Not Like My Opinion Matters But…

Tag: Christianity

  • What Could the Future of America be under Trump’s Regime?

    On January 21st, Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. These next four years will be unorthodox and challenging if Donald Trump holds firm with his plan on deportation, eradicating the Department of Education, and expanding the territory of the U.S.

    Trump’s Plan for Immigration

    Donald Trump ran his 2024 campaign on one central platform: immigration. He declared that on day one of his presidency, he would round up illegal immigrants in the United States. He planned to deport 2-20 million of them. My biggest concern was how on earth can he do this legally and ethically. In recent weeks, Tom Homan, the Trump-appointed border Czar, released a statement. He outlined how millions of immigrants would be deported. On January 21st, the Trump administration will start raids on suspected illegal immigrants in Chicago.

    Chicago is just the first step in Trump’s “Deport America” plan. He also wants to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants who were born in the United States. This plan is not only unconstitutional but un-American. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship. Any person born inside the United States is a citizen. It does not matter where their parents were born or their documentation status. To end birthright citizenship to U.S. citizens would strip away the very foundation upon which this country was built.

    Eliminating birthright citizenship is abhorrent. In my previous post about immigration and slavery in the United States, I discussed the importance of Immigrants. They played a crucial role in building a nation that actively works against them. Once Donald Trump takes office on Monday, Americans will be under a new system. This system will destroy what it means to be American. They will also attempt to expunge the history of immigrants and slavery.

    Trump Plans to Eradicate Education in America

    Under Trump’s administration, the Department of Education will be abolished, and the states will be allowed to control the narrative. As many of us may not know, history is dictated by the winners. However, acknowledging one’s shortcomings is key to learning from them. Allowing states to dictate their own curriculum allows disinformation to be taught to our children.

    In the state of Oklahoma, the state superintendent, Ryan Walters, ordered that the King James version of the Christian Bible be taught in schools across Oklahoma. Forcing the Bible to be taught in schools is not only unconstitutional but highly concerning. Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, it states…

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”

    The First Amendment guarantees the right to freedom of religion. No government establishment, including schools, can favor or impose any religion. When we stray from factual information in schools, we lean toward the teachings of fiction. We begin to purposely ignore our past and the tragedies we as a nation have committed.

    Expanding the Empire?

    Along with deportation and abolishment of the Department of Education, Trump hopes to gain the support of Greenlanders and welcome Greenland into the United States. Trump had sent out his son Donald Trump Jr. to scope out Greenland, shockingly the only people willing to converse with Donald Trump Jr. were supposedly homeless people who were paid to be there. On a personal note, if I were a person from Greenland, I would never join the United States. Knowing anything about the United States’ treatment of Native Americans would prevent me from doing so. Knowing their history would prevent me from considering such a thing.

    The most shocking thing, however, is the unlimited support that Trump receives from his avid followers. It saddens me to know that many of these Americans are some of the most hard-working individuals you will ever meet. Yet, they refuse to go beyond what they already believe.

    Final Reflection

    Stupidity and ignorance is a disease that is taking America by storm. Many Americans accept information at face value. They neglect to research anything further. Alternatively, they reject any conflicting information. When Trump takes office on Monday, I hope no harm comes to anyone working or living inside the United States. This applies whether they are there legally or not. To live in the United States, for many is a dream. For Trump to dismantle the foundation of America would be catastrophic.

    Resources

    American Immigration Council. (2024, October 16). Birthright citizenship in the United States. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/birthright-citizenship-united-states

    Congress.gov. (n.d.). First Amendment. U.S. Constitution Annotated. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/

    Ferguson, H. T. (2024, December 9). What could an effort to ‘abolish’ the Department of Education actually mean for financial aid policy? NASFAA. https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/35224/What_Could_an_Effort_to_Abolish_the_Department_of_Education_Actually_Mean_for_Financial_Aid_Policy

    Karp, S. (2025, January 18). Trump’s immigration raids will begin next week, including in Chicago. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/18/nx-s1-5266892/immigration-raid-chicago-trump

    Suppe, R. (2024, November 21). Christian lobbying group pushes for Bible reading in public schools. Idaho Capital Sun. https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/11/21/christian-lobbying-group-pushes-for-bible-reading-in-public-schools/

  • Faith on Capital Hill; Power, Politics, and Belief

    Faith in Washington D.C. has recently begun to take more prominent roots in United States politics.

    Faith has prominently influenced politics since the inception of the United States. This is true regardless of the separation of church and state. For instance, in our Declaration of Independence we find this sentence. It states, “we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights…” Scholars have debated for centuries. They question whether the Founding Fathers were talking strictly about the Christian God. Alternatively, they may have meant a higher power in general.

    We can find modern examples of religious influence in our education system. The pledge of allegiance taught in most public and private schools in the United States was adopted in 1892., but on in the 1950’s did they add the phrase “One nation under God”. The phrase is what I find to be “towing the line.” It lies between encouraging religious teaching in school and merely mentioning it.

    During the Cold War the United States Government became increasingly worried about the possible influence of the Communist Party. To deter American’s thinking socially, they started to advocate for more religious verbiage in schools and government across the nation. For the government Communist were godless and Americans were good Christian men and women.

    Regardless of what we preach in school, knowingly or not, religion in schools is one thing. However, having it affect our nation’s politics is another. According to the Pew Research Center, about 87.8% of US Congress consider themselves to be Christian. Having the vast majority of Congress consider themselves Christians makes one wonder if their personal views affect their political views.

    According to the Pew Research Center diagram, we can clearly see the overwhelming percentage of religious-affiliated members. Another point to make is around 76.4% of Democrats consider themselves Christians, and an astounding 98.9% of Republicans consider themselves Christians. Most outwardly, Christians in the Republican party have some of the loudest voices in Congress. For instance, Lauren Boebert, the right-wing, self-proclaimed Christian Nationalist.

    Lauren Boebert is from my home-state of colorful Colorado. She currently she represents the 4th congressional district. In recent years she has various legal and family troubles, including her son being arrested for vehicle and property trespassing. In early September of 2023, she was kicked out of a showing of “Beetlejuice the Musical.” This was due to illicit and lewd behavior.

    My point with bringing up Lauren Boebert is to highlight her strong support. She advocates for little to no separation of Church and State. She has repeatedly stated that she wants religion in politics. She disregards the religious freedoms our nation was founded on.

    Lauren Boebert is not the only Republican who shares the same views. In recent months, it is a growing trend to become more conservative on very controversial policies. For example, in 2022, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court made a ruling. They decided that states now control whether a woman can access an abortion in her state. The Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade which has been a stable of American freedoms since the 70’s. In the next administration, I fear we will begin to lose more of our “unalienable” rights. Conservative viewpoints seem to dominate policy making.

    Regardless of whether The United States was founded on Christian values, each citizen’s religious freedoms take precedence. The United States need to continue forwards, not divulge into the “good old times”.

    Resources

    Miller, S.(2016). Pledge of Allegiance Adopted by Congress: On this Day, June 22. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/news/pledge-allegiance-adopted-congress-day-june-22

    Pew Research Center.(2023). The Religious Composition of the 118th Congress. Pew Reseach Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/01/03/faith-on-the-hill-2023/

    Suliman, A, Bella, T.(2022) GOP Rep. Boebert: ‘I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk’. The Washington Post.https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/28/lauren-boebert-church-state-colorado/