The Missing Element

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Josh Hammer penned a RCP op-ed the other day entitled, “The Art Of The 80-20 Issue.”  It is about how Trump cuts right to the heart of issues and by doing so is restoring common sense to our governance.  And yet it gives me pause.

Here is the meat of Hammer’s thesis:

He doesn’t try to “win” the crime debate by splitting the difference with progressives. He doesn’t offer a milquetoast promise to fund “violence interrupters” or expand toothless social programs. He goes right at the issue, knowing full well that the American people are with him.

Trump does not compromise with the outrageous, nor does he permit liberal intellectualism to frame the debate in some new terms that shifts the battleground in their favor.  I get all that – and it seems necessary given the current political climate.  But on a social level, in our winning, I do not think we are being true to ourselves.  This technique, while effective, does not merely move policy where it needs to be, it crushes the spirit of the opposition.  I wrote about this a bit this past Tuesday.

As I have noted on several occasions now, T.D.S. has advanced to the actual mental illness stage.  I have seen and know liberals that are in deep stages of emotional and mental distress.  They are quite literally suffering.  Now, to a large extent that suffering is self-inflicted.  They chose their path and tried to force the rest of us to follow them.  They were successful for a while, but enough is enough and we have parted, leaving them in this distressed state in which they find themselves.

But most conservatives are Christians and Christians cannot ignore suffering – self-inflicted though it might be.  Faith and the church have always played a role in conservative surges in our politics.  This conservative surge presents us with a unique role.  In the past we, as Christians, have been cheerleaders or partners in such surges.  As conservatism surged, so surged the church.  But what is happening now is quite different.  While many backers of the Trump movement are indeed Christian, and younger generations do indeed show a renewed interest in faith, we are not seeing a resurgence in religiosity paralleling this rise in conservatism.  We have a different role to play this time.

I cannot escape the call to help the suffering.  To be honest, I don’t know how to do that.  So many of those suffering have locked themselves away beyond reach.  Those of us out in the functioning world they consider monstrous and they will not let us approach.  And so I start with prayer – asking God to provide an opening and for the wisdom to know how to approach.

I think the role for Christians in this conservative resurgence is to build bridges, not burn them behind us.  The political divide in this nation from a high enough perspective simply appears a gaping wound that needs healing.  We must try.  Jesus did tell His disciples as He sent them out:

If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace.  And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust off your feet.

I do think there will be many that are left behind.  But do note that the dust is not cleaned off, the bridge is not burnt, until after the maximum effort has been expended.  We are not at maximum effort just yet.  Let’s keep trying.