The problem with populists

This is the problem with populists—they cling to an over-romanticized, almost mythical version of the past. Reading the comments on posts like this, the things they claim are “lost” haven’t actually disappeared. They’re still there —just obscured by the ethno-cultural lens they insist on, or by their blatant racism and xenophobia.

Some even long for a time that predates their own existence. How would they know it was better? It’s ridiculous.

What frustrates me most are the calls to “return to Christian values.” During the pandemic, much of the evangelical church threw a tantrum —loudly bemoaning their loss of their rights while drifting from the core teachings it claims to uphold: humility, selflessness, and love for neighbor. Scripture speaks of living as exiles and sojourners, enduring hardship for doing good—not being douchy a-holes bent on retribution and violence.

Maybe my reading of Scripture is daft. But from where I’m standing, I saw more of those values lived out by people outside the church than within it. “They” didn’t destroy anything —they embodied something closer to Jesus and the early church than many who claim His name today.

Woe to the hypocrites.