It was hard for me to accept that, on November 5, 2024, in the United States, most voters that were allowed to vote cast their ballots for Donald Trump at the top of the ticket. And by returning Senate control to the Republican Party, any extant checks and balances in the Federal government were erased, ensuring Republican control of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government. And this, four years following Trump’s involvement in terrorism targeting fellow Americans four years earlier. While these results were hard for me to accept, this is was what I expected.
A confluence of factors led up to these electoral results, and I believe it’s incumbent upon fearless progressives, like those affiliated with PSR, to lead through part two of the Trump administration.
I believe that, rather than trying to prove we are the smartest people in the room, we have to be the most grounded and emotionally connected people in the room. This groundedness and connectedness are required for the United States to move forward. By this, I mean that we must tap into our inner resources, find grounding in them, and act from a place of power—like we encourage our patients and parishioners to do. By this, I also mean that we theological progressives must connect to voters on an emotional level, like we learned to do in preaching class. When we preach, it’s simply not enough to talk about Greek and Hebrew for 15 minutes per Sunday. It’s not sufficient to talk about historical and cultural criticism. Rather, the homiletician connects the importance of the scripture to the importance in people’s lives. By the same token, theological progressives must begin explaining, on an emotional level, why progressive policies are better than neoliberal, protectionist, and fascist ones.
I believe that now is our moment. I believe that these recent election results and the things to come are but birth pangs. In Mark 13:1-8, Jesus talks about the unthinkable happening: the Temple being destroyed. He goes on to describe signs of these events occurring. He says these are but “birth pangs.” Meaning, the miracle of life is still on its way. Now is the painful time, but God is still on the move and creating. And our fearless progressive theological leadership can and must be the factor that help usher in a new period of democratic stability and well-being of the soul.
The Reverend Dr. Daniel Rodriguez Schlorff (DMin ’19, CSR ’24) is the Senior Minister of Third Congregational Church (Middletown, CT).