Everyone please stop saying that you’re going to move to Canada because of the election. It’s not funny, and it’s not helpful. In fact, I would argue that it’s quite harmful. We shouldn’t be saying it, and we never should have been saying it.
Before I go on, let me acknowledge that we all say silly things in moments of frustration, and I know there’s been a lot of frustration in the last week and a half. Sometimes you just have to vent – we all do, for one reason or another. I also know that we’re not serious when we make the Canada joke. I mean, I’m not dumb. I know there isn’t actually going to be a wave of mass migration over the northern border. But it bothers me because it’s a symptom of a serious attitude problem that is actually doing a lot of damage to the American political conversation.
On one level, the Canada joke is a symptom of childishness. Throwing a fit and quitting because you lost is what little kids do. It may be harsh to say that so bluntly, but I think it’s true. We cannot do politics under the conditions that we will only participate when we win, and physically withdrawing from the country is the ultimate form of refusing to participate. Friends, when we say we’re going to up and move to another country because we lost, we’re acting like children. We’re not acting like adults, and still less are we acting like disciples of Christ.
I must rush to say that this last bit is directed at people like myself – straight, white, males, who are very unlikely to suffer any real consequences whatever happens next. For many people, the election represents something much deeper that mere frustration over a loss. For the undocumented, for people of color, and for Muslim Americans the situation is more dire. Many of them are legitimately scared, and they have a reason to be. What their response should be is something I don’t think I have any right to dictate, so let me clarify that this is not intended for them. I don’t have the right. But for those, like myself, who are among the privileged, let me offer this advice: you shouldn’t have a quitting attitude, and if you genuinely think this election was a disaster, that’s even more reason to knock off the Canada stuff.
I would offer Dietrich Bonhoeffer as someone to emulate. Bonhoeffer was a leader in the Confessing Church during Adolf Hitler’s regime – one of the few Christian groups that resisted Hitler’s policies (tragically, the vast majority of churches and denominations went right along with Nazism). As a widely respected theologian with connections overseas, Bonhoeffer had the opportunity to flee Germany. But he stayed, because he felt that his country was going to need ministers who had stuck it out through the darkest days. He was executed by his Nazi captors mere hours before rescue by Allied soldiers. Yet he died doing exactly what God wanted him to do.
I need to make another clarification. I do not think the election of Donald Trump is equivalent to the rise of Hitler. I do think, given his rhetoric, that many parallels could be drawn; I do think, given the demonstrable danger of ethnic and religious hatred that no amount of vigilance in stamping it out is unwarranted. However, a direct comparison between Trump and Hitler, like almost all comparisons to Hitler, remains hyperbole, at least for now. So no, the point I’m making is not that things are as bad as Germany in 1934. The point is that even if things were that bad, the best response by Christians would still not be to quit.
But don’t take my word for it. Don’t even take Bonhoeffer’s word for it. Take Christs’ word. Jesus Christ, as it says in the gospel of John, was the living Word of God who was with his Father in the beginning of creation. And then, “the Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). He made his dwelling among us. He did the very opposite of leaving when things didn’t go his way. He responded to our rejection of him by going deeper – by incarnating himself into the very midst of our brokenness so that he might redeem us. He has ever since been calling is followers to do the same – to plant ourselves unmoving in the darkest corners and be a light. It’s the very antithesis of leaving the country.
As I said before, I don’t actually think we’re about to see a mass emigration. But I do think we see plenty of “I’ll unfriend you if you _____________,” which is a symptom of the same disease. I do think we see plenty of retreating into our own little echo chambers of people who think just like us. Perhaps most importantly, I do think we’re far more willing to express anger at injustice (real of or perceived) by throwing a fit than doing something to actually resist it. And I do think that withdrawal is the last thing this country needs right now.
So if you’re mad about the election, resolve to plant yourself firmly where you are and be a voice for justice. Get involved in your community. Serve in a ministry at your church. Find out what you can do in your own city to promote dialogue across racial lines. Give to causes that matter. Throw an arm around someone who’s hurting. Stand up for someone who’s being picked on. Have a beer with someone you totally disagree with. Love your neighbor. Love, love, love your neighbor.
And you know what? If you think a bunch of us are crazy and Donald Trump is going to be a great President, do all the same stuff. Because even if against all odds Trump turns out to be good for America, it’s still for certain that the world needs Christ followers who will suck it up and stick it out when things get tough. That’s what the world always has needed.
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