Political Discourse 2020

Malevolency in High and Low Places and the Downgrading of Democracy Six weeks have passed since the presidential election of 2020. After 60 unsuccessful lawsuits, including two failed attempts to petition the Supreme Court, Trump still cannot attain sufficient traction in his nihilistic effort to overturn the results of the election in his effort to dismiss the not insignificant 332-232 victory of Biden over Trump in the electoral college and over seven million popular votes. This week, the Electoral College officially declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 race. While claiming, without credible evidence, that the election was stolen from him, any prospect of him overturning the vote would result in a disenfranchisement of major proportions that would rip at the very heartbeat of this fragile, but thus far, enduring republic of ours. Whether it is to remain in power so that he does not have to face a series of legal and civil charges, especially at the state level, or simply because...

 Faith and Politics: Contrastive Perspectives A few weeks ago, the Gazette published a letter written by a self-identified Christian who expressed his views on the critical issues that established his political values in determining which candidate best supported his positions. I am grateful for this writer for identifying the importance of public issues in shaping his faith and in their significance in relation to the political climate of our times. I also admire the writer’s civility in expressing his views and in honoring the confidentiality of the local politicians he contacted to obtain their perspective on his views. The writer identified three central issues that formed his public theology: abortion, homosexuality, and “religious freedom.” All these topics can be debated within Christianity, as well as throughout US society through a more pluralistic set of perspectives. The positions argued for by the writer contain considerable cultural force because of their central rol...