This is my Greenville News column from August 1. I forgot to post it to the blog until today.

https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/opinion/2017/08/01/pushing-president-off-virtual-cliff-isnt-answer/514120001/

Have you seen the charming computer game that allows you to push President Trump off of a cliff, into a volcano or to some other unpleasant location? It allows tolerant, caring individuals to vent their spleens against the man who they typically say is ‘not my president.’ Of course, it’s only the faintest tip of the iceberg, beneath which is a large mass of angry, violent, eliminationist rhetoric.

Not to be outdone (and certainly not new), I recently saw a similar game that allows players to do terrible things to a virtual former President Obama. In fact (in a search that I hope won’t draw the attention of the fine folks at the Secret Service) I found an entire page of terrible ‘kill Obama’ games.

Of course, there are always fringes; I hope it’s the fringes. But I fear this is becoming an increasingly mainstream behavior. I would like to say I’m surprised, but I’m not. Politics is the new religion, and every religion has its heretics. And what do we do with heretics? We kill them! Everyone used to know that was a bad thing, when it actually involved belief in the supernatural. And we’re still shocked when we see horrific tales from groups like ISIS and the Taliban, where you can still be physically (not virtually) tortured and killed for believing or saying the wrong things.

Now, even in the good old US of A, there’s an underlying rage and disdain that leads some people to harm those who disagree with them. (See the shooting of Rep. Scalise or assorted violent protests on campuses). At the least, that anger allows Americans to publicly fantasize about harm against people whom they consider, thanks to their political position or ideology, sub-human.

Of course, the venom often starts with a Tweet, Facebook or blog post, online comment or speaking engagement. Someone demonstrates that they don’t agree with the latest political or cultural trend. They are called out for their thought-crime, and instantly attacked, threatened, and shunned by a community that points righteous fingers and shouts ‘Shame! Shame!’

Discussion is further shut-down by describing the ‘enemy,’ the ‘other,’ in casually launched terms like racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, hateful, intolerant or any number of pejorative adjectives that help put the cross-hairs in more stark relief. (In the old days it was Catholic, Protestant or Pagan!)

The righteous can then proceed to acceptably wish harm on the heretic, as several have recently done (for example) towards Sen. McCain in light of his position on ACA repeal. ‘Should have died in Vietnam,’ one said. Others hoped his tumor would kill him more quickly.

In a post-Christian, rationalist, and scientific world, where we are told we needn’t rely on some deity to hold us to ridiculous and uniform standards of behavior we have come round again to acceptable, post-modern fantasies about killing people who make us uncomfortable.

Admittedly (and as I alluded) people of faith have often led the charge of violence towards the heretic. But for a while, we seemed to be rising above it. At least until the church of politics became the equivalent of the Church of America. (Separation clause aside!)
What strikes me, though, is that the Jesus of the Bible (not the Jesus of modern politics) said in Matthew’s Gospel, ‘’But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’

He also said all sorts of other pesky, kind things about greed, caring for the sick, the poor and the prisoners. He even said, as he was being crucified, ‘Father forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing!’

Christianity teaches us that we’re all ‘works in progress.’ That God will, if we desire, remake us bit by bit, sin by sin, into something far better than what we are, both in this life and in the next. That however bad we are, and He means that, He will forgive if we admit we need it; admit we need Him.

We need to try and see everyone as potential saints, not contemptible demons. Wishing, or doing ill to our opponents is not rational, scientific, libertarian, constitutional, progressive or modern. It’s pre-Christian and un-American. And it harms the hater most.
So stop pushing people off of virtual cliffs. And start praying for all the heretics, however you define them. Turns out, we’re all heretics to someone. That realization alone should open our eyes and thaw our hearts.

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