Bob Schwartz

Tag: election

November 16, 2025

American churches: No more sidelines about Trump

“We realize, hey, our churches and the people in our churches have been duped by this guy and so rather than hope someone else will clean up the problem, what we’ve seen is a lot of pastors respond with, you know what, I’m going to jump in and I’m going to be a part of the solution.”
Robb Ryerse in Arkansas, Christian pastor and former Republican, one of 30 Christian white clergy so far running as Democrats in the midterm elections.

Churches in America have taken different positions regarding Trump.

Some have vigorously supported him, going so far as to say he is an anointed savior for the nation. Trump does, after all, sell his own God Bless the USA Bible.

Some, particularly black churches, have vigorously opposed him.

Most churches have stayed on the sidelines. The main reason is that in this divided society, congregations often include supporters and opponents. In those congregations, the position is that the church serves as an elevated neutral ground, not a battlefield, interested in promoting and effectuating the highest principles of Jesus and the Gospels. Whether or not those principles are being advanced or decimated in the public sphere by the chief public executive. Whether or not the tax dollars of congregants are being used to help or hurt people. Besides, a divisive message might send some congregants running away.

From the Guardian:

‘Trump is inconsistent with Christian principles’: why the Democratic party is seeing a rise of white clergy candidates
From Texas and Iowa to Arkansas, faith leaders are wading into politics to counter the rise of Christian nationalism

David Smith
Sat 15 Nov 2025

He grew up on a farm in Indiana, the son of a factory worker and eldest of five children. He studied at Liberty, a Christian university founded by the conservative pastor and televangelist Jerry Falwell, and recalls wearing a T-shirt expressing opposition to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Two decades later, Justin Douglas is running for the US Congress – as a Democrat.

He is among around 30 Christian white clergy – pastors, seminary students and other faith leaders – known to be potential Democratic candidates in next year’s midterm elections, including a dozen who are already in the race. While stressing the separation of church and state, many say that on a personal level their faith is calling them into the political arena….

In Arkansas, Robb Ryerse, a Christian pastor and former Republican, is mounting a challenge to representative Steve Womack, adopting the slogan “Faith, Family & Freedom” – rhetoric more commonly found in Republican campaign literature.

Ryerse, 50, from Springdale, Arkansas, said: “I joke sometimes that the two people who have changed my life more than any others are Jesus and Donald Trump, for very different reasons. Donald Trump is absolutely inconsistent with Christian principles of love and compassion, justice, looking out for the poor, meeting the needs of the marginalized.

“But Donald Trump has also used and been used by so many evangelical leaders who want political power. He has used them to validate him to their followers and they have used him to further their agenda, which has been a Christian nationalist culture war on the United States, which I think is bad for both the church and for the country.”

White clergy are deciding to run for office, Ryerse believes, in part as a response to the rise of Christian nationalism and the reality that, according to a Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey, Trump won 85% of the white evangelical vote in last year’s presidential election.

Ryerse said: “We realize, hey, our churches and the people in our churches have been duped by this guy and so rather than hope someone else will clean up the problem, what we’ve seen is a lot of pastors respond with, you know what, I’m going to jump in and I’m going to be a part of the solution.

“On a more positive note, there’s also that notion we need to do something for the common good. There’s so much alignment between what I believe personally is good for my neighbor, what it means to love my neighbor, and how that aligns with what public policy ought to be.”

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November 7, 2024

More post-election music: Us and Them by Pink Floyd

Black and blue
And who knows which is which, and who is who?
Up and down
And in the end, it’s only round and round, and round

Pink Floyd, and especially Roger Waters, are at or near the top of iconoclastic (“icon smashing”) pop music. (Waters continues to swim outside the mainstream, getting him into trouble with certain constituencies, but from my perspective, his artistic contribution grants him a license.)

Take the issue of education. We know the schools are not working, if the mission is to cultivate citizens with solid basic skills and knowledge. Instead of, for example, schools that deliver many students to college who are deficient in elementary math and who can’t conscientiously research and coherently write without the assistance of AI. What some parents clamor for is education that inculcates their children with the “right” ideology.

