“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ~Martin Luther King Jr.

The majority of this article was originally written back in November 2016 in response to an anti-Trump rally I witnessed in Charleston, South Carolina. I never posted it partly because of all the anti-Trump hatred and backlash. The other reason, however, was that I wasn’t exactly sure how I wanted to end it. I didn’t just want to point out hypocrisy. I wanted to use it as a spring board to address what America’s real problem is nowadays. I’ve returned to it off and on over the years, only recently “completing it.” The original post is as follows:

Last week, I was in Charleston, South Carolina with my wife and kids enjoying the beautiful Lowcountry. Earlier in the day, we’d explored the sacred ruins of the Old Sheldon Church that’s located off one of the byways between Yemassee and Beaufort (Pronounced “BYEW-furt” according to locals instead of my North Carolinian pronunciation “BO-furt”). Shortly after eating lunch under the church’s towering oaks, we packed the kids in the car and began the hour-long trip north to Charleston. We arrived around 3:30-ish and promptly got lost looking for the visitor’s center. It was at the intersection of Calhoun and King Street that it happened: I almost left-turned (no pun intended) into a mob of anti-Trump protesters.

Now I’d heard about anti-Trump protests going on around the country, but I never thought I’d encounter one (especially up close). For the record, the crowd was “peaceful” in the sense that they weren’t destroying stuff like those in Portland. They were, however, angry. Amongst cries of “Not my President” and “Love Trumps Hate,” there arose a mantra of “F*ck Trump!”

The group was composed almost entirely of college age adults, most of whom were women. Judging by the signs they carried, the group looked to be a mix of feminists, leftists, and homosexual activists. Signs ranged from the benign to the downright vulgar. I told my kids to look the other way as we passed several signs that stated, “This girl’s p*ssy bites back,” “This p*ssy grabs back,” and “Don’t grab my p*ssy.” My kids were quite content to look the other way because the yelling, angry crowd scared them.

So what was my knee jerk response to what I was seeing unfold before me? Anger…and that seemed to be the response of a good many people watching. Sure there were people honking in support or giving a thumbs up…but there were others honking with middle fingers or yelling back. A few people looked scared. Most people just seemed uncomfortable and uncertain. Even the cops that were keeping an eye on the protesters looked unhappy.

Why was I angry? Simply put, because the protesters were angry and in everyone’s face. They did not care if their words were vulgar and intolerant, whether their free expressions were valid, or their judgments accurate. They didn’t care who was present, kids included. They were mad and you were going to hear it…all the while gathered under the banner of “love.” I was angry because the people supposedly standing for love were hypocritically spewing hate.

It wasn’t really hard to see the hypocrisy. These protesters were angry at Trump’s clearly vulgar comments. The problem was they were being equally vulgar when they resorted to chanting “F*ck Trump!” while holding signs that talked crudely about their own genitalia.

Those protesters who did not chant obscenity nor hold the p*ssy signs were being hypocritical too. They clearly were not as angry with their compatriots’ vulgarity as they were with Trump’s. Basically, they were showing selective moral outrage. There are three motives that drive people to be inconsistent in their moral outrage: cowardice (i.e. I’m too scared to correct my vulgar friends), favoritism (i.e. I don’t want to correct their vulgarity because they ARE friends, not enemies) or insincerity (i.e. In truth, I don’t really believe that vulgarity is wrong but I will claim so when it’s to my advantage). Where is love in any of this?

At this point, I think it’s time to establish what love is. I have seen no better description of love than what has been written in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. It states, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;”.

So why is this important? Because knowing what love is also enables you to know what it is not. If we look at the protesters’ actions through this lens, their actions fell flat…and I think that is why their love protest seemed to have the opposite effect on everyone, themselves included. It was not patient or kind. It was arrogant and boastful. It was unbecoming and sought only its own. It was provoked, and in some ways rejoiced in its own unrighteousness (e.g. their approval of their vulgar chants and signs). There were some falsehoods it espoused (e.g. slanderous accusations of bigotry). There were some truths it correctly espoused but in the wrong way (e.g. raised the issue of Trump’s vulgarity but in vulgar ways). There was no hope or patient endurance. Simply put, love failed…not because love fails, but because it was never exemplified.

As I look back at this post six years later, I can’t help but notice it’s still not being exemplified. That is America’s problem… we don’t love God or one another. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. The second greatest is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Trump clearly wasn’t loving God or his neighbor when he made the comments he did, nor when he detailed his past lewd actions towards women that were not his wife. The obscenity yelling protestors were not loving anyone either as they acted equally vulgar, stopped traffic and angrily slandered anyone who opposed them (while excusing their own hypocritical behavior under the banner of self-righteousness outrage). Nor were their encouragers showing love as they applauded gleefully or honked horns in solidarity. Then there were those who yelled back at the protestors… who shouted curses and raised middle fingers… clearly they didn’t exemplify love. I would even argue those who just ignore such things and go about their daily lives… like an ostrich with its head in the sand… they too show no love to their fellow man or Creator.

As we’ve followed this path, things have only gotten worse. Six years later, we still don’t love God or one another. Our country is now on the verge of collapse economically, culturally, politically and socially. It shouldn’t surprise us. There still, however, is hope.  2 Chronicles 7:14 states, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

But what does it mean to turn from our wicked ways? Romans 13:8-10 states, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (emphasis mine).” No truer words have ever been spoken. And lest we wonder like the scribes, “Who is my neighbor?”, I will end with another quote from Jesus:

“You have heard that is was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

It is here that love trumps hate.