Something Nice

“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.”

The saying is venerable, to be sure, but not old enough to merit inclusion in holy writ. They’re not the words of a prophet, they’re the words of a rabbit.

Nevertheless, to this generally prudent advice, I would add the following gentle suggestion for my fellow Christians when commenting on politics: If you can’t say something understandable, don’t say anything at all.

Nothing Beside Remains

Doug Wilson has a little encouragement over at his blog for Christians worried about the US election next week.

That would not be me. No fussing and fretting in this corner. I can cheer for a particular outcome I believe to be best, pray for it and even get emotionally invested in it without spiraling into depression if in the end it doesn’t go my way.

That’s either the work of the Lord in conforming me to Christ-likeness, or else years of Buffalo Sabres fandom finally paying off. Both are character transforming, though probably not quite to the same degree.

However it shakes out, we are in for interesting times as we head into the new year.

Too Hot to Handle: The Trump Years

In which our regular writers toss around subjects a little more volatile than usual.

Anybody bristling at the thought of one more word about last week’s U.S. election is advised to turn back here. But I promise this two-parter is absolutely our final discussion of the subject for a while — at least until President Trump actually assumes office and does something worthy of commentary.

Assuming, of course, we are allowed to comment.

Bringin’ the Crazy

I’m watching a bunch of crazy people. Or at least they’re acting that way.

YouTube is full of videos of disappointed young liberals screeching out their rage and fear at the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency. Mainstream media outlets run pictures of crowds carrying signs that read, “If you don’t REVOLT, you can’t complain”, “Not my president” and “I’m afraid for my country”.

I’m reminded of the proverb that says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Nobody Knows Where to Look

Try this on for size:

“The Russians are accused of trying to influence an American election. And how did they propose to disrupt our normal way of doing things over here? The answer is obvious when you think about it. They determined that they would tell the truth. When something like that erupts in the middle of a presidential campaign, nobody knows where to look.”

— Doug Wilson

Who knows what the Russians are trying to do, or if they actually have anything at all to do with the latest WikiLeaks infodumps? This is the craziest American election to occur in my lifetime, one in which interests are so wildly polarized that even the social and electoral havoc brought about by external meddling sounds like good news to some Americans, at least in the short term.

But more to the point, Wilson is right: truth is a terribly disruptive element.