More than forty years ago, this is what Waters wrote in Another Brick in the Wall:

We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher, leave them kids alone

All in all, it’s just another brick in the wall
All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall

Back to post-election music. Two years after John Lennon—another iconoclast—released his anti-war track, Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (1971), Pink Floyd featured Waters’ view about war on Dark Side of the Moon (1973). Us and Them is about war, but more broadly about the pointless and thoughtless identities that lead inevitably to pointless and thoughtless conflict.

Us and them
And after all, we’re only ordinary men
Me and you
God only knows it’s not what we would choose to do

“Forward!” he cried from the rear
And the front rank died
The general sat, and the lines on the map
Moved from side to side

Black and blue
And who knows which is which, and who is who?
Up and down
And in the end, it’s only round and round, and round

“Haven’t you heard it’s a battle of words?”
The poster bearer cried
“Listen, son,” said the man with the gun
“There’s room for you inside”

Down and out
It can’t be helped, but there’s a lot of it about
With, without
And who’ll deny it’s what the fighting’s all about?

Out of the way, it’s a busy day
I’ve got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice
The old man died

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November 6, 2024

Counterbalancing election results: We have to double down on being better people

Puerta del Este (1935), Xul Solar

Depending on your voting this election, you may not feel good about the results. You may think that those who have gained, regained or retained power will cause people to suffer and for things to get worse, not just in America but around the world. You may be right.

There are practical strategies available to counter some of that, strategies that will be discussed and executed in the days and months ahead.

This is something different. When people come to power who don’t have the best interests of other people in their hearts and minds, we can make up the difference and counterbalance the worst.

We can do that by doubling down on being better people. In the words of Michelle Obama, who knows something about what our fellow Americans are capable of, “When they go low, we go high.”

When they go lower, let us go higher. And better.

© 2024 by Bob Schwartz

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November 6, 2024

Morning after musical message: All Things Must Pass by George Harrison

“A mind can blow those clouds away”

All Things Must Pass

Sunrise doesn’t last all morning
A cloudburst doesn’t last all day
Seems my love is up and has left you with no warning
It’s not always gonna be this gray

All things must pass
All things must pass away

Sunset doesn’t last all evening
A mind can blow those clouds away
After all this, my love is up and must be leaving
It’s not always gonna be this gray

All things must pass
All things must pass away

Now the darkness only stays at nighttime
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good at arriving at the right time
It’s not always gonna be this gray

All things must pass
All things must pass away

George Harrison

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November 3, 2024

Election equanimity: “When the world is filled with evil, transform all mishaps into the path of bodhi [wakefulness].”

These are the last few days before the election. Whatever happens, we can benefit from equanimity.

Lojong is a mind training practice in Tibetan Buddhism. It includes 59 slogans. Among them:

11
When the world is filled with evil,
Transform all mishaps into the path of bodhi [wakefulness].

Commentary on this by Chogyam Trungpa in his book Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness:

11
When the world is filled with evil,
Transform all mishaps into the path of bodhi.

That is to say, whatever occurs in your life—environmental problems, political problems, or psychological problems—should be transformed into a part of your wakefulness, or bodhi….

In other words, you do not blame the environment or the world political situation…. According to this slogan, when the world is filled with evil, or even when the world is not filled with evil, any mishaps that might occur should all be transformed into the path of bodhi, or wakefulness. That understanding comes from your sitting practice and your general awareness.

This slogan says practically everything about how we can practice generosity as well. In our ordinary life, our immediate surroundings or our once-removed surroundings are not necessarily hospitable. There are always problems and difficulties. There are difficulties even for those who proclaim that their lives are very successful, those who have become the president of their country, or the richest millionaires, or the most famous poets or movie stars or surfers or bullfighters. Even if our lives go right, according to our expectations, there are still difficulties. Obstacles always arise. That is something everybody experiences. And when obstacles happen, any mishaps connected with those obstacles—poverty mentality, fixating on loss and gain, or any kind of competitiveness—should be transformed into the path of bodhi.

