Much to the surprise of most Canadians, and I am making an assumption here, the USA has voted in Donald J. Trump as their 47th President. Why is it a surprise to us, or to many? The fact that he has no loyalty to his wives…cheated on all three of them, has been successfully sued and found guilty of sexual assault, has a wake of failed ventures (Trump U, Trump steaks, Trump Casino… the Trump Tower in Toronto went bankrupt) but it is clear that none of that mattered enough because people FEEL that they are not as well off as they were four years ago.
We tend to believe what we want to believe, we turn towards what we feel is good for us, whether it is or not.
And what will be the impact of a Trump Presidency for Canada? I guess we’re going to find out.
Now we have friends who live in the USA and perhaps think this is great news for them. They may not understand how bewildered we are, but then we don’t live there and didn’t vote. And frankly, we have our own political challenges. So why say anything.
Here’s the thing – the USA is our largest trading partner, is our closest neighbour. We share a huge border and many Canadians are living in the USA and many Americans living here. So we care, that’s why we worry and are bewildered.
We like having a good neighbour and we hope what we’ve had continues and improves.
Hybrid Thoughts 
As a Canadian (still) who’s been living in the U.S. for over 20 years, and with a political background since the late ’80s, much of what we perceive about our political leaders comes from uni-source media – a highly biased media that gets its marching orders every morning in America. Google “Operation Mockingbird” and you’ll better understand why the 6 companies that form our media market spin the same angle, and even the same phrase, on a daily basis.
As for the moral failings of Donald J. Trump, I’ll take him over Hillary, Barack & George Jr any day. How many characters in scripture are known for both their moral failings and yet they are marked as heroes in the pages of Bible history because God still used them in a mightly way?
Let’s start with Adam and Eve…who allowed sin to enter our world; Abraham who fathered Ishmael when he slept with his wife’s maid; Jacob, who deceived his father and stole Esau’s birthright; David who committed adultery and killed Bathsheba’s husband; Soloman, who took 700 wives and allowed them to worship their false gods; Lot, who offered to pimp his daughters in Sodom to save himself; King Saul who tried to murder David; Rahab the prostitute who was used to save the 2 spies; Peter who denied Jesus, Paul who persecuted and killed hosts of Christians and Judas, the betrayer, who sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
God can and does use *anyone* who turns to him. Jesus didn’t choose 12 disciples who were the high and mighty of his day. Instead, he choose ordinary men who, after his death and their baptism with the Holy Spirit, took Jesus’ message to the ends of the earth with passion and fervor.
Have you heard the reports of Trump praying with pastors in the Oval Office – and before that at Trump Tower in NYC? What about all the prayer meetings on Capital Hill? Living a stone’s throw from DC, everyone here knows someone who works in or around the White House or Pentagon or the CIA or FBI. DC is a small town because people talk and they see our politicians in real life, not just what the media wants you to know.
Who among us is qualified to judge a man based on what we’re told? Is a God-forgiven man always to be marked with his past failings or can a man change with God’s help? Trump is no one’s idea of a genteel politician. He’s a builder who works with rough-neck contractors and his salty language is the everyday language of blue collar workers and the military. I spent my time on Parliament Hill, Queen’s Park and city hall and I’ve seen good men compromised by their own actions, but also via entrapment so that they owed their votes and decisions to others.
Many put their fingers in the proverbial cookie jar and paid a high price when they were bitten and co-opted. The one thing I noted about Trump was that he couldn’t be bought…and I’ve met many who wanted to be bought. Having spent time in office, it was rare to meet people who had not sold out.
Trump has successfully battled multiple efforts to impeach, destroy, jail, and assassinate him. In the real world of politics, it’s usually the good guys (especially social conservatives) who get that kind of ‘special’ treatment. The media adores the ideaological Left and excuses their failings – moral and other. They crucify anyone on the Right who dares to speak out or challenge their grip on The Narrative. Who would I prefer to support: a blunt-spoken man who’s rough around the edges, who grew up working on construction sites with tough guys & rough talk OR a smooth talking Harvard lawyer who knows how to schmooze and has powerful friends to cover his trail? I’ll take the real deal over the smooth talker any day. Once you’ve hung out with both types, it’s easy to spot the chameleons.
How many polished smooth talkers have betrayed the public’s trust and when will people learn to do their own homework/research instead of trusting the biased media to think for them?
Well let’s see what the next four years brings. I doubt I could persuade Susan. God bless you Susan.
Blessings to you, my Keswick friend. You have a good and tender heart. Disclosure approaches, as Trump has promised, and I don’t believe it will take 4 years to reveal the depth of what has long been hidden. For the sake of the children – the disappeared ones – disclosure is just the beginning.