My dad put a Trump sign in his yard. This is what my sister wrote to him:

[Coventina]

Dear Dad,

I am writing this to you to voice my profound disappointment in finding out that you have placed a Trump sign in your yard. How can I process this as anything other than a grave contradiction against everything you have ever taught me and modeled as to what it meant to be a Christian and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

It is an ugly fact that Trump incited a violent insurrection that led to the loss of life rather than gracefully conceding as a leader who truly cares about this country. And this is just one of many innumerable crimes he has chosen to perpetrate in his narcissistic quest for a second term as President.

His words, actions and policies run completely and outrageously against the teachings of Christ. I am shocked you would support a convicted rapist, felon, serial liar and individual who uses hate rhetoric and insults nearly every time he is interviewed. I am embarrassed because I have spent the last 8 years defending your integrity. I have been insisting, even to my own sister, that you would never stoop to supporting a man when his very actions mirror those of an antichrist.

My heart is full of grief over this. By supporting Trump and his agenda, you're condoning the stripping of my personal rights away and empowering a man who conducts himself without honor and deepens hate and division in America rather than unity, love and tolerance.

Your vote is your own and I believe in your right to have it, but now I wonder if you believe in mine? I implore you to research Project 2025 and question how this "plan" would improve anything about this country. Moreover, how, any of this upholds the teachings of Jesus. Matthew 25:31-45.

I am sending this, not to debate, I don't need you to defend your position and you do not owe me an apology. I hope, however, you will look deeply into your heart and pray or ponder everything I have stated here.

*******************************************************************************

I am so proud of her I'm weeping right now!!!

[Skittles]

1. excellent

please let us know if it reaches your dad in any way; I really feel for you folk with family members in the cult

[Coventina]

2. She sent it via email, no response yet.

I'll let you know......

[Tree Lady]

54. My daughter will vote for him

we started arguing few years ago and since then don't talk politics. I wasn't willing to let go of relationship because she is daughter I am closer too. We hike, do yoga, many things together, I just keep hoping she sees the light. Right now brainwashed by people at work and her boyfriend.

[LymphocyteLover]

66. an utter tragedy to see people fall under his malignant spell

[Old Okie]

70. Voting for Trump

When my son told me he voted for Trump in 2020; I almost threw him out of the house. I told him I was very disappointed with him. He tried to defend his vote with Fox News crap about his great policies during his term. I got him to watch the House Committee hearings and do some research on these great policies. I am hoping he will vote for Harris or at least not vote for Trump. He and his family live near San Antonio so they are inundated with Republican crap. Anyway; just wanted you to know that I feel your pain.

[Tree Lady]

73. My other daughter lives in San Antonio

with her family. They are moderate independents leaning conservative on economy. But they have voted for the dem last two times and this time because Trump is not a good example morally for their children and they are atheists. My daughter always tells me I have better morals than most of my christian friends.

They don't cuss, polite, manners, etc.

[uponit7771]

3. To the more privileged supporting Trump is like support a football team; not much blow back to them. People have to make

... real to relatives before they figure it out that MAGA is hurting Americans

[BaronChocula]

35. It's also like that with a lot of the not-so-privileged

So many people are divorced from the notion of how policy impacts their quality of life.

[uponit7771]

57. Absolutely, FAUX NewZ doesn't help

[crim son]

4. She has written a wonderful letter.

I would copy it and send it to my sister, who has announced her support for Trump, but I know my sister is not much of a thinker, and she is not Christian either, so I cannot appeal to those values. It is really tough when a family member has gone over to the dark side.

[Drum]

5. Excellent and righteous!

[Self Esteem]

6. Did your dad always support Trump?

[Coventina]

7. No, that's part of what is so shocking. He called him a clown, when Trump first came down the elevator.

We three kids are just gobsmacked.

[harumph]

10. I'm a 60 something white male. My daughter was suprised when I stated

that I would be glad when my cohort died off. It's nothing personal, but a good many of my peers can't think their way out
of a paper bag and consequently they are a danger to themselves and others.

[Cirsium]

46. Rich people live longer

Rich people live longer than working class people. White people live longer than nonwhite people and wealthier people and white people tend to vote Republican.

Let's not set one generation against another.

[Self Esteem]

19. What about in 2020?

I am curious to see the shift. Did he vote for Biden four years ago?

[Coventina]

44. I don't know who he voted for in 2020. I doubt he voted for Trump but I could be wrong.

I'm just still shocked.

[Self Esteem]

50. I'm sorry. That's too bad.

And I think a warning sign to those who believe Trump can't 'grow' his support.

[erronis]

21. Have you considered that some form of senility/dementia is starting?

Changes in beliefs and attitudes can be signs of deep structural brain disorders. These can be manifest in otherwise seemingly intelligent and functioning people.

[BaronChocula]

36. Exactly my question too

Is everything else the same with him???

[Coventina]

45. I have not noticed any other signs of dementia.

I think his wife and her family could definitely be an influence on him.

They are a bunch of rural Bible-belt types.

During the pandemic they were praising ivermectin and all that whack-a-doo stuff.

[erronis]

47. That has to be so hard on you.

I have had a spouse with some extreme relatives and for quite a while it didn't matter too much.

But as time went on her "evangelical christianity" took root again and she became a soldier for her version of "the right". I heard that she was a trump supporter also, but thankfully I lost contact with her 20+ years ago.

[soandso]

33. I think there are a lot of Rs who can't stand Trump

but vote party. Maybe your dad still thinks he's a clown.

[onecaliberal]

8. Good for her.

We’ve lost a lot of family on both sides.

[Cha]

11. Sorry! No family members here but I lost

2 Long time friends on both ends of the spectrum.

[Cha]

9. WOW Brilliant and Excellent! Very emotionally Moving...

I can see why it would bring you tears for what your sister wrote to your Dad. Epic!

[Coventina]

13. I thought about writing something, but I could not keep the anger out of it.

So I've just been avoiding him.

She did an amazing job!!

[Cha]

22. Yes, she Did! Your siter is a brilliant writer.

I Hope her Heartfelt letter touches your Dad. Makes him think Deely

[SomedayKindaLove]

55. Maybe write that angry letter?

And never send it. Can help wipe the palate clean so to speak.

[johnnyfins]

12. We are living in a very trying time for our

Country. This "tough guy" sickness has finally come home to roost. I don't know how we get out of it. Vote? Of course! But then what?

[jaxexpat]

65. Very good question. In fact, a question for the ages. That