Trump and My Ten Year Old

"Slow down, one thing at a time!" My mum would tell me when I came home all in a tizzy over something. These were wise words she spoke as I was trying to unravel the way I felt about a particular situation.

Over the last few weeks I have become immensely concerned about the momentum that Donald Trump has been gaining in the race to become the GOP nomination for this fall's presidential election. Certainly I have concerns about all the candidates, none are perfect, but Trump is the only one that gets me all in a tizzy and I have had to slow myself down and take one thing at a time to understand why.

The first is the name calling. The way he mocks those who stand in his way labeling them as "morons," "idiots," "losers" and "dummies." Then there's the disparaging comments he has made about Mexicans, the disabled, Megyn Kelly, his fellow GOP nominees and others. I explained to my ten year old daughter that if she talked about people the way Trump does she'd be sent on a timeout to her bedroom until she apologized. I don't believe that's bad parenting, I believe it's helping her understand the value of all people and teaching her to respect others even when we disagree. We don't have to dehumanize others for us to do well. It's not a win/lose equation.

Then there's the lies. Yes, the fact checkers have evidence that every candidate stretches the truth but Trump is way out there on this one. It's not just the blatant lies he tells its his inability to ever acknowledge fault even when confronted with the evidence. He shows no level of shame for anything he says. Even when he backtracks a little he never accepts he was wrong. I believe two of the most powerful statements a person of strong character can make are, "I was wrong" and "I am sorry." These statements demonstrate that a person is learning and growing and acknowledging their weaknesses. It demonstrates that they are on a journey to becoming fully human again. My ten year old understands this, we don't tolerate lying, it is the one thing you can't do in our home without consequence. Truth matters.

I also want to highlight Trump's xenophobia. It is part of a culture of fear. Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown on Muslims entering the United States." What happened to the idea of freedom of religion? He would add to this a call to build a wall to keep the Mexicans out and doesn't want to allow any Syrian refugees into the nation. He will use torture, waterboarding and worse, in the name of national security. This sort of rhetoric and practice must be opposed. The gospel call is clear that we are to love our enemies; it is clear that we are welcome the stranger; it is clear that we are to love our neighbor which Jesus puts a wonderful twist on by having the neighbor be a foreigner (a Samaritan). 

My ten year old says Trump is a bully. She's listened to his words and heard his tone of voice. It doesn't take an expert to see this, it only requires a set of eyes that have been shaped by the gospel.

Trump is appealing to the angry voter. The apostle Paul reminds us that should not let the sun go down while we are still angry. If we are on a journey to be fully human again it is time to put anger aside and move on.

The day the music lived!

On Friday, February 5, I was driving to Clear Lake, Iowa. I was headed for the Surf Ballroom to photograph a friend’s band, The Holy Rocka Rollaz, at the Winter Dance Party.

The Winter Dance Party at the Surf Ballroom was where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper played their final concert before losing their lives in a place crash on February 3, 1959. Today the Winter Dance Party continues to celebrate their legacy. In fact it was Ritchie Valens' sister, Connie, who was instrumental in getting my friend’s band into the show.

Before going to the Surf Ballroom to pick up my press pass I made a stop at the crash site. I parked my car and climbed over the snow bank and began to trudge through the field. It’s not a long walk but on this day the deep snow made it challenging. When I arrived at the memorial I found it partially buried by the snow, I got down on my knees and began to uncover it. It was a strange feeling, digging down into the snow, chipping away at ice, trying to dig up something that spoke to a terrible tragedy that had occurred in that spot. The place where in an instant, “La Bamba”, “Chantilly Lace” and “Peggy Sue” would be no more. There I was, standing alone in the place the music died.

Arriving at the Surf Ballroom I was struck by the history of the place. The phone Buddy Holly used to make his last phone call to his wife still hangs on the wall. Images of the hundreds of artists that have played there cover the walls. The air was resplendent with nostalgia. Then the show began.

As the music once again filled the air the nostalgia faded. It wasn't Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens or the Big Bopper at the microphone, this time it was Mark and Lisa Flora with Matt Alexander on the drums. I picked up my camera and started shooting. I captured moments that were gone in an instant. But time was embalmed on the sensor of my camera, creating images that will allow them to relive their moment over and over.

As Matt set the beat on the drums, Mark took command of the stage and Lisa’s voice floated over the crowd, everyone in the Surf was fully present. They lived the moment. A moment that had been built on the past. 



At one point in the show, the past and the present collided. Bob Hale, the emcee from the 1959 show, came on stage and joined The Holy Rocka Rollaz.

This was a dream come true for my friend Mark. His story had crossed paths with the story of Buddy Holly. 

The moment got to him. 

This is what my friend Mark was created to do. Here was my good friend fully alive! So it was no surprise to me when, at the end of their set, they brought the house to it's feet with their rendition of Hank Williams great song, I Saw the Light. 

When are you fully alive?

Created in the Image of God

The Bible opens with the words, "In the beginning God created ... ." These five words establish a basis for all that follows. As the story of creation unfolds in the poetic language of Genesis it culminates in the creation of humanity. "Let us make humankind in our in our image, according to our likeness ... . So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

Humanity, all of humanity, is created in the image of God. As I have been writing my doctoral thesis over the last eighteen months, "The Impact of Imago Dei On Thinking About Portrait Photography," I have spent an inordinate amount of time reflecting on this reality. I am now thoroughly convinced that this theological concept has to be the starting point for all conversations about humanity.

While there is much that could be said, and I wrote plenty in my thesis, the best work I came across was a book titled Dignity and Destiny by John Kilner. Having established his case for the importance of a biblical doctrine of the image of God Kilner builds his thesis around the idea of dignity and destiny and connects these with the two concepts of connection and reflection.

Kilner builds his case from the historical record and Bible arguing that the image of God in humanity is not lost or damaged through as a result of the fall. He states that “There is ample discussion [on] … the destructive impact of sin on people. Yet at the same time there is every indication that people remain in ‘in God’s image’ – that no harm has been done to this status or to the image on which it is based.” This provides all people with a sense of dignity and connectedness to God irrespective of any other criteria. This, Kilner explains, has “profound implications for communicating with those who are not Christians. They are still fully in the image of Adam, subject to the sinfulness of the ‘old humanity.’ As also in God’s image, they are connected to God and warrant great respect in any interaction with them.” 

This in turn has implications for evangelism which begins with recognition that all people have dignity and are created in the image of God. As a result of this Kilner notes “God has created them to fulfill the divine intention for that image, there is reason to think that at least some of them are capable of understanding and responding to the gospel with the help of the Holy Spirit.”

While all of humanity has dignity based on being created in the image of God Kilner also discusses their destiny and does so in terms of reflection. He explains that only those who are in Christ “are in the process of conforming to the image of God in Christ, to the increasing glory of God.”
Kilner is clear in his thinking on the physical attribute of God’s image when he states that “People are God’s image - they have a connection with God and are intended to be a reflection of God – as embodied beings and not apart from their bodies.” Kilner offers a holistic view of the image of God that maintains human dignity and encourages a relationship with Christ in which the person can be restored to more perfectly reflect God’s image as her destiny.

Christians need to embrace the importance of this reality as it pertains to the dignity of ALL people. Not just those like, or who like, us. Even the worst of our enemies have an inherent dignity having been created in God's image.