I love National Public Radio (NPR) or at least I should probably say I used to love it. I used to love how I could turn to NPR to hear the latest news that is
going on around the world and not just news happening that only pertains to
celebrities, political agendas, or just plain old-fashioned fear mongering. I
used to like how NPR would do this
all centered around a quaint and peacefully delivered story, which usually had
a reporter speaking in a classy British accent. This formula is so delicious
and we Americans that love NPR eat it
up. I eat it up. However lately NPR
has been sounding very mono-toned. Seems every time I turn to the station I am
greeted with, “Donald Trump…” In fact it has gotten so repetitive that I pretty
much now concede to the fact that when I turn to NPR I am going to hear the latest Donald Trump news. Every story
seems to either leave a topic about President Trump or is introducing one. It
is his world it sounds like from listening to NPR, and I am sure he loves it. To not be to hard on NPR I will say that it is not just them
that seems to be ceaselessly reporting about Donald Trump, it is basically every news outlet, NPR just seems to do it with class, those darn British accents I
tell you! Moreover if not having every major news outlet and column report
about Donald Trump was not enough we are also talking about him ceaselessly as
well via social media and just water cooler talk. The nation and the world cannot get enough of him. Why? What is it about
him that draws us so much? Is it somehow that we need Donald Trump to exist as
a way to deal with our own demons?
A few months ago comedian and current television host of Family Feud and The Steve Harvey Morning Show Steve Harvey, yes that Steve Harvey,
seemed to sell out on the entire black race and America. How? He did this by
deciding to walk into Trump Tower looking for a way to meet with President
Trump and discuss how he can be a part of the positive solution to racial
inequality and systemic racial injustice in America. When I first read the news
that he did this I was very surprised and positive. I was saying to myself,
“Okay, looks like some positive movement his happening in response to the
Trump’s presidency.” However, what I began to notice from reading social media
outlets such as Twitter and Facebook
where reactions labeling him a “sell out”, Uncle Tom, etc. Memes posting his
face on the head of Donald Trump began to surface. Pictures of Harvey, Trump
and Kanye West began to pilfer the Internet social outlets all toned in a “sell
out” kind of way. Another well-known black comedian D.L. Hughley was quoted as
saying, “stick to comedy.” This also flew across the Internet. And the most shocking part of this whole
phenomenon of Harvey shaming was that it was coming from people of all races that
were condemning Harvey for shaking hands with the devil, our devil. Everyone
was united in his or her hate for Harvey. It was as if Kunta Kinta himself had
conceded his freedom and decided to walk back to the slave plantation from
which he worked and slaved to then sadly shake the slave master’s hand with the
downtrodden and defeated words, “ Iz sorry masah, I come back to work for you.”
The saddening part about all of the events that took place-surrounding Harvey
at Trump Tower was that Harvey was there for a good reason. He was there to
actually try and make amends between Trump and the minority vote and a
difference that would benefit the situation that half of America did not want,
Trump being President. However it was as if we
didn’t want a better solution to happen and it didn’t matter if it came from a
black person. It was as if we didn’t want anything good to come of Trump’s
presidency not because we didn’t want good but because we just didn’t want it
to come from Trump or anyone associating with him. It is as if the social
conscience of America is saying today, “Dear God, I want a better America, just
not this way. Just not with him. Anything is better than having to work with
this jerk.”
Donald Trump is a jerk. He is egotistical to the highest
level. He once tweeted and has also said that, “I am God’s greatest gift to the
American economy.” I mean, who says that? He is everything self centered that
we all hate about ourselves, and if we are honest, also identify with. He says
so many things that I have said in my mind on a regular basis. There are so many days where I have thought I
was the hottest thing since chicken met waffles and I hid my thoughts under a
cloak of false humility. However, Trump doesn’t do that and some hate him for
it. It is a weird relationship of hate and envy and we all need him to fuel our
vexations. That’s right, we need him. We need Donald Trump and here is why;
he’s America’s scapegoat.
When I was in seminary I took a class called pastoral
counseling. It was the most depressing yet beneficial class I had ever taken
while in seminary. It was depressing because we studied cases where people had
real issues and real suffering and it would only weigh us down with grief with
the pain of others, which was the awesome design of the course from the
professor. Every evening at the conclusion of class we would all gather around
in a circle and sit and share our struggles or current journeys with each
other. After sharing we would all encourage each other. This was beautiful to
experience since we were all current and future pastors. However one topic that
we studied while in the class that will always stick with me is the dynamic of
family group psychology, family dissociative theory, and the formation of scapegoats
to cope with family stress. Basically the main understanding from this dynamic
is that no family is perfect and as a result the family as a group creates a
scapegoat to funnel all the worse parts of themselves towards, which usually
becomes one of the other members of the family. The most interesting part of
this is that whom ever is chosen as the scape goat plays into this role as a
sort of sacrificial lamb or black sheep in order to find their own role within
the family. This is done not just in families but also in organizations of all
sizes. This is very destructive if you can imagine for all members of a family
and a therapist’s role is to help unravel the mess, freeing everyone. There is
a story in the Bible from Leviticus 16: 6-10 that actually is the origin of the
term scapegoat. In it Israel is trying to figure out how to deal away with
their constant problem with sin and their priest Aaron is given a role to help
in the matter. The story goes as follows:
“Aaron will present his own bull as a sin
offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord.[a] 7 Then he
must take the two male goats and present them to the Lord at the entrance of the
Tabernacle.[b] 8 He is to
cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to
the Lord and which will
carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel.9 Aaron will
then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. 10 The other
goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing
before the Lord. When it is
sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made
right with the Lord.
It is a natural human mechanism to cast the worst parts of
themselves on others and shunt them out into oblivion, its our way of dealing
with our constant imperfections instead of honestly accepting them and dealing
with them in a way where demons are not created of others that are just as
human as we are. However, we cannot do this well. I don’t. I constantly look
for someone to make the problem instead of myself. One of the many reasons why
I am a Christian is because God has a remedy for this scapegoat
phenomenon. The remedy is Jesus. The
Bible teaches that Jesus is the ultimate and final resting place of all our
family disassociation complexes and He most certainly is willing to play along.
The Scriptures say this all over the place with beautiful metaphors and
pre-saviors before the Christ’s as the ultimate and final Scapegoat is casted.
With Christ however it says:
He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed. – Peter 2:24
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed. – Peter 2:24
And also…
He
himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the
sins of all the world. - 1John 2:2
Look, I am not here to preach a sermon to you. I am here to tell
you like it is and what we have done and continue to do to the Donald. Though
Trump’s ego would love to embrace our scapegoating label and be the nation’s
savior, he is not. That job has been already filled. Let the Donald be the
Donald. He was not sent here to hold the weight of our need for someone to deal
with our constant frailty. He is not the best person in the world, we would all
agree, but he is not the worst either. We need to free him of our demonizing.
We need to free not just him but any person, race, agenda, cause, or old pair
of jeans that we have vilified because they are not the problem. The problem
lies with me. The problem lies with you. The problem lies with us. Maybe if we
did this we could actually let Trump be President for a few days instead of
looking for the next time he is going to say something offensive or make us
angry. I think he just did while I typed this sentence. He’s human and so are
you and we are all atoned for our imperfections by the Savoir of our human
race, Jesus Christ. Do you accept that as true? Enjoy your day and your
American citizenship. It’s a beautiful thing. And lastly, let Donald be Donald,
especially the little Donald that lives in me, you, and all of us.
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