Mike Pence, a Picture, a Prayer, and a Healthy Dose of Perspective

How we outrage ourselves into error.

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As I travel around the country, I’m often asked whether 2016 and the rise of Donald Trump changed me in any way. In some quarters of the pro-Trump right, there’s often a narrative that Trump broke his critics’ brains. They’ve got Trump Derangement Syndrome. In some quarters of the left, there’s a belief that people like me are accountable for Trump’s rise. We may have opposed him in the election, but we helped create the cultural and political conditions in which Trump thrives. 

I used to have a quick answer to these inquiries. I haven’t changed. Not at all. I didn’t leave the Trump GOP; the Trump GOP left me. Oh, and don’t blame me for Donald Trump. I was never one of those fire-breathing own-the-libs, polemicists. 

But now I know that’s not right. I have changed. I’ve changed quite a bit. And a recent online spat over a picture of Mike Pence praying illustrated exactly how my mind and heart have changed in four short years. I’m reminded of the climactic scene in Pixar’s Ratatouille where the food critic Anton Ego demands to be served a dose of “perspective.” Well, I’ve been served heaping helpings of perspective, and it’s changed the way I view our nation, our culture, and our politics. 

Let’s start with a tweet that briefly lit up right-wing Twitter last week. Here it is, from a New York Times Magazine and Harper’s writer named Thomas Chatterton Williams:

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  1. Avatar photo
    cheerio

    I kind of liked that they prayed about this and hopefully were praying for the ill and those dying of the virus. I don't think Trump has spent a moment praying for those poor people.

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    Karen Grubaugh

    Amazing Grace has been my favorite hymn since God called me to himself. Could not resist the tears that always come when I hear it’s refrains. Your article spoke to me. The picture of our leaders praying to our Almighty God gave me peace.

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    Logical

    Religion and politics are an easy mix to sucker people.

    One cannot prove or disprove the assertions of religion. It's like a placebo.

    Politics, on the otherhand, need not be proven. Because, by the election time, a whole new set of issues take hold, and the masses are gaslighted to focus on a new set of issues. There is no grand judge reminding them what they promised four years ago. A perfect example is the deficit and the GOP.

    GOP has done an excellant job in mixing religion with politics beause they got there first, after the Southern strategy.

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    1. Robert Waters

      The same is true of unbelief, by the way.

      No, I think they did such an excellent job because the Democrats suckered them into it by adopting positions that orthodox Christians would have to reject. The only way to avoid the theologizing of religion would be for both parties to refuse to take official positions on issues guaranteed to push people's religious buttons.

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    C@go-gt.us

    This is truly excellent and I love the Sunday French Press and the other newsletters. However, whenever I try to forward to a family or friend, I almost always get a bounce back error. Charter.net and gmail just interpret it as spam and refuse to even send (not a spam blocker on the recipient end. I have tried contacting substack support and they want me to basically figure out the problem myself and fix it. I wish there was another place to put this comment, but I can't find it. Here is hoping there is something the team can do to make it easier to share your good work with others by email and not get it classified as spam so often. Most of my family don't touch twitter. Best wishes.

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    WKDawson

    This is a good example of the major problem with having only 144 characters to express an idea.

    Frankly, as a professional scientist and a Christian myself, yes, I do pray about my work as a scientist. I want to make decisions that lead in a constructive direction for the human race. I do not want to become part of a project that leads to evil. Moreover, to make _real_ discoveries that constructively lead to bettering the lives of people, we know that we are dependent on God's grace, not only to find what is good and important for humanity but in the way that it will be used. All science can be used for good and evil.

    Perhaps Williams is expressing his grave distaste at the president choosing an open creationist to lead the fight against a virus that has _evolved_ and found a "new market" in human hosts. I was deeply concerned about that myself -- not because I don't think prayer will help in some way, but because of the ignorance I fear. It is not that Mike Pence prays, I hope that he does. I also hope that he learns to respect how dangerous viruses really are. Evolution is not pretty; it is opportunistic, it is pragmatic, it is amoral and it favors the easiest solutions. That is the world. Unlike wicked people, we can conquer viruses with sound scientific understanding. We would like to see people who have a deep respect for science put in the high position of making decisions rather than people who basically don't and are put in those positions because of their political favors rather than their abilities to really lead and their willingness to learn what needs to be done.

    by Grace we proceed.

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    Lawrence Jones

    I am grateful to you David and especially to your friend Mike Medders for answering the call and giving us the luxury to debate these ideas on safety and freedom.

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    Aylene Wright

    Hey David, this has nothing to do with your article but I understand today is the wedding anniversary for you and your lovely wife. So, congratulations, hope you had a great day!

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    Svetlana

    Dear David, I too have changed. In part, due to finding, reading and listening to you! As a secular liberal, before 2016, I would have laughed with Thomas and cheered his tweet. As it was, I cringed. I could see that it caricatures and would offend religious people and that it would be fodder for those who want to demonize my “tribe.” I wish that Thomas would have resisted the temptation to be snarky and said initially what he said in his follow-up tweet. Thank you for telling folks about and humanizing Thomas. I follow his work closely and have read both of his books. He is an important and nuanced voice in the conversation about identity and race. Perhaps The Dispatch would solicit a contribution from him? The discussion following your article is so much better than Twitter :-)

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    BARRY WEISS

    I think you are way off base on the Pence prayer issue. Most folks know that Pence and those of his ilk are praying for the wisdom to make the correct decisions and not for God to cure Coronavirus. Nevertheless, this is not helpful to the extent it causes our Government to rely on what it perceives as the will of God and not the guidance of science. Yes, Roosevelt prayed over the radio as you said on D Day. Also the belt buckle of every German soldier said “Gott Mit Uns”—God is with us. On the other hand, Emperor Hirohito of Japan got it exactly right after Japan was defeated and he was asked why? He said, “Too much religion, too little science.”
    If you and others want to pray to God for wisdom in your personal lives, great; just keep that out of making decisions for the governing of 530,000,000 people of the US.

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    MA

    What I can't help but think about when I see a picture like that is: how would Christians feel seeing people of other faiths in the White House praying? If those praying were Muslim? Jewish? Hindi? Would these same voices be as protective or requesting (scratch that - demanding) of tolerance for "people of faith"? I'm not sure. Maybe someday that discussion will be had.

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