Theopolis Logo
Who Will Leave Us Alone?

Who Will Leave Us Alone?

By Peter Leithart

S usan Hanssen describes Trump as an old-fashioned Whig. It's an intriguing history lesson, but I was especially taken by her conclusion.

“If America is going to be rebuilt it will be rebuilt at the grassroots level, and that grassroots effort is actually going remarkably well,” Hanssen writes. What the grassroots need from a President is not salvation or leadership, but a cover: “The grassroots simply need an umbrella to ward off the federal government’s ubiquitous efforts to shut them down. While the grassroots don't absolutely require a president with a conservative social and moral agenda—we could benefit from the absence of a federally mandated sexual agenda for four years.”

Will Trump actually leave grassroots social conservatives alone? Will he refrain from advancing the regime of sexual fascism? It's hard to know. He has spoken about the threat to Christians in the US, but who can judge the sincerity of the man?

We can, however, be fairly certain grassroots social conservatives won't be protected in a Clinton Presidency: “under a Clinton regime there will be no refuge in the small communities Alasdair MacIntyre calls for at the end of After Virtue , ‘within which the moral life could be sustained so that both morality and civility might survive.' Such small moral and intellectual communities are the target of the leftist administration’s destructive agenda. The new dark age would be darker by far than the old.”

The Presidential election seems to come down to a decision about who is more likely to leave us alone.

Peter Leithart

Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.

In Medias Res

Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.

Donate

Theopolis is nearly 100% donor-supported. Consider joining us on our mission.

Give Now

In Medias Res

Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.

Donate

Theopolis is nearly 100% donor-supported. Consider joining us on our mission.