I believe our nation has declined as a result of our own bad choices. I also believe that there is ALWAYS a choice. ALWAYS. It's just a matter of whether or not a person is willing to accept the consequences (sometimes good, sometimes bad) of the choices that they make.
We get what we accept, and if what we now label as "best for us" is a man who refuses to ever admit to any mistakes or wrongdoing on his part, then we are aligning with a man who has no intention of ever presiding over a nation under God. God is left out of the equation when accountability is shunned, and accountability is shunned when justice is two-tiered. People like to only see the two-tiered system that resides within our government, but that two-tiered system exists and is allowed to continue to thrive because we have established our own two-tiered system of turning a blind eye to the wrongdoing (intentional or not, it doesn't matter) of those whom we perceive to be on "our side" or our team in the game of tribal politics.
A rejection of accountability is a rejection of God, and Trump has proven himself to be a man who refuses to submit himself to judgment. That is not the kind of man who can ever restore us to being a nation under God. But we are not blameless either when we permit such a turning away from God (and from accountability) to continue. What right have we to call for justice to be upheld when we no longer even have an understanding of what justice is?
People often misinterpret my commentary as being some sort of an attack on Trump. The truth is that I don't believe that asking Trump to be a better candidate constitutes an attack on him. I think that, if we were wise, we would ALL seek to raise the bar from where it has presently been set for our candidates. (All of them). Trump speaks of "loyalty" quite a lot. My "loyalty" is first to God, and then to my family, and I no longer believe that any "loyalty" to Trump is in alignment with my obligations to God and my family. I don't believe that Trump puts God above himself, for his actions fail to demonstrate that he does. If Trump can be so nasty toward DeSantis, whom he claims is "disloyal" and whom he perceives as somehow getting in his way, then why on earth should any of us think that Trump does not hold the same disdain for any other American whom he would perceive as "disloyal" to him? On the very face of it, judging by the words coming from Trump's own mouth, Trump exemplifies the very OPPOSITE of those things which make America great. I believe there is a great danger in the fact that so many of the leading conservative voices in our nation have aligned themselves with such a man by giving him their endorsement and by encouraging (or often shaming, as the case may be) others to be so "loyal."
Any candidate who wishes to EARN my vote should show more reverence for God than Trump has done. I am fully aware that damn near every politician will tell you what you want to hear, but the reason it may seem that I am tougher on Trump isn't because I hold him to a higher standard. It is because Trump himself invites my criticism of him when he speaks and behaves as he does. The shame of it all is that I once used to believe in the sincerity of "MAGA" and that Trump's desire to restore our nation to greatness was genuine. I no longer believe so. America is as far from greatness now as I have ever seen her to be in my lifetime. My heart breaks to see so many people applauding and cheering on Trump as he hurls nastier words at DeSantis than he does toward the woman he once used to refer to as "Crooked Hillary" and her husband Bill "you-better-put-some-ice-on-that" Clinton. It does make one wonder who it is that Trump perceives to be the greater threat to our nation. (And it also makes one wonder whose ass it is that Trump is most interested in protecting--ours or his own?) If I would take my own children to task for displays of such childish and hateful behavior as Trump has displayed, then why would I ever set the bar any lower for a man who is asking to hold our nation's highest office? If Trump is a man of substance who is made of all the right stuff, then he should have no need to depend upon such petty attacks as a means of trying to elevate himself. It only lowers him, in my esteem. But I fear that we are doing ourselves harm as a nation when we are meeting him at his level and not raising the bar.
https://rumble.com/v1vrcpe-accountability-god-and-the-importance-of-a-strong-foundation.html