I was about to sit down to write today, and then I noticed this Facebook post from Dr. Shawn Okpebholo, Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Wheaton College. “Dr. O” expresses his thoughts about today’s biggest headline better than I ever could. Shawn is one of my son’s music professors, and I served with him in a South Sudanese refugee settlement in 2019. I can tell you that he is a man after God’s own heart. This post is used with permission.
Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, have tested positive for COVID-19. Those who know me understand that no matter how I feel about the president, I sincerely pray and will continue to pray that he and his family fully recover. But make no mistake: His diagnosis is not poetic justice, nor karma, nor schadenfreude, but rather, it is an American tragedy.
Opera.
This is a tragedy because the president of the United States of America, despite policy differences, should reflect the values of our country, and Trump, sadly, is the embodiment of what our country has become (or in some ways has always been): mean, divisive, racist, selfish, greedy, fraudulent, dishonest, and now sick. These words are not meant to disparage the president but to highlight the reality that this opera our country has been living these past 3.5 years needs a major rewrite—a new play where the principal themes are love, respect, justice, kindness, and healing (physical, emotional, and spiritual).
Herman Cain.
This is a tragedy because so many people believe him and believe in him: They trust Donald Trump. They saw the president make fun of Joe Biden at the debate for wearing a mask. They see him bring together large crowds, maskless and not socially distanced, super-spreading not only divisiveness and racism but also COVID-19 by inviting reckless behavior. Many supporters hear the president undermine his own health officials and ignore science. I cringed at the Amy Coney Barrett nomination event at the White House. I witnessed many people maskless with the president and saw the image of the future justice’s African-American adopted son standing there in harm’s way. I confess: The only person I prayed for was the Black boy, that he would be protected from the virus. I regret this, especially because people at the event later tested positive, including the president of the University of Notre Dame. This is serious, folks. Here is the worst part: Those who trust a man who, by nature of his office, should be trusted, model his example, with some getting sick, some spreading the virus, and some dying.
Audience of One.
The American tragedy is that it is not surprising that the leader of the free world—the most protected man on the globe—would contract a preventable illness, joining the ranks of other world leaders who either have downplayed the virus or govern countries that have weaker public health systems: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. It’s also not surprising that those closest to the president still have not learned this very public lesson. His chief of staff and doctor just today engaged in public settings without masks. Why are they still performing for an audience of one when the whole country is watching?
A Guy Can Hope.
This American tragedy, I believe, can be transformed. What if a consequence of his illness will be that the president changes and begins demonstrating leadership, humility, empathy, and honesty when it comes to the virus? What if his heart softens regarding the poor, the disabled, people of color, and the sick? What if he begins to put others first and use his words and actions in ways that help society heal from divisiveness? Could this be a turning point for him? The president is in a high-risk category because of his age and health. May God protect and heal him, and everyone he has come in contact with over the past several days.
