I’ve never voted for a person who actually won the Presidential race.
I didn’t vote for Barack Obama in 2008 or 2012, and I didn’t vote for Donald Trump, either.
So, I’m speaking as a person who understands the disappointment of losing an election:
It seems as though some of my fellow Americans are setting themselves up to be VERY disappointed in 2020.
Just a few weeks ago, John Pavlovitz posted an article called “If He Wins Again,” in which he made some pretty dire predictions regarding the Fate of the World if Trump were allowed to keep the Office.
Pavlovitze wrote:
“He can’t win again.
That isn’t an option.
It simply cannot be allowed.
If he wins again, November 2016 will seem relatively uneventful; a partly cloudy day in advance of a Category 5 hurricane.”
Wow. That’s a lot of expectation riding on one night of votes for one political race in one country, isn’t it?
And–yet–I know how John Pavlovitz feels. I remember when all of my friends and family were convinced that Barack Obama was starting race wars on purpose and signing Executive Orders at an unprecedented rate on his way to crowning himself King.
And yet somehow–impossibly!–he ended up winning his second term with even MORE votes than he received the first time around!
We were blindsided and dumbfounded! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!
None of us could believe our fellow Americans had willingly surrendered the entire country to a Tyrant.
I know what it’s like to spend four years telling yourself the entire world is falling apart because of the activity of a single man in Washington…and then watching that same man be sworn in again.
This is an honest confession from someone who felt all the anger and shame and fear that John Pavlovitz’s followers have the potential to feel, if they have to watch the Orange Man take another victory.
So, this is just a short, friendly warning to anyone who sees the next election as their only hope of Salvation from Evil Incarnate:
Be careful.
Doomsday prophecies only make you look foolish when the emotions settle down and the earth keeps spinning after all...
I’m not saying Trump is going to be re-elected. I’m just saying, some of us need to start preparing for the possibility now…because I genuinely don’t want anyone to harm themselves or others in the midst of extreme shock.
No one thought Trump would win in 2016 (myself included), and some of the resulting reactions were memorable:
So, I’m simply hoping we can begin to deal with these Big Feelings before November gets here, in smaller bursts instead of one big “hurricane” (to use Pavlovitz’s analogy).
Maybe we can allow God to examine our hearts ahead of the election and make sure our priorities are in the right order…