Last week, many Americans worried that the President might be dying of Covid. Others worried that he wasn’t. Emerging from the hospital, he thanked his doctors, and then spoke the statement that, curiously, caused more uproar than even he is used to creating.
Speaking of the virus, and the pandemic it’s brought upon us, the President admitted it was a scary thing, a dangerous thing, and then said:
“Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t let it take over your lives. Don’t let that happen.”
As usual when this President speaks, many in the media went ballistic, denouncing his words as the incomprehensible babbling of a mad man who posed a horrific threat to people all over the U.S. who might actually believe him and, well, you know – be brave.
Strange, for what he said closely echoed the celebrated words of another president, Franklin Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” But, of course, that was Roosevelt, at the height of his popularity, in the depths of the Great Depression, on the threshold of World War II.
Somehow, a call to courage just doesn’t resonate as much with people facing unprecedented prosperity, near limitless opportunity, relative peace around the globe. And a virus.
And yet … the idea’s either true, or it isn’t. If it’s true, it’s true whenever it’s said, by whoever says it, no matter what mood or state the country is in. True is true.
One thing that makes me think Trump’s idea is true is that neither he nor FDR were the first to suggest it. In fact, his words remind me of something Paul, the apostle, wrote the Corinthians, long, long ago:
“‘Everything is permissible for me,’ he said, quoting a popular phrase of that place and time. “But … not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible for me’ – but I will not be mastered by anything.”
I’m continually astonished by how desperately so many in our own day long to be mastered, to use Paul’s word, or dominated, to use Trump’s. And while what they want to be mastered by certainly varies from person to person, clearly – to anyone paying reasonable attention – the two most popular choices are fear and hatred.
Somehow, so many people right now seem to want to be afraid. They’re actually thriving on their own fear.
Not saying that, any more than the President was, to set aside the real dangers of Covid. But his call to renewed courage seemed to me reminiscent of what Jesus says, repeatedly, throughout the Gospels: “Do not be afraid.”
What Jesus does not say: “There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Because, of course, scary things abound.
Nor does He say: “Try not to be afraid.” As if we might or might not have it in us to shake off the things that scare us. He wasn’t suggesting; He was commanding. “Don’t be afraid.”
It’s an unreasonable expectation … unless, in His strength, we can do it. But many somehow prefer living in fear to leaning on the Lord. After all, you let Jesus into one part of your life … no. No, no, no. Wallowing in fear is one odd, backward way of shaking our fists at God.
Many, too, yearn to hate. It’s so much easier than love. You don’t have to be patient, kind, understanding, sympathetic, unselfish. None of that. You need not know the reality of the other person’s situation. Truth is irrelevant. Facts are irrelevant. All you need is your cold fury and a little self-righteousness to wrap it in.
And all of us have plenty of both, lying around our cluttered souls like junk in the spare bedroom. It’s been a long, long, difficult year. We’re tired. And loving takes so much work.
Fear and hate are waiting, trembling and seething, to consume us, dominate us, take over our lives. But speaking for myself, well … I claim my birthrights, as an American, and as a follower of Christ. I don’t want to be mastered by anything.
Which brings me to an observation, this election season.
President Richard Nixon once confided that, in his experience, people want to be president of the United States for one of two reasons: a) because there are things they want to accomplish for the country that only the president can accomplish. And b) because … they want to be president.
It’s not hard to find a list of what the current president has accomplished while in office. It’s a formidable list, including remarkable economic transformations, heightened national security, extraordinary breakthroughs in foreign relations, tenacious opposition to abortion, and unprecedented support for religious freedom.
Lay aside what the man says; look, honestly, at what he has done.
Up against him are candidates and a party that have offered no engaging ideas, no specific programs or initiatives, no vision for the country beyond hatred (“Destroy Trump”) and fear (“Hide from the virus”). We must shut down our nation, hunker down in our homes, tear down our institutions, beat down our fellow man, bow down to our enemies – and hate Orange Man.
All this from a man who says we “don’t deserve to know” his political agenda, while he wears a mask and stands as far away as possible from the people he would lead.
Mr. Trump admitted, coming home from the hospital, that perhaps he hasn’t taken all the precautions he might have. “I know that there’s a risk, there’s a danger … but that’s okay.”
Not okay, he said, because he and others have been exposed. But because a leader cannot, must not be afraid. A leader can’t tell others to be afraid. A leader has to nourish hope, personify courage, and show the way.
The president’s way is sometimes rough going. But, to his credit, he’s tried to lead us away from the fears that would dominate us.
His opponents – ignoring violence, avoiding questions, insisting on shutdowns – demand the right to push us back into terror and brutality. Many may elect to embrace their fear and hate.
But some of us – enough of us, I hope – still choose not be mastered by anything.
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