January 7, 2021.
We have been living the last year with trying to balance shock and normalcy.
I, hopefully like you, was shocked at the events in Washington, DC yesterday. Today, I want to share my thoughts as a faith leader and what it means to be faithful.
I was shocked when President Trump’s advisor, Rudy Guiliani, called for “trial by combat” and President Trump followed by saying, “We will never give up and never concede…” and “We will stop the steal…” and “I know everyone here will soon be marching over the to the Capitol Building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard…”
You can hear President Trump’s full speech at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X0KIYInLHc
You also find excerpts of President Trump, Rudy Guiliani, and supportive Republican leaders at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh3cbd7niTQ
What concerns me is that President Trump and those supporting him are demonstrating faithlessness to the cherished value of democracy and the peaceful transition of power.
Faith, simply put, is trust and loyalty to a common cause.
President Trump is placing no trust or loyalty to the cause of democracy and the process of the 2020 Presidential election.
President Trump has and can continue to pursue his concerns about voter fraud in the courts, but to date all of his cases have been dismissed by the judges who have heard them.
President Trump needs to provide the same decency he was provided four years ago and work with the legal President-elect to provide a peaceful transition of power for the welfare our nation. This is simply a call for the President of the United States to be faithful to his nation and the process of democracy.
With Respect,
Gary Walpole
Pastor, Peace Community of Faith