Les Deplorables

We all get called names from time to time. Just last week an obnoxious young guy who failed his motorcycle test because he drove about twice as fast as he should have with his very large bike, accused me first of ageism (I guess because the guy who took the test just before him and passed was a lot closer to my age) and being racist because I must not like Hispanics (neither his first or last name was Hispanic and he didn't look at all Hispanic so who knew?).

But then I woke up one day this week, looked out over the rim of my basket and realized that even though I am not a Donald Trump guy I fit the description of many of the poor slumps that are.

I am a male and pro life so that makes me sexist.

I believe that marriage should only be between a man and a woman so that makes me homophobic.

I think that our country should secure it's borders so that makes me xenophobic.

I'm pretty sure that radical Islam wants to destroy our way of life so that makes me Islamaphobic.

I don't agree with President Obama on almost anything so that makes me a racist.

I think that the Black Lives Matter movement is counter productive so that makes me a bigot.

I don't believe in paying reparations to ancestors of slaves or Native Americans so that makes me a white supremacist.

I think our country should only spend what we take in and that we need to start paying down on our debt so that makes me a hate monger.

I believe that the global warming debacle is much more political than scientific so that makes me a science denier.

I live in a small Midwestern town and like an occasional Mountain Dew and bag of Doritos so that makes me a dumb-ass country hick.

I love my bibles and like my guns so I am one of those unenlightened folks who love their bibles and guns.

I believe there was an actual Adam and Eve and a Noah's flood so that makes me a bible thumping ignoramus.

I question Bill Clinton's libido and Hillary's health so I must be part of the great right wing conspiracy.

I believe I have the right to express my views and disagree with those who want to change traditional social values and that makes me intolerant.

How could one guy get to be so, so deplorable?  I don't know but I will try not to respond to name calling with equal vigor. Instead hopefully I can do as it says in the 4th chapter of Ephesians, vrs 29, 31, 32:

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word which is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so it will give grace to those that hear.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor be put away from you with all malice.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.