David Ancell / Sunday January 22, 2017
Inauguration Day has come and gone now. Donald Trump has won in an election that was a pretty big upset. Now, he is officially the President of the United States. To be honest, I am much happier about him winning that I would have been about Hillary Clinton, and I am really glad Obama has left office. Still, I am not about to embrace Trump as the savior of our country. I do think there are valid concerns remaining about what he will do.
Clinton was guaranteed to continue the cultural revolution of Obama that would ensure that, ultimately, those who wish to live Christian morality would be reduced to second class citizens at best. I have seen things under Obama that I would have dismissed as paranoia when he first got elected. Just look at the this report from the US Civil Rights Commission (PDF file format) if you don’t believe me. If you think that Trump will do little to stop abortion, you may be right. The catch is that Clinton was guaranteed to work to promote the pro-abortion agenda, including appointing pro-abortion Supreme Court justices. However, one thing that remains to be seen is whether Trump will keep his promise and appoint a pro-life justice to the bench to replace Justice Scalia. Hopefully, he will do so soon, and, with it, work to protect human life. Hopefully, he will work to protect religious liberty even if he has no desire to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges.
This isn’t my only concern. On the day of his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order which shows that he is serious about dismantling the Affordable Care Act. I do know that there are people who have benefitted greatly from having obtained coverage. I also think that having an insurance marketplace is a good idea. My concern is not so much about the law being repealed. It’s that the law will be repealed without something better to replace it. Mr. Trump sure seems to be in a hurry to dismantle it. This would leave people who do benefit without access to care, and that is not acceptable!
With that being said, I strongly believe that Obamacare will fail in the long run if left standing. We are already seeing premium increases and insurance companies exiting the markets because they were losing money. Eventually, it will become costly enough that it will no longer be affordable for anyone. Deductibles are also quite high, and this is a problem even for people with employer-based plans. I have heard a number of stories of people who have insurance struggling to get health care or having to choose between health care and other necessities because their deductibles are too high. Add to this the draconian contraceptive coverage mandate that would make it impossible for a Catholic like me to own a business and provide health insurance for employees. The fines for not providing free contraceptives were crippling and were many times higher than the fines for not providing coverage at all. We do need something better, and I hope we get it and not just a repeal. For the record, though, I believe that a single-payer program would be a disaster in this country.
Another concern that I have is how well he will handle immigration. I believe that the statements that he is racist, xenophobic, or even fascist are an exaggeration. I also don’t see anything wrong with building a wall to secure our border (though no one should expect Mexico to pay for it). However, those who are here should be treated with compassion, even if here illegally. Many are escaping a bad situation, and this needs to be considered. The way legal immigration is handled could use some work, too.
I could name other issues as well that I hope are not brushed aside. Knowing many of the comments be made, we have to wonder if he will get our country in big trouble. Regardless of what you think about the “women’s march” that is going on, I hope that you realize that his previous comments about women completely unacceptable. When confronted, I would rather he would have at least said that they don’t represent who he is today rather than having dismissed them as “locker room talk.” Even if he had, there would still be cause for concern.
All of this is written to remind everyone who supported Trump (or at least didn’t support Clinton) that legitimate issues exist. We can’t just ignore them and think everything will be ok. We can’t just declare victory even though one threat has been stopped. It’s time to keep praying. Pray for our president and our country!
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