily enslaved by government actions to please their stomachs. Ironically, some Christians submit easily to such gestures as they believe the government is acting in the interest of the masses. The populist government ends up being god to the people; and the leader competes with the Creator over His creations. It is the greatest human idolatry. This was the style of the communists who succeeded in modifying democracy to become dictators. It is also similar to the feudal system commonly found in the Islamic nations operated by the caliphate in which the people look up to the leaders for their daily bread. It is a subtle slavery when people lose their freedom to determine what they can do to make a living.

The President and his Liberal agenda:

President Obama was a community organizer from the city of Chicago who through subtle methods has captured the hearts of the populace and headed up the path of communism without God through liberalism. Most Christians in America were captured and many of them stood to the defense of the president. The divine intervention of God through the great constitution of America which limits American presidents’ term to two and a total of eight years saved the nation from calamity. This was the reason Obama boasted that he would have won the election if a third term was allowed by the constitution. Undoubtedly, his approval rating was high, and that was clearly demonstrated by his vast followers who expressed their desire on Tuesday, January 9, 2017, at his farewell speech, to see him continue which he rejected as not possible. But God remains God and powerful in the affairs of men. Trump is not an agenda but an intervention of God to save the Church, Israel, and the founding principles and values of this great nation. Obama campaigned vigorously for Hillary Clinton, his alternative third term candidate, but failed as a result of the prayers of God’s people, and all men of goodwill both in America and all over the world. Thank God for the mobilization of American Christians for prayers by the prophets in the land to arrest a nation adrift from her foundations and values. Political analysts were shocked to see Donald Trump, a candidate who had no chance of winning the election actually win. This is why it is called a miracle because it surpasses human understanding. It is therefore not an election based on race but an election in which the church perceived itself in government dungeon if Hillary Clinton, the continuation of Obama policies was elected.

Liberalism is not a political ideology but rather can be seen as a coalition of evil against God and righteousness. It is a counterfeit of God’s grace. The grace of God gives elastic accommodations for sinners to repent but not for perpetuating their sins. Peter said “The Lord is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance”. 2 Peter 3:9. Paul echoed this when he wrote his letter to Titus, he said, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people”. Titus 2:11. But he also asked, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And he answered, “Certainly not!” The human grace (liberalism) accommodates all and seeks to perpetuate sin. Sin does not do anything good but to destroy the people. For example, Obama’s liberal system accommodates the gay lifestyle, Islamic fundamentalism, atheism, and all other ideologies but God. This is why from the inception of his government, he has alienated the Church and Christians because these are people he believed would expose his tactics and might not allow him to succeed in his agenda of changing America. It must however be pointed out that gay community, Islamic fundamentalists, atheists and others under President Obama’s liberal system are a coalition of bed-fellows; they are getting along currently because they have a common fight against God and the church. Sooner or later, their relationship is bound to collapse because they do not seem to be compatible. For example, Islamists and gays cannot work together, the story will be different against the gay activists if Islam, God forbid gets an upper hand in the country. Christians only evangelize, and preach against the gay lifestyle but will go to all lengths to love gay persons. Islamic fundamentalists will not spare them when they have the opportunity.

Obama appeared to be anti-Christian and anti-Israel in his policies; and this was the reason American Christians were woken up from their years of slumber to pray for deliverance. Political persecution of Christians became alarming in these eight years of democratic government under Obama. He often claimed to belong to the church but can I say theoretical only because his actions seem not to show. He was in South Carolina to commiserate with the Church and Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, South Carolina on the unfortunate killings of wonderful children of God. The president sang "Amazing Grace" to the delight of everyone at the funeral but he returned to the Whitehouse to celebrate the victory of homosexuals at the Supreme Court. In his remark, shortly that same day, he said, “The project of each generation is to bridge the meaning of those founding words with the realities of changing time”, referring to the founding fathers’ proclamation that all men are created equal. Shortly, after the elections in which he realized that his term of office would end in January 2017, he chose to complete his purported friendship with Israel by indirectly voting against the God given right of the Jewish nation. He was alleged to have induced a United Nation Security Council resolution asking Israel to vacate their land and eternal capital of Jerusalem for the Palestinians. That was his political style through his eight-year tenure as president of the United States.

The reality of Trump victory:

The reality is that Donald J Trump is by the grace of God and Providence, the 46th president of the United States of America from January 20, 2017. We may not all like him, we may not all have voted for him but he nevertheless, will be the president of the most power country in the world. We must all come to terms with this, including our failed press. The press must come to terms with the reality and save our nation from further embarrassment through fake news. Further fake news during the term of the new administration because a section of the press doesn’t like him will not only be injurious to America but the world will be negatively impacted. Reports of government activities must be performed with full interest of America and not personal or parochial interest of a few. The president elect, Donald Trump has used twitter to disseminate public information because he does not trust the press to report his activities accurately and also for fear of fake news. But if the fake news continues, the nation will yet survive through the prayers of God’s people who will keep up the tempo of prayers to keep the government of Trump on track.

Appeal to the new government:

However, Trump’s victory must be guided carefully to ensure that God’s will is done in the nation. As we get set for the 45th United States presidency, the administration must be magnanimous to act in the interest, and ensure justice for all, the rich, the poor, the gay, the straight, the believers and the unbelievers. Christians must be aware that Satan has since November 8, 2016 proceeded to plan new strategies to fight our victory. We therefore cannot rest on our oars and our dedication to prayers and the work of the gospel. For example, Satan may be putting together extreme right-wing push which will rather than solve our problem, compound it. Our conservative governance must be approached with the fear of God and caring for everyone. We should open all our public services to our known Christian values. Christianity is justice and love for all. The government must not entrust the system to the wealthy individuals’ sole policies who may face the temptation of protecting their wealth at the expense of the people. There should be careful scrutiny of policies to align them with the interests of all. Trump’s policies freeing most Americans to do their work and make a living without being slaves to anyone will change the perception of all about him and the conservatives. It will endear him to all Americans.

We must painstakingly sift through all regulations to identify aspects that truly hamper business growth for elimination. There are aspects of our current regulations which curb human excesses that must be spared. We cannot do without regulations because, over the years, human behavior shows that some level of guidance is required to keep our peace and make all people happy. Government must also resist the temptation of legislating on certain known values as done by Obama in his eight years of governance. Homosexuals have always been in the society but it crossed the line when the gay activists expected the nation to bow down to them; they not only required that everyone accepted their lifestyle as appropriate, but ensured that anyone who holds a different view from them was punished. Every view must be allowed and expressed without coercion as is the practice by the Islamic fundamentalists who expect everyone to tow their line of belief. People should be free to do their business in accordance with their beliefs. Some Christians lost their jobs and businesses because they expressed their beliefs. These are no godly approaches. Our Christian love would not let us pay them back in their own coins.

This is no time for Winner takes it all:

The King of Syria had fought Israel but could not prevail against her, with the help of the God of Israel. In his pursuit of Israel, and to capture Elisha, a prophet in Israel who God used to guide the steps of Israel, the Syrian army had mysteriously ended up in the midst of Israel. “As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” So, he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel. 2 King 6:21-23. If there is any time to show love and compassion for our enemies, it is now. The government must be firm, decisive and thorough in its business of governance so that the enemy does not take advantage of the good gesture of government but the government should act in love towards everyone. I believe God will use Donald Trump and Mike Pence to do just this. But they need our prayer support for God to reform their persons to conform with the image of Christ.