That is a very powerful and direct message. It is connected with not feeling poverty stricken all the time. You might feel inadequate because you have a sick father and a crazy mother and you have to take care of them, or because you have a distorted life and money problems. For that matter, even if you have a successful life and everything is going all right, you might feel inadequate because you have to work constantly to maintain your business. A lot of those situations could be regarded as expressions of your own timidity and cowardice. They could all be regarded as expressions of your poverty mentality….

It is the sense of resourcefulness, that you can deal with whatever is available around you and not feel poverty stricken. Even if you are abandoned in the middle of a desert and you want a pillow, you can find a piece of rock with moss on it that is quite comfortable to put your head on. Then you can lie down and have a good sleep. Having such a sense of resourcefulness and richness seems to be the main point….

We have found that a lot of people complain that they are involved in intense domestic situations: they relate with everything in their lives purely on the level of pennies, tiny stitches, drops of water, grains of rice. But we do not have to do that—we can expand our vision by means of generosity. We can give something to others. We don’t always have to receive something first in order to give something away. Having connected with the notion of generosity, we begin to realize a sense of wealth automatically. The nature of generosity is to be free from desire, free from attachment, able to let go of anything.

Books about lojong:

Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness by Chogyam Trungpa

The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion through Training the Mind by Traleg Kyabgon

The Compassion Book: Teachings for Awakening the Heart by Pema Chödrön

Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong by Norman Fischer

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July 16, 2024

If Biden loses, it will destroy him. Do his supporters think about that?

Nothing is certain in politics, until it is. It appears possible that Biden will insist on being the Democratic nominee for President. It appears possible that he will lose and Trump will become President again.

It is certain that if Biden loses, as defiant and stubborn as he seems now, it will psychically destroy him. While politicians are generally used to losing, and have to be resilient, the special circumstances here will defy resilience for him.

As much as he now says he would be okay as long as he did his best, he will know that he is responsible. Maybe he will convince himself, or supporters will claim, that none of the alternative candidates could have beaten Trump—an unprovable proposition. They may say that it was all the negative Democratic talk about Biden’s age and abilities that sabotaged his nomination.

But somewhere deep, in some moments of self-awareness, Biden will know that it could have been different. That had he gracefully stepped aside in early 2024, or in the summer of 2024 when his problems became more prominent, that the next generation of leading Democrats could have taken his place—and beaten Trump.

That fact would tarnish his legacy. It will be a lead, if not in the headline, of the historical record. Most of all, it will be a psychic wound that Biden will bear. And for a man whose public contribution has been so full, it will be a sad shame.

Why don’t his family and friends, why don’t his Democratic supporters who love him, think hard about that?

© 2024 by Bob Schwartz

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May 27, 2024

Bibi’s Gaza bonus: Make Biden look bad to help elect Trump

The primary reasons for Netenyahu pursuing his Gaza war, whatever the actual success of the strategies, are to eliminate Hamas, hide his failure in preventing October 7, stay in power, avoid going to jail, and others.

There is a secondary reason, a bonus. Bibi has made Biden look weak and ineffectual. Biden’s rhetoric has been equivocal, leaning towards Israel. His actions have been less equivocal, since his arming of Israel remains intact, whatever he says.

This is exactly what Bibi and right-wingers in his cabinet want. They want Trump. Bibi, an agile politician if not a world-class statesman, can see that all this is costing Biden support and votes, increasing the chance of a Trump victory in what will be a close election. When Trump is back in office, they believe, whatever they want, whatever they ask for, he will be on their side. Unlike Biden, who seems to be having trouble holding steady in the political winds.

So while there are reasons that Bibi has remained stubborn and needlessly brutal in Gaza, helping elect Trump would be another good outcome for him. A bonus.

© 2024 by Bob Schwartz

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March 7, 2024

Joe and Don, a small town tale

Joe sits most days on the porch of his house on Main Street. Everybody knows Joe, most everybody likes him. People passing by stop and chat. They listen to Joe’s wisdom, his stories about his life, what he’s done, what he’s seen. He can get a little nostalgic, but that’s just Joe being Joe.

Don doesn’t live on Main Street. He lives in a mansion on the hill. Every day his driver brings him around. He gets out of the limo, walks around, grabbing anyone who’ll listen. He talks and talks and talks, mostly about himself or about some cockeyed vision of the town and how it’s going to hell, unless he saves it. Some people like Don, but most people are just scared of him. He seems to be getting crazier every day. He is frightening, but some say that’s just Don being Don.

Election for mayor is coming up soon. Joe and Don have both decided to run. People are sad, because they know the town has other people who could do a better job. Will Joe get off the porch? Will Don stop threatening people? Is there something wrong with the town?

© 2024 by Bob Schwartz

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February 29, 2016

You Can Stop Worrying About Trump Being the Republican Nominee. But You Can’t Stop Worrying.

New York Daily News - Trump for Prez

If you were worrying about Donald Trump being the official nominee of the Republican Party, you can stop worrying about that, no matter what the results of Super Tuesday voting.

I have predicted for months that the GOP would never allow him to be its standard bearer, no matter what the delegate numbers. Whether that means changing the nominating rules, or splitting the party, or whatever, that part isn’t as clear. But the party of Lincoln and Reagan was never going to be Trump’s to represent.

The party will find a way to deny him its blessing. And then Trump will execute what has always been his contingency plan: amass as much support and publicity as possible, and then run as an independent candidate. Or maybe run as the candidate of a portion of the split Republican Party. And then win the presidency with a plurality of votes.

That’s where your worrying shouldn’t stop. Forget all the talk about people flocking to Trump because of their frustration and anger about political gridlock and ineffectiveness. You don’t have to take a deep dive into the research to see that tens of million Americans want to roll back progress not to the Reagan years, but to the years before civil rights and other modern principles of tolerance and equality. (My sad favorite remains the Trump supporter wearing a baseball cap saying “Make Racism Great Again!”).

These people may not be your friends, but they are your neighbors and fellow voters. Whether there are enough of them to elect a President of the United States is an open question. It certainly would be easier if they had the passive imprimatur of the Republican Party. But it finally appears they will not. Which is a good thing.

Unless we do have a multi-candidate election. And one of them is Donald Trump. Because one of them will win.

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November 24, 2015

War on ISIS: You Can’t Ask About Boots on the Ground Without Asking About the Draft

No poll about sending ground troops to fight ISIS—or anywhere else—is complete without asking questions about the military draft.

A recent NBC News poll taken after the events in Paris asked:

Would you support or oppose the United States sending additional ground troops to fight ISIS (Islamic militants) in Iraq and Syria?

Strongly support: 33%
Somewhat support: 32%
Somewhat oppose: 18%
Strongly oppose: 13%
DK/NA: 3%

The following questions should be added:

Do you have any family members in the eligible age range for Selective Service registration, between ages 18 and 25?

If a military draft was put in place by Congress, would you support or oppose the United States sending additional ground troops to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria?

If your representative in Congress voted in favor of a military draft, would you be more likely or less likely to vote for them in the next election?

(That age range is based on the current requirement for men between 18 and 25 to register with Selective Service. At various times, the draft has covered a much wider range, all the way up to age 45.)

If a military draft was in place, the support for ground troops would likely plummet, if respondents were honest (which they sometimes aren’t). If the mandatory service included women—as it does in Israel, the darling of conservatives—the support number might approach zero. Especially if respondents/voters weren’t sure they could pull strings to get their loved ones out of serving.

Any member of Congress who voted in favor of a military draft, men only or men and women, is almost assured of losing the next election.

This is no way diminishes regard and thanks for the extraordinary valor and service of those who voluntary choose to serve in any military action. This is simply to suggest that those who righteously support such actions in the abstract might have a very different opinion when they, to put it bluntly, crudely and literally, have precious skin in the game.

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