A Faith on the Fringe update, Nov. 10, 2024

About the Election

I keep thinking about the story of Benjamin Franklin leaving the Constitutional Convention in Independence Hall.

“Well, Doctor what have we got—a republic or a monarchy,” Elizabeth Willing Powel is said to have asked.

“A republic,” Franklin replied, “if you can keep it.”

It looks like we can’t keep it. After years of manipulation and misinformation, the majority of Americans voted away our republic and elected a man who promises to be a dictator on day one.

From 1787 to 2025, the American democracy lasted longer than most.

I wish I was being hyperbolic, but I’ve read Trump v. United States, handed down by Trump’s stacked Supreme Court. On July 1, the court tossed the president the keys to the United States, with nearly no safeguards in place.

The American people put him in the driver’s seat.

There will be nothing – nothing – stopping Trump from doing anything he wants, including staying in office for as long as he chooses. He, or Vance, will simply dispute and ‘investigate’ the next presidential election and refuse to leave.

Trump has no regard for democracy, a free press, or civil liberties and he’ll continue to attack all of them until his hate-filled, fat-soaked heart finally stops beating.

How did we arrive here? How did the country select a convicted felon and serial sexual assaulter to be president?

Decades of indoctrination –

“At least he’s not a democrat.”

“Democrats aren’t Christian.”

“Democrats kill babies.”

“You can’t be Christian and be pro-choice.”

I believed that with abortion on the ballot, pro-choice voters would put Harris over the top. I was mistaken.

People voted for reproductive rights in their states and then voted for Trump to continue to dismantle reproductive rights nationwide.

In Arizona, for example, 1,776,031 people voted to protect reproductive rights, but Harris received only 1,401,830 votes.

I didn’t expect that. Did anyone? And it happened in state after state.

Pundits claim the economy was the factor – public misperception of the strongest economy in the world was the reason Americans chose to vote for a felon rather than a black woman. That makes for a simple story, but it’s not accurate.

The economy, or any other excuse you choose, isn’t the reason the majority of Spanish speaking Americans voted for the man who has promised to deport the families of Spanish speaking Americans.

Gender and race were the reason that American voters turned to Trump. Twice. Everything else is an excuse, justification or rationalization to choose a man who’s been impeached twice.

If Democrats had held an open nominating convention after President Biden stepped down, then perhaps they could have nominated a man, because nearly ANY man would have beaten the felon.

American voters don’t want a woman president and they certainly don’t want a black woman president.

According to the Associated Press:

“David Means, a purchasing manager in Atlanta who is Black, abstained from voting in the election because he did not feel either Harris or Trump was making the right appeals to Black men. But the results of the election did not disappoint him.

“‘I’m satisfied with the result. I don’t feel slighted. I wasn’t let down. I wasn’t pulling for Trump or Kamala, but I did not want a woman in that position,’ he said. And if it were to be a woman, Means said, ‘I’d rather have a really strong and smart woman, for example, like Judge Judy.’”

Means referred to the felon by his last name, and the woman, the Vice President of the United States, by her first name. The sexism is subtle but prevalent. And so, Means, and 12 million exactly like him, simply sat out this election.

The U.S. has a long history of sexism and racism. Black Americans have been allowed to freely vote for 60 years. White women have been voting for 105 years. White, wealthy, male, Virginians have had the right to vote since 1619 – three years after William Shakespeare died.

The U.S. is dominated by white, wealthy men, and it’s about to get much worse for everyone else – including the poor whites who voted for the felon.

I live in a different country than I had hoped for. American voters want to live in a country led by a racist, sexist, convicted felon rather than a black woman.

I had hoped I lived in 2024 but in reality we’re living in 1924.

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If you appreciate my work, and you shop on Amazon anyway, you can place orders through this link and I’ll receive a commission. You can bookmark it, and come back to it again and again. I appreciate your support.

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I published this blog shortly before the election:

Fox News Lies to America

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I published these notes from a sermon on Oct. 31:

Notes From a Sermon: “What do you want me to do for you?”

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I created a new page on Facebook:

Boxes of Rain is Americana artifacts spanning music, culture and history for you who are on the road. Because life is for learning. I share music to mementos, from Grateful Dead to Dead & Company (two different bands), from CSNY to Joni Mitchell (who dated at least half of CSNY) to Dylan and Baez . . . that sort of vibe.

I didn’t stop being a Dead Head when I became a Christian.

Here’s Boxes of Rain on Instagram, where you’ll find even more cultural treasures.

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Follow this link for Christian cartoons.

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If you’re on Facebook, follow this link to join in on the conversation there.

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I’d love to speak with your group or church. I can speak at an evening event, worship service, or other program, virtual or in person. Feel free to contact me to discuss options. I’d love to talk about my life as a Deadhead, both before and after finding Jesus.

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Thanks for following Faith on the Fringe. Keep the faith.

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Follow this link to learn about my baseball novel, Faith, Hope, and Baseball is available on Amazon:

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Pastor Jim Meisner, Jr. earned his M.Div. from the oldest HBCU seminary in the United States. He’s the author of the novel Faith, Hope, and Baseball, available on Amazon, or follow this link to order an autographed copy. He created and manages the Facebook page Faith on the Fringe.