I Think Trump is Right?

[This is a piece I wrote at work, but as these events are no longer current and I doubt that this post will get through the publishing process anytime soon, I've decided to share it here.]

No pun intended.

On October 7, journalist Jamal Khashoggi went missing after going to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. On October 9, President (can’t believe that’s his title) Trump responded to allegations that the Saudi Arabian government is responsible. Here is his statement to the Associated Press:

“I think we have to find out what happened first. Here we go again with, you know, you’re guilty until proven innocent. I don’t like that. We just went through that with Justice Kavanaugh and he was innocent all the way as far as I’m concerned.”

And I think, in part, he’s right!

It’s not that straightforward

For starters, I think the Kavanaugh comment was intentionally inflammatory and totally out of line. Knowing the cultural temperature at the moment with the #MeToo movement, and the allegations that have been flung at Trump, this was a brave and foolish thing to do. But who knows, maybe Trump actually enjoys being at the centre of all of these conflicts? At the very least, he speaks his mind, unlike other politicians who tend to keep their comments as neutral as possible.

That being said, he’s not wrong. We really do have a tendency to assume guilt these days, without any evidence. And it’s a fine line, I know. Our move to accept testimonies of abuse and assault is a huge step in the right direction! Women have been silenced for far too long, led to believe that their experiences and trauma didn’t really matter, that it was better to just stay quiet. Unfortunately, we might have gone too far. I hate to say it, but we have created an environment in which false accusations can—and probably will—come out, and if we don’t have any way to test their validity, then we will likely fall into the trap of blindly accepting them as fact.

I do not, however, believe that the Kavanaugh case happened in quite this way. It’s been rehashed so many times that I don’t think that further discussion will add anything to the issue. Yet I do want to point out that the Kavanaugh case was investigated and sent to trial, which is more than can be said for others. It wasn’t handled as well as it could have been, but at least it was addressed. How many actors have been fired within a day of being accused? How many men have been forced to step down from their jobs without any notice?

Again, I’m not saying that this is all bad! We need to take these allegations seriously, and we need to make it clear that this behaviour is not acceptable. Still, are we really the ones who should be deciding guilt? Is it fair to declare people guilty in the court of public opinion when we, in fact, have no solid proof of guilt or innocence?

Where I agree

When Trump says that we need to find out what happened first, I have to concur. Rushed judgements can be very damaging.

Is the President safeguarding his connections? Absolutely. He is smart enough to know that condemning the Saudi Arabian government at this point could ruin his political position and make an enemy out of a friend. The US government has always operated this way (Armenian Genocide, anyone?). In this case, waiting to make a judgement until there is solid proof seems prudent. There is certainly something suspicious going on, but few people know what that something actually is. The best thing we can do is to wait for a fair investigation to be carried out before we condemn people.

Think about what happens when we assume guilt. People have their lives torn apart in the press, their reputations are dragged through the mud, family and friends are affected by association. Even if they turn out to be innocent, they will always carry that connection. And accusing a nation’s government of criminal activity could make some global relations very rocky.

If they are guilty, then that should be determined by due process. A proper investigation should be carried out. I know that this is not always possible, and if this is our only hope for conviction, then we will occasionally be disappointed. As with Kavanaugh, we can’t know for sure whether events occurred as either party claims. Likely, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. With that being said, it’s better not to make an assumption than to make the wrong one.

Who made me judge?

I don’t think that I have the right to pass judgement on these people. For one thing, I don’t have the authority. I am not the law, and I am certainly not God. If I decide that Kavanaugh or the Saudi Arabian government is responsible for the crimes of which they were accused, then I am passing a judgement that I have neither the information nor the right to make.

Even if the legal authorities fail, condemning the guilty party is not my responsibility. Ultimately, God is the judge of this universe, and he knows without a doubt who the guilty party is. The truth is never hidden from him (Job 34:21-22). I don’t need to be the judge. I shouldn’t be the judge. There is already an almighty judge, and he keeps a record of everything we do (Revelation 20:12). If I attempt to take on his role and determine someone’s fate on my own, then I am presenting myself as an equal to God, claiming to have the same power.

What I need to do is to follow Christ’s example and learn to love everyone regardless of any mistakes or wrong choices that they have made in life. I need to realize that I have screwed up too. God sees no difference between my sins and theirs. How can I judge someone when I am no better than they are? And if Christ did not let people’s mistakes prevent him from showing them love (Mark 2:13-17), then neither should I. If Christ offers all of us forgiveness, should we not do the same for one another?

It can be hard to feel like we’ve let crimes go unpunished. Forgiveness might even feel unfair when all we want is for the guilty party to experience the weight of the consequences of their actions. But if we recognize our own sin and guilt, and remember that God offers forgiveness equally to all, we can acknowledge that we’re all alike in this.

All that is to say that I think Trump has a point. I don’t want us to get complacent in the search for justice, but let’s remember that we can’t condemn people without just cause. Ours is not to judge. “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2).