Donald Trump

‘Stand Up Republic’ is exactly that, to the chagrin of Erick Erickson. Which brings me to Evan McMullin.

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Erick Erickson, who was a member of the “Never Trump” coalition, recently wrote an article titled “Donald Trump’s Start is Rocky, But Far Better Than Many Skeptics Hoped, Which Brings Me to Evan McMullin.” Erickson, an individual I warned would struggle with maintaining his principles when faced with the enticement of a GOP power rush, comes off as more of a reluctant woman playing hard to get with a guy she truly likes than he does a fair critic.

Instead of taking the opportunity to harshly address Donald Trump’s death grip on the GOP – turning them into the big-government lemmings we warned they’d become – Erickson went after the recently launched Stand Up Republic, an organization founded by Evan McMullin and Mindy Finn.

An excerpt from Stand Up Republic “About Us” page: Continue reading →

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Trust the Lord with most your heart, and lean on your own understanding.

/ collisionofchurchandstate / 53 Comments

I will now paraphrase every Christian “I’m voting for Trump” article so that we can all save some time: 

Hello to my faithful readers, blessings to you and your family. This post may come as a surprise. I’ve embraced a great deal of scriptural guidance and prayerful consideration, and the war of convictions stirring in my soul has been overwhelming. To say I’m grieved is an understatement, but by the grace of God I’ve found solace in my choice. After much prayer and painful reflection, I’ve come to a difficult conclusion: the all powerful and sovereign God, with whom all my trust resides, has His limits.

I’ve reached the understanding that this election is a binary choice, and “standing against evil” isn’t an option. Oh, how my heart aches for my country, constantly clinging to that which is evil. Lowering standards with little regard for God’s word, to the point that even I, [Insert someone trusted by thousands… or millions] am forced to lower my standards. Not because I have little regard for God’s word or the trust He has earned, but because I love God’s word and trust Him completely, and I’ll explain how that works some other time… unless I conveniently forget. Continue reading →

Tweetstorm Q&A

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Around this time last week this small town introvert had her laptop propped up on Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle and C.S. Lewis for Skype interviews and phone calls with various media outlets. My place of comfort is found behind a keyboard, and I appreciate all of the patience and kind words from those who have been in contact with me. This shy bookworm had done radio spots before, but this was an entirely new world.

I’ve been humbled by the level of support I’ve received, and I’ve attempted to reach out to those who took the time to send incredibly kind messages. If I didn’t reply to you, I apologize. Just know that I appreciate the time you took, and I’m in the process of going through all of my accounts. Now that it’s settling down, I wanted to sit down and reply to some of the questions and comments I received, so this post shall serve as both a “Thank you!” and a Q&A of sorts.

“What was the reaction like?” 

Short answer: Awesome.

Long answer: I have been shown so much support from both sides of the aisle, and can’t possibly say how much I appreciate that. I have countless messages from Conservatives AND Progressives that have truly been eyeopening for me. Continue reading →

The VP Debate Recap You Never Knew You Needed

/ collisionofchurchandstate / 20 Comments

You’ve probably read a lot of debate recaps since Tuesday evening, so what could possibly be unique about mine? Well, I dislike both VP candidates, and I loathe this election with the intensity of a thousand flaming Hells so I’m fully prepared to be overwhelmingly unpleasant… plus I have a glass of wine and a couple hours to kill, so I’m writing it regardless.

Ready?

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After both forgettable men entered the stage – one sporting the personality of a dollar bin book of cheap one-liners, and the other a Rorschach test – the debate took off with the enthusiasm of an elderly sloth. Continue reading →

Death by Tribalism

/ collisionofchurchandstate / 8 Comments

“The source of every crime, is some defect of the understanding; or some error in reasoning; or some sudden force of the passions.” ― Thomas Hobbes

I’m going to ask my readers to bear with me on this one, because this post will feel as though I’m traveling down various rabbit holes and dragging you along with me. It’s going to be longer than normal – even my normal – but I hope you understand where I’m coming from in the end. You’ll get a glimpse of the mess that is my brain, but I’m doing so to provide a broad picture of how our tribe mentality has evolved. The good, the bad, and the ugly, all wrapped up in one post.

My post about why I’m supporting Evan McMullin (read here) made mention of the term “Tribalism,” and I received a good deal of feedback in regards to that particular label. I found myself explaining – repetitively – why I blame tribalism for the vast majority of our issues today, and why it’s at the core of my refusal to support either leading candidate. After having the conversations, I’m more convinced now than ever that it’s an important topic we need to discuss more often. Why?

Continue reading →

Ten Reasons Why You Should Support Evan McMullin

/ collisionofchurchandstate / 34 Comments

So a lot has happened in the weeks between my last post and today, and now that the busy summer schedule is finally winding down I’ll be back to writing more frequently – and I’m pumped about it.

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So, what all happened during this eventful break? Well, the conventions for both parties took place, and the narratives were surprising; the Left embracing a progressive quasi-patriotism it has been lacking, and the Right a stench of authoritarianism like we’ve never witnessed from a candidate – with any chance of ever winning – in American politics. The former lacking a candidate of character and as misguided in policy as they’ve been for many years, the latter utterly devoid of any principled foundation befitting a party prepared to lead the free world. Yet the people – adorned in their red, white, and blue apparel, some bathed in the artificial patriotism sold to them by an angry snake oil salesman – celebrate.

“The war for our soul has just begun,” we preach. A sobering set of words repeated ad nauseam from those – like myself – in the political trenches, found somewhere between the radical camps of big government, messianic certainty, socialism, nationalism, tyranny, and bitter ignorance. Many repeat the wishes of a redo as we as a country tear through the warning tape, and speed past the vast number of cautionary tales being replayed in our minds while a small portion of the nation celebrates in their reckless abandon, shaking the severed brake lines in their children’s faces. Continue reading →

Political Epiphany – I’ve met my ‘match’

/ collisionofchurchandstate / 12 Comments

Some may be surprised to find that if given the choice, writing fiction is far and away my first love – as opposed to giving my puddle deep personal reactions to current political issues. If I’m ever less of a coward, I might actually act on those ambitions, but until that day comes, here I am, offering up my opinions on the world around me. That said, my admiration for the world of fiction has so often molded my perspective on the world, and I believe that the most penetrating ideas, theories, and useful metaphors are born in the musings of make believe. As Albert Camus once said, “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”

This week I was engaging in a countless number of political debates on social media – it was just one fight after the other. I eventually deleted a few points that I had made, because – while I had not crossed the Rubicon – I had gone up to the political discourse etiquette line and began flirting with the other side. My post (read here) was mild in nature, yet set off a vast row of tumbling dominoes, and in the end I was given the labels of “purist” and “cannibal” by those who once appreciated my unabashed honest take on politics.

In this situation, standing by my principles required that I go against my personal desires, which also meant going against the desires of many who follow me.

Rubio has said multiple times that he tried to defeat Trump, that he did his best in the primaries to stop him from blanketing the conservative movement with the nationalist, racist, and sexist ideals of an egomaniac who has the power to utterly destroy. I agree, Marco tried. But Marco’s 2016 election legacy won’t be that he tried, it will be that when his own agenda failed he waved the white flag. While many refuse to fault him for this, and even I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be in his shoes, I will not apologize for expecting more.

Continue reading →