I am a partisan, in my politics and my theology, which means I must keep my mouth shut at thanksgiving dinners. I am partial to Democrats because I am partial to the Judeo-Christian tradition that proclaims God’s partiality toward the widow and the orphan, those dispossessed in our society.
But I have a confession to make. My partiality caused me to vote for Governor Rod Blagojevich two times. I am ashamed that I allowed him to fool me not once, but twice. It embarrasses me to admit that blind partisanship led me to ignore the signs of his corruption.
I had conveniently forgotten this mistake until listening to family and friends who deny or simply ignore the facts being revealed in the current impeachment proceedings. Because I love them I found myself asking whether I would do the same had Donald Trump been elected as a Democrat. If, while appointing a progressive to the Supreme Court and raising taxes on the wealthiest among us he also treated those around him with the same self-centered disdain he shows to anyone who crosses him, would I conveniently ignore or deny his corruptive efforts to assure re-election?
The question is a most uncomfortable one. Do the ends justify the means? Is that what drives partisans like Senator Lindsey Graham to totally reverse himself from an opponent to a supporter of President Trump?
All I can do is urge my Republican friends not to make the same mistake I made.
I am David Jones, and that is my perspective.