OPINION:
If you pay attention only to the mainstream media headlines, the dominant narrative for the 2024 presidential election is that Donald Trump is mean and Kamala Harris is joyful. According to progressive pastor Doug Pagitt, that is enough reason for Christians to vote for Harris. But is kindness a virtue we should look for in a presidential candidate?
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Mr. Pagitt is one of a small handful of “evangelical” leaders working to wrest the Christian vote away from Donald Trump. His schtick is “reimagining” church. In his own congregation, Mr. Pagitt removed the pews and replaced them with a haphazard arrangement of sofas. That church is now defunct. Apparently, if church is about sitting on a sofa, most congregants would rather lounge on their own than drive across town to sit on one from a thrift store, even if there are drums and guitars.
But now, Mr. Pagitt wants to “reimagine” the church as less conservative and less Republican-leaning. He condemns conservatives who he claims have abused their non-profit status by rallying Christian votes that will presumably be cast for Donald Trump. He has done this by, wait for it, starting a non-profit organization to rally Christian votes for Mr. Trump’s opponent.
Mr. Pagitt’s platform? “Trump lacks kindness and it’s OK not to vote for the Republican.” He claims that this message worked in 2020 to move Kent County, Michigan (home to the traditionally conservative city of Grand Rapids) from the Trump column to the Biden column. Now he wants to reproduce that strategy nationwide.
Kindness means seeking the happiness of others. Most people see kindness as a virtue and meanness as the absence of that virtue. But should kindness be the basis of our 2024 presidential vote?
My answer is no, based not on partisan considerations but on the role of government and the job of the presidency.
Strictly speaking, you can only be kind by sacrificially giving what you have. If you force another person to give on your behalf, that’s not kindness. Unlike a person, governments can’t be kind because they don’t have anything to give that isn’t taken.
Government is a zero-sum game. It doesn’t produce value. The government can only be kind to those entering the country illegally by placing the burden of their care on legal citizens. The government can only “give” money to certain programs by printing more, which causes inflation, resulting in greater hardship for families trying to buy groceries and gas. The government can only be kind to America’s enemies by making its citizens more insecure.
Being kind is something every American, as an individual, can do. But it isn’t something the government can do.
So, should we vote based on whether we think the candidate is kind?
As I show in my video course “Should Christians Avoid Politics?,” a vote is not a “like.” It is a hiring decision. You don’t hire someone based on how kind they promise to be. You hire them based on evidence that they can do the job. When it comes to hiring public officials, prickly but competent beats friendly but inept.
In the Declaration of Independence, America’s founders acknowledged that “all men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
They envisioned a government that would enable people to be free to pursue their own happiness, not a government that would pursue it for them. This involves securing the nation’s borders, providing for its defense, removing barriers to commerce, and being fiscally responsible.
A kind president is one who supports and defends the Constitution, not the one who makes you feel better about yourself.
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Jeff Myers, Ph.D., is president of Summit Ministries and host of the video course, “Should Christians Avoid Politics?”
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