THE DIVISION

The House Divided

War and Accountability · Rollin E. Trueblood, USMC (Ret.)

I woke the other night frustrated, simply unable to understand how the division between the Republican and Democratic parties has become so severe in this country. Differences have always existed in America. People have always debated taxes, war, morality, economics, abortion, and the role of government itself. But over the last several years, it feels as though those differences have evolved into something far deeper than disagreement. There is now anger, contempt, and outright hatred for the other side. I watch both parties wrestle constantly for power while ordinary citizens increasingly feel unheard and disconnected from the process itself. As I write these stories, my constant prayer remains the same: may the scales fall off our eyes so that we the people can once again see clearly and remember that the government was created to serve the citizens, not the citizens to serve the government. Our civic and moral responsibility requires us to elect leaders of character, humility, restraint, and accountability — leaders who care not merely for power, but for the Constitution, the republic, and the people they were entrusted to represent.

I have heard many Republican friends of mine express frustration that conservatives and Christians are no longer truly represented the way they once were. I understand part of what they mean because I have always considered myself both Republican and Democrat depending on the issue itself. I have voted for candidates from both parties throughout my life. Men like Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, and John McCain represented what I believed the Republican Party once aspired to be. They believed in conservative values, personal responsibility, faith, patriotism, and service to the country. More importantly, they were willing to reach across the aisle, shake hands with opponents, negotiate, and search for solutions that benefited the citizens of the United States of America rather than simply strengthening one political tribe over another. I did not always agree with their policies or economic philosophies. In many cases I strongly disagreed. But I respected their moral character, their willingness to serve, and their ability to disagree without hatred. That type of leadership — leadership grounded in humility, restraint, dignity, and respect for others — is something I believe should still be modeled today.

But today, I believe much of the Republican Party has become submitted instead to what I call the Mega Party. There are still individuals within the party who believe in moderation, moral restraint, and constitutional principles, but increasingly it feels as though loyalty to one individual has become more important than loyalty to the principles themselves. If someone openly opposes the President or refuses to support him completely, they are often condemned, attacked, politically punished, or pushed aside. It should not be that way in a republic built upon debate, representation, and free thought. At the same time, Democrats are now routinely labeled as evil, immoral, incapable of being Christians, or enemies of the country itself. The rhetoric grows stronger and harsher each year. Words and labels are repeated over and over until people stop seeing one another as human beings and begin seeing one another only through anger and suspicion.

The studies performed in the 1960s revealed something deeply troubling about human nature. Under enough emotional pressure and authority, ordinary people can gradually become willing to inflict pain upon others simply because someone they trust or fear tells them it is justified. The experiments showed that many people were willing to continue administering what they believed were dangerous electric shocks because an authority figure calmly instructed them to continue. That is what frightens me about modern politics and modern rhetoric. Human beings can slowly be conditioned to believe that cruelty, harshness, humiliation, hatred, and attacking other people are acceptable if they are done for the “right” cause or against the “right” enemy. But it is not acceptable. If we truly want to find our moral compass again, if we truly want to understand what moral leadership should look like, then perhaps we should simply return to the Beatitudes themselves. Christ did not teach hatred, cruelty, humiliation, mockery, vengeance, or dehumanization. He taught humility, mercy, peacemaking, forgiveness, restraint, compassion, and love for one another.

Scripture repeatedly warns us against self-righteous judgment and contempt for others. In Matthew 7:1–5, Christ warns against judging others while ignoring the faults within ourselves. In Romans 2:1, Paul the Apostle reminds believers that when we condemn others while practicing sin ourselves, we condemn ourselves as well. In 1 John 4:20, scripture goes even further, teaching that anyone claiming to love God while hating a brother or sister is deceiving themselves. Ephesians 4:29 teaches that our words should build others up rather than tear them down, while Colossians 4:6 instructs believers to let their speech always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so they may know how to answer everyone. These verses do not eliminate moral standards or discernment, but they do remind us that hatred, contempt, arrogance, and self-righteousness were never intended to become the foundation of Christian conduct.

Now let us examine how the Lord actually expects us to conduct ourselves. In Matthew 22:37–39, Christ teaches that the greatest commandments are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. In John 13:34–35, Jesus commands believers to love one another, explaining that the world itself would recognize His followers by the love they show toward others. In Matthew 7:1–5, He again warns against hypocritical judgment and self-righteousness. Galatians 6 teaches believers to restore others gently and to carry one another’s burdens rather than tearing each other apart. Ephesians 4 instructs Christians to put away bitterness, rage, slander, and malice while becoming kind, compassionate, and forgiving toward one another. In Romans 12:18, believers are instructed, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Finally, Micah 6:8 reminds us what the Lord truly requires of us: to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. These scriptures together form a far different picture of leadership and citizenship than the hatred, contempt, humiliation, and division that now dominate so much of modern political and cultural discourse.

May the scales fall off our eyes. If the individual we are bowing down to does not represent these qualities, then I do not care whether they belong to the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or what I have called the Mega Party — they are the wrong leader for this country. If their moral character does not reflect humility, mercy, honesty, compassion, restraint, and accountability, then they should not be entrusted with leading the people of the United States of America. We can openly debate difficult issues in a free society. We can discuss subjects as complicated as abortion, because one person may believe it is a constitutional right while another believes it is morally wrong. Those debates will continue, and reasonable people may disagree. But if we elect leaders with genuine moral integrity, then solutions can still be reached through calm discussion, patience, wisdom, and respect for one another. Through our families, our churches, our small groups, and our civic responsibility, our voices can still be heard peacefully and rationally. Our obligation as Christians is not to spread hatred, cruelty, arrogance, and division. Our obligation is to represent Christ. The outcome ultimately belongs to the Lord. Our responsibility is simply to act according to His Word and His example. We should be very careful before condemning another person’s soul, because no human being can fully know the condition of another person’s heart. Christ repeatedly warned against self-righteousness and spiritual arrogance, especially when addressing the Pharisees. In Matthew 23, Jesus rebuked religious leaders who outwardly appeared righteous while inwardly being consumed with pride, hypocrisy, and judgment toward others. The warning remains just as important today.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. May the scales fall off our eyes, and may we begin lifting one another up in prayer once again — our churches, our families, the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, our neighbors, and the leadership of this country itself. Let us stop assuming hatred and evil in everyone who disagrees with us and instead begin praying for wisdom, discernment, mercy, and moral courage for all people involved. And if I may ask one final thing, let us also pray for the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and families of the children who lost their lives during the bombing in Iran. May grief not harden hearts into endless vengeance, hatred, and retaliation. May we never forget that behind every conflict are human beings created by God, carrying pain, fear, loss, and sorrow just like we do.

— Rollin E. Trueblood, USMC (Ret.)