Zak Baker, a guest columnist, contends that belief has emerged as a transformative force for good during Trump's second term.
Credit: Biruk TibebeFull disclosure: I currently identify as both a Christian and a patriot. However, I have not always, and rarely have I simultaneously. In my late teens and early twenties, I was so disgusted by the bigotry and hatred I witnessed in the American church that I rejected Christianity and embraced patriotism instead. Now, during the second coming of Trump, I have begun to re-embrace my Christian upbringing as a form of resistance. I love this country — from the snow-capped summits of the Rocky Mountains to the salt-laden shores of the Carolinas, from the agrarian green wilderness of the Poconos to the bustling and ridiculously steep streets of San Francisco. I have traveled to just about every corner of this vast and beautiful country, and everywhere, I have found that Americans are, by and large, honest, hardworking, and compassionate people.
America is an experiment — a revolutionary ideal spawned from the minds of great but flawed men. Their greatest contribution to mankind is the concept that governance should not be determined by lineage but by the consent of the governed. This ideal was — and remains — radical, despite its admittedly and horribly botched historical implementation. It’s this ideal that has always given me hope. I have truly believed that, despite our flaws, America could be a force for good in the world. Because the legitimacy of our government is derived from the acquiescence of its people, it is all but inevitable that the values our people hold dear would be reflected in the actions of our government.
We have seen it before — in starts and fits — like so many rays of sunshine piercing through a tight-knit canopy of darkness. The values of our people have shone through. We played a leading role in the elimination of smallpox. We sent our soldiers to famine-stricken Somalia to deliver food aid, only for them to be massacred for their efforts. Our naval vessels have deployed on disaster relief missions across the globe, providing unmatched air and sealift capacity to calamity-stricken areas. USAID packages, labeled with the slogan ‘From the American People,’ have reached the hands of those in need, wherever that need may be found. My patriotism has never been affixed to the machinations of the state, but rather to the unyielding generosity of my fellow citizens — their steadfast, if imperfect, commitment to the ideals we collectively claim to profess.
In light of recent events, that faith has waned. Under the Trump administration, we have once again pulled back from our international commitments to global health, sided with authoritarians at the UN, and berated the leader of a nation defending itself on live television. We have canceled contracts for nutrient-enriched peanut butter packets destined for malnourished children in Africa and shut down funding earmarked for maternity clinics dedicated to stopping the spread of HIV from mothers to children. Recent events have left me wondering: ‘is this who we actually are?’
The irony is that the actions of the Trump administration have been so antithetical to the teachings of Christ that they have reopened my mind to the transformative and radical potential of religious faith. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ does not ask who deserves help — he asks who was a neighbor. The priest and the Levite passed their countryman by. But a foreigner — a Samaritan — saw suffering and acted, without regard for borders or what he could gain by helping. That, to me, is what faith should be. And that, at its best, is what this country has been. Not just a nation of words and symbols, but of people who have stepped up — again and again — not because it was easy, not because of how we could benefit, but because someone needed help, and we could give it. That is the America I have always believed in, despite her many failings. That is the America we should strive to be once again.
Late President and humanitarian Jimmy Carter once said that “a strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It is a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity.” I do not know if America can be strong and gentle like that again. Because I do not know if our citizenry believes that we should help those in need anymore. But as for me, I choose to live my life by another of President Carter’s quotes.
“I have one life and one chance to make it count for something. I’m free to choose that something. That something — the something that I’ve chosen — is my faith. My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have, to try to make a difference.”
I will do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have, to try to make a difference. I invite you to join me.
ZAK BAKER is a current student at the Graduate School of Education. He is a veteran, and an aspiring high school social studies teacher. His email is zbaker46@upenn.edu.
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