Make America good again - only then can it be great

A challenge to Christian conservatives.

Jennifer Roback Morse | Nov 10 2016 | comment

Donald Trump is our next president. What does this mean for Christian conservatives?

On the plus side:

* America repudiated the Establishment of both political parties.

* America repudiated the Mainstream Media.

* America repudiated the Chattering Classes of both parties.

Above all, Americans acted like Americans. We refused to let ourselves be manipulated by the people in power. We took our privilege of self-government seriously. We rejected apathy, cynicism and political correctness.

For all Donald Trump’s flaws, he loves America. He treats Christians with respect. He is pro-life.

But: we must keep an eye on him.

* We must hold him accountable to keep his promises.

* We must educate him about the importance of marriage to society. This may be a tough sell.

* We must continue to insist that the Sexual Revolution has been hugely damaging to society. This may be an even tougher sell.

Above all, if he does something he ought not do, we must call him out. We brought him to this party: he needs to dance with us.

Civic responsibility is not a spectator sport. No more watching election returns, and then doing nothing until the next election.

We cannot continue:

* sending our attorneys into court to do our fighting for us.

* counting on “our” experts to defeat “their” experts in public debate.

* expecting schools, public or private, to educate our children.

* excusing our own participation in the Sexual Revolution and then expecting other people to be sorry for theirs.

* passively counting on our churches to present a coherent case for the ancient Christian teachings on marriage, family and human sexuality.

Each of us must take responsibility for building a culture of life and love.

When we participate in the Sexual Revolution, we begin to lose our minds. We become defensive about our actions, which we know in our hearts are indefensible. And we become easier to manipulate and control.

The Ruth Institute congratulates Donald Trump and Mike Pence. We remind them that America is great because America is good. When America ceases to good, it will cease to be great.

Let’s make America good again.

Dr Jennifer Roback Morse is president of the Ruth Institute, where this article was first published. It is reproduced here with permission.

Responses from Democrats to Donald Trump's victory seem to be basically of two types: outrage and rejection on the one hand, and on the other, an admission that they missed something very big that was happening among their fellow Americans and that they now need to understand.

In the second category is a blog post by Boston law professional Ted Folkman that we have reproduced today. What he says about identity politics rings true to me: that many whites backed Trump because they were sick of being sidelined while various minorities made their claims on the American nation.

Best comment today, though, is from Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute. Dr J points out that before it can be great again, America must be good again -- a challenge addressed to every one of us.