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Robert Kinens is a retired social studies teacher who splits his time between Linneus and Fort Myers, Florida.
I was a child when a minister told me the biblical story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac to demonstrate his faith. Not only was I horrified, but at the same time curious about what possible thoughts the boy had during that interminable pause between the raising of the knife and Dad hearing God tell him to forget about it and sacrifice a ram instead.
I have to believe the son questioned the old man’s sanity while interjecting a few choice expletives, but we’ll never know for sure. I do know one thing for certain, if you try to use the Abraham defense today after knifing your child — God told me to do it — even the largest cross-wearing Evangelical would most likely think you suffered a mental breakdown.
Abraham and I are similar in that we both emigrated, lived a long life, and are blessed with a miracle child. We are very different in our level of faith in a god. I’m agnostic, and there is no entity in the universe that could compel me to intentionally harm my child. One more obvious difference, Abraham was on his own to protect Isaac while I am fortunate to have others help keep my little girl safe, namely the government.
Love it or hate it, our government’s primary reason to exist is to make sure the weak are protected from the powerful and all people are treated fairly.
So now a modernized version of the classic tale. Isaac on the slab is symbolically replaced by all of our children pleading in unison for a safe future while being embraced by the government, flawed as it might be, trying to shield them from the knife above. The voice, once only audible to Abraham, will now be heard by all. The voice will metaphorically belong to Donald J. Trump who demands total loyalty and contrition from MAGA lawmakers, SCOTUS law interpreters, and his unelected disciples in positions of public trust wielding the blade with ferocity. Isaac was spared, thank God. Our children are not so fortunate.
I believe we all deserve better than the MAGA/Trumpian leadership who, while perhaps not willing to harm their own offspring, have not hesitated to harm ours. Slashing funds to protect our most vulnerable while at the same time enriching wealthy donors is an obscene abuse of trust. Saddling young people with a nearly $40 trillion national debt that has enabled past generations to live beyond their means, while knowingly destroying the environment for profit, and at the same time taking away the American dream for so many young people with unregulated AI is beyond tragic. To me, it is criminal.
Not to mention the children in internment camps in America, or the children all over the world that this government has abandoned, or the bombing of schools in Iran, which MAGA dismisses so easily. MAGA bends the knee, enabling the vengeful deity-want-to-be Trump to sacrifice our children’s future without a second thought. I fear America has truly lost its way.