Mr Muniini K. Mulera
Dear Tingasiga:
American presidents influence world events. So, who becomes president of the United States of America matters beyond the borders of that great nation. More so today than ever before, given that the two main candidates in this year’s election for president of the USA are opposites on all measures.
As foreigners, we neither vote nor influence the opinions in the United States. However, our attitudes as Ugandans towards the president of the USA need to be clear, for they shape our personal expectations and our two countries’ bilateral relations.
Today, I write as a Christian, to fellow Christians, with a focus on two issues that appear to influence many people’s attitudes towards Ms Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party candidate, and Mr Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate, namely, the two politicians’ positions on the sexual rights of LGBTQ people, and on women’s reproductive rights including abortion.
Mr Trump presents himself as an opponent of LGBTQ rights, and abortion. Ms Kamala unapologetically supports the rights of LGBTQ people, and women’s reproductive rights and control over their own bodies.
This situation presents a very understandable dilemma for many Christians (and other people) who are strongly opposed to the rights of LGBTQ people and to women’s reproductive rights. Whereas they have a natural affinity for Harris, and discomfort with the cantankerous former president, their stated positions on the two issues makes it a tough choice to make.
However, a Christian’s choice between Ms Kamala rris and Mr Trump should be very straightforward if one considers their characters, actions and overall track records, not just their declared positions on abortion and human sexuality alone.
Mr Trump’s public and private life, and his documented deeds, not just his words, reveal a man whose life is trapped in the acts of the flesh that Paul talks about in Galatians 5:19-26 and elsewhere.
By his own admission and the public record, Mr Trump is an unrepentant poster boy for a world that promotes sexual immorality, deception, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, and things like these.
Mr Trump’s proclaimed anti-abortion stance is a classic example of how he seizes on an issue that he knows may win him the support of a targeted community, such as Christians.
Prior to entering the race for president of the USA, Mr Trump told the host of “Meet the Press” on NBC (an American TV network): “I am very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. I just believe in choice. Again, it may be a little bit of a New York background, because there is some different attitude in some different parts of the country. ... But I am strongly pro-choice.”
A few years later, presidential candidate Trump changed his rhetoric, and announced that he was “pro-life”, meaning he was now against women’s reproductive rights.
Lately, he has become “a voice of consensus on abortion.” He says that abortion is not a federal matter and should be handled by the states. That way, he does not have to deal with it. Those who support Trump because of his claims about abortion have an uphill task of figuring it out where he stands on the matter.
Likewise, Mr Trump’s professed anti-LGBTQ stance is calculated to win favour with Christian and other religious communities. It is not what he believes. It is the usual opportunistic self-advantage seeking. He has been pro-LGBTQ, then anti-LGBTQ, then wishy-washy about it. You will recall a statement he made on June 14, 2016: “Thank you the LGBTQ community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.”
Mr Trump claims to believe in whatever is advantageous to him now, not the principle itself. He is very gifted at deception and manipulation of people. But a famous photograph by Evan Vucci of Associated Press showing Mr Trump holding an LGBTQ flag at a campaign rally at the University of Northern Colorado on October 30, 2016, is worth looking at by those who have fallen for the false narrative that Mr Trump opposes LGBTQ rights.
Christians should also consider Mr Trump’s negative attitude towards Africans and other non-Europeans in America and beyond.
Does a man who sows hatred and intolerance towards people that are different from him deserve support and adoration by Christians? What does our Lord teach us directly, through the Apostle Paul and other messengers? Do Christians who support Mr Trump agree with the Apostle Paul’s teaching that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female,” for we are all one in Christ Jesus? Does Mr Trump share that belief?
On the other hand, Ms Kamala is a Christian woman whose life of fellowship in the Baptist Church, and her public service that promotes justice for all Americans is consistent with what you and I value as Christians.
I concede that her position on the sexual and reproductive rights of women, and the human rights of the LGBTQ people is one that does not sit well with many Christians and other communities. It is a legitimate point of disagreement and should be thoroughly debated.
However, unlike Mr Trump, she is very honest about her beliefs and positions. And, of course, her role as president of the United States will involve more issues than these two.
America needs a unifier, not a divider; a beacon of hope for all God’s children, not a preacher of hate, discrimination, and division; a peacemaker at home and abroad, not a reckless autocrat that flirts with and admires ruthless killers in presidential palaces on different continents, and fans the flames of combustible tribalism in America. America needs a safe person with the power to declare war. America needs a leader whose life is founded on Christian values.
Mr Trump is not beyond redemption. I pray he chooses Christ as his saviour. Claiming to be a Christian is a very easy thing to do.
Being a Christian is not easy, for it requires surrender to the Lord, transformation through renewal of our minds, and living and walking in the Spirit. I do not know Mr Trump’s true spiritual beliefs, if he has any, but I hear his words and see his actions. They are far removed from what Jesus Christ taught us and expects of us.
A Christian should not have trouble seeing that Mr Trump is neither fit to be the secular leader of God’s children, nor worthy of the support they give him on account of his deception. He does not espouse or share Christian values.
Mulera is a medical doctor.
