BRIAN MONTOPOLI, The Ink; How Trump sent me to church
"This time, Donald Trump’s triumph cannot be written off as a fluke, or the result of our flawed electoral system. Voters knew exactly who Trump was, and they still awarded him what is poised to be a (narrow) victory in the popular vote. But even if Trump doesn’t have an overpowering mandate, our fellow Americans chose the candidate of division, demonization, and weaponizing the government against his political opponents. Adam Serwer has argued that the cruelty was the point. And we, as a nation, chose the cruelty.
Faced with that hard truth, many may be tempted to write off our neighbors, throw up their hands, and turn inward. We can see evidence of this playing out: Unlike in 2016, people are not pouring into the streets to protest the incoming administration. Instead, they are largely staying in their bubbles, scrolling on their screens, and trying not to think too hard about the potential horrors to come.
But retreating into ourselves will only make things worse.
Which is why, the other night, I decided to go the other way the other day. To go, in fact, to church.
Doing so was my small way of pushing back on trends that are ominous and have the potential to make the next Trump presidency even more dangerous."
