In a recent conversation with my younger son, I criticized Donald Trump and was cautioned against becoming an angry old man. When I was growing up, an angry old man lived up the street from us. He yelled at us for walking on the public sidewalk in front of his house, which made us more determined to walk on the public sidewalk in front of his house. He was the only adult in our lives my parents said we could ignore. “It’s public property, walk on it all you want,” my mother said.
When my son warned me about turning into an angry old man, I thought of that man immediately and grimaced. I don’t want to be that man, so I gave my son’s remark the consideration it deserved. But I don’t think I’m at risk of becoming the kind of angry old man my son had in mind. Children cut across our backyard on the way to the bus stop, ride their bicycles up and down our sidewalk and driveway, play in our screenhouse, and it doesn’t bother me a bit. I enjoy hearing their voices and having them around. I’m not angry at “uppity Blacks” or “difficult women,” or “no-good teenagers,” or “lazy Mexicans.” Demanding equal rights doesn’t make one uppity or difficult. No one is no good by virtue of their age. And if Mexicans are lazy, why does our economy absolutely depend upon their diligence?
In one regard, my son is right. I am major-league pissed these days, but not at kids, not at life, not at the world. I am angry with the white racists who have co-opted the church in America, manipulated the ballot box to gain and secure political power, who have turned a blind eye to the fascism of Donald Trump, who claim to love Jesus while disregarding everything he said or taught, who create economic systems that rob others of opportunity, who stockpile guns to fight government abuses, but cheer on the modern Nazis who imprison and deport people of color without due process, who wave the flag and sing the anthem and praise America, all while committing the most un-American acts this nation has seen since slavery. Damn right, I’m angry. And you should be too.
Yes, I’m angry, and I will remain angry until enough Americans recognize the vile immorality of the Trump Crime Syndicate and demand the impeachment of every single MAGA officeholder. They have proven, by their compliance with lawlessness, that they are unfit for office. On the heels of World War II, Germany instituted a policy of denazification, meant to rid its political ranks of Nazis. I will remain angry until a similar policy of “demagafication” is conducted in this nation. I can forgive those naïve enough to support Donald Trump’s 2016 candidacy. But how anyone who claims to love America could support him after his January 6th attack on our nation has neither my sympathy nor respect. If any group should be stripped of their right to vote, it should be them, for they have proven they have little regard for democracy, so should not have a say in it until they have renounced Trump and his traitorous ways.
I’ve been in religious circles long enough to know someone reading this will chide me, saying anger isn’t a useful emotion. These are the same kind of soft-brained people who scolded Jesus for his contempt for Herod, who thought overturning tables was a bridge too far, who even today call themselves Christians one moment and pull the lever for Trump in the next. Why are they not angry when the world’s richest man cuts food and health assistance to the world’s poorest children? Why are they not angry that twenty-five women credibly accused Donald Trump of rape and sexual assault? Why are they not angry that American farmers have nowhere to sell their grain and might lose their farms? Why are they not angry that non-violent offenders are plucked from the street and deported without cause or warrant to countries they’ve never known? Don’t tell me anger isn’t a useful emotion. When enough people become angry, this tyranny will stop. Trump’s abuses of power are only magnified by our docility.
Most of all, I am angry at my peers—the Baby Boomers. If ever there were an American generation who prospered from the sacrifice and generosity of previous generations, it was us. Excellent public schools, superior health care, generous wages supporting a broad middle-class, a progressive tax system funding our economic and intellectual ascendancy. Now we who have received so much are bequeathing so little to our children and grandchildren. A generation weaned on John F. Kennedy’s clarion call for sacrifice and service, has fully succumbed to Ronald Reagan’s “the government is the enemy” mantra. Because Reagan smiled and joked and waved a flag, we came to despise and forsake the very programs that fueled our rise. If there has been a more reckless and selfish generation, I am not aware of it.
You’re damn right this pastor is angry, and I will stay angry until these horrible wrongs are righted.
Philip Gulley is the author ofthe popularHarmony seriesandUnlearning God: How Unbelieving Helped Me Believe.
Discover my books, stories, and more by visiting Books by Philip Gulley
Contact Philip directly at philiphgulley@gmail.com
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