Thursday, September 12, 2019
Political Mayhem Thursday: Points of Agreement
We seem to be entering a political season of rage. Largely fueled by President Trump's preferred campaign tactic of denigrating his opponents (and sometimes his own allies) in the coarsest ways, we too often see things as Us vs. Them.
In truth, if we are honest, there are always points of agreement.
It's no secret that I am a Democrat who did not vote for Donald Trump. I'm genuinely excited by the talented field of Democrats running for president. Still, there are things that I agree with Donald Trump about, even as I strongly disagree with him on climate change and the environment, taxes, health care, and many other issues. Here are those points of agreement (besides his signing of the First Step Act, which I have already discussed):
1) Involvement in foreign conflicts
Donald Trump campaigned on avoiding wars like the one we started in Iraq. In office, he has generally followed through on that, and we have not become entangled in conflicts abroad. I'm glad for that. I want the United States to have less of a military presence abroad, and to have much less involvement in other countries' civil wars.
2) Trade imbalances
I share Trump's concern that fewer consumer goods are manufactured in the United States than were made here forty years ago. I also agree with his point that good jobs and good wages in industrial jobs were lost because of NAFTA and granting most-favored-nation status to China (both of which happened in the Clinton administration). I do realize that other factors--particularly automation--played a big role, too, but I'm convinced that trade policy was also a factor. In a place like Detroit, that was devastating to the economy and especially to blue-collar workers. Unfortunately, Trump's correct assessment of the problem doesn't change the fact that the problem is hard to fix without a time machine; it's unclear that tariffs can create lasting change. It could be that the ship has sailed.
3) He was kind of right about 2 Corinthians 3:17 being inspiring (even if people thought it was funny that he called it "two Corinthians instead of "Second Corinthians," a mistake I can see myself making): "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
In truth, if we are honest, there are always points of agreement.
It's no secret that I am a Democrat who did not vote for Donald Trump. I'm genuinely excited by the talented field of Democrats running for president. Still, there are things that I agree with Donald Trump about, even as I strongly disagree with him on climate change and the environment, taxes, health care, and many other issues. Here are those points of agreement (besides his signing of the First Step Act, which I have already discussed):
1) Involvement in foreign conflicts
Donald Trump campaigned on avoiding wars like the one we started in Iraq. In office, he has generally followed through on that, and we have not become entangled in conflicts abroad. I'm glad for that. I want the United States to have less of a military presence abroad, and to have much less involvement in other countries' civil wars.
2) Trade imbalances
I share Trump's concern that fewer consumer goods are manufactured in the United States than were made here forty years ago. I also agree with his point that good jobs and good wages in industrial jobs were lost because of NAFTA and granting most-favored-nation status to China (both of which happened in the Clinton administration). I do realize that other factors--particularly automation--played a big role, too, but I'm convinced that trade policy was also a factor. In a place like Detroit, that was devastating to the economy and especially to blue-collar workers. Unfortunately, Trump's correct assessment of the problem doesn't change the fact that the problem is hard to fix without a time machine; it's unclear that tariffs can create lasting change. It could be that the ship has sailed.
3) He was kind of right about 2 Corinthians 3:17 being inspiring (even if people thought it was funny that he called it "two Corinthians instead of "Second Corinthians," a mistake I can see myself making): "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
