Why I am not Voting for Donald Trump

Well, I filled my mail-in ballot in a couple of nights ago. My cat subsequently knocked a cup of water over onto it (one of her favorite activities is knocking over the half-full cups of water my children leave about the house), but it dried out and I'm ready to send it in. As has been the case since I was first eligible to vote back in '08, I have chosen not to vote for either major candidate. Knowing that voting for a third party candidate is pointless, I choose instead to write in silly candidates as a form of protest against our binary political system. Over the years I have written in such names as Tim Tebow, Jim Harbaugh, and now, Phil Collins. I hope whoever counts my vote gets a chuckle.

I will say, I was this close *imagine my thumb and index finger really close together* to voting to reelect our current president. Four years ago I was firmly in the "never Trump" camp, but this time around I was genuinely tempted to vote for him. Why didn't I? Well, I know that for me voting for Donald Trump would be an act of fear, and I don't want to vote that way. This year many people will be voting for a man they know is immoral because they believe he is the last great hope for Western civilization. They are convinced that Donald J. Trump, like a modern day Charlemagne, is all that stands between our nation and Socialism, Fascism, or whatever ism most inspires dread in the hearts of middle class America. I genuinely understand why my friends and family have chosen to vote that way, but I simply do not vote for the lesser of two evils. I vote for candidates that I believe are men or women of character and will be good leaders. I have consistently voted this way, and I do not intend to change.

Moreover, I have chosen not to vote for Donald Trump because I am confident that the American Empire, like all great empires built by men, is destined to fall from glory anyway. No politician can stand in the way of the now-inevitable collapse. When I see the work ethic, moral standards, and narcissism that pervades our nation, I believe that we are no more than a generation or two from a dramatic decline. Voting for Donald Trump will not stem the tide. Voting for Donald Trump will not change the hearts and minds of generations who have imbibed the moral, economic, and social doctrines that have repeatedly lead to the demise of the cultures that rose and fell before us. I know many people who are voting for Trump in hopes of securing a comfortable future for their children, but I think it's time that we begin to prepare our children for the uncomfortable difficulties that lie ahead.

You may think that this is an incredibly depressing perspective, but the Truth is quite the opposite. I am incredibly hopeful precisely because I do not place my trust in princes. My hope is in an Empire, a Kingdom, that is not of this world. The United States of America will come and go, but the Kingdom of Jesus Christ will persevere forever. The glory of our Lord does not depend on the United States retaining preeminence on the world's stage.

Vote for Donald Trump if you please, but remember that, if you are a Christian, you have a far better hope than any politician, particularly one as crude as Donald Trump, can provide.

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