A debate pitting hatred against hope

My brief take on Tuesday night's U.S. Presidential Debate

Hi Readers,

As you likely remember, I’ve added a new writing job as a contributing columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune. This week, my editor asked a few of us to contribute brief pieces about our reflections on Tuesday night’s Presidential Debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

That piece can be found online here and in print on Wednesday.

I’ve been trying to figure out how best to share these pieces with all of you as well. I’ve been attempting to share Gift Links (and of course I encourage subscriptions to the paper, too!) but I know that hasn’t been working for everyone.

One thing I’ve noticed is that I have a tendency to write a bit too long for print, and often my pieces have to be cut for length. So I thought here was a great opportunity to share those pieces in their full length as well, exclusively for Substack subscribers.

I may explore in the future with providing these pieces only to paid subscribers, but for now, I’ll make the posts available for everyone. Thank you so much for being a part of this community. I hope these pieces spark further discussion and discernment among us here and in your local communities.

Thanks so much for reading,

Angela

Here’s the full-length piece, before edits for length for print:

A debate pitting hatred against hope

By ANGELA DENKER

Kamala Harris concluded Tuesday night’s debate by telling the American people that, in her long career as a prosecutor, she never asked a victim or a witness if they were a Republican or a Democrat. Instead, she asked them one question: Are you OK?

As a 39-year-old woman and mother whose youngest son turned 1 year old just weeks before Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, I had to sit with that question for a moment. Are we OK?

Yes, Trump has been out of office for the past four years. But with his - and millions of his voters’ - insistence that he didn’t actually lose the 2020 election, going as far as storming the U.S. Capitol carrying weapons on Jan. 6, we have all been effectively held hostage by Trumpism since 2016. It’s that sense of being constantly on-guard, with invisible and violent landmines everywhere you turn. As a Christian pastor, I’ve had to again and again defend my faith against its far-right, white nationalist Republican claimants, who have effectively turned American Christian witness into a jumble of slanders against women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and non-white Americans.

Trumpism hit a low point Tuesday night when Trump claimed that Haitian migrants were eating peoples’ pets in Ohio, an Internet rumor denied by Springfield, Ohio, officials. But the truth didn’t matter: the claim smacked of blood libel, racism, and ugly, nativist past movements that are attempting to rise again in places like Russia and Hungary, whose authoritarian, Christian Nationalist leaders were cited by Trump on Tuesday as role models and friends.

No, Vice President Harris, we are not OK. But maybe, with your hopeful insistence on a more joyful and loving future for America, we could be.

Thanks for reading,

Angela

P.S. …

A Few Notes:

First, a huge THANK YOU to all subscribers. I get a little email notification every time someone signs up, and every time I get one, I feel joyful and honored that you want to spend part of your day with this community. I mean it when I say: “I’m listening,” to you as well, and please don’t hesitate to share with me your thoughts + ideas for what you’d like to read in this space.

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THANK YOU for your support. If you’re not a paid subscriber, please consider becoming one.

On free vs. paid-subscriber posts only: My plan right now is that the Friday + Sunday posts, focusing on news + spirituality, in that order, are available for subscribers only (I am going to continue sharing a sample, with a line where the paywall cuts off for our paid subscriber community). My plan is that the Tuesday blog-style posts will always be free, to enable as much access as possible, while creating a smaller and more intimate experience for paid subscribers, who are also able to comment and share in community in fuller ways.

Free Trial: Substack always offers a free week-long trial subscription to this newsletter, so you can get a taste of the Friday + Sunday posts and see if you’d like to subscribe!

If a paid subscription is a hardship for you, but you’d like access to the Friday + Sunday posts: PLEASE do not hesitate to reach out. I will be happy to provide a complimentary subscription for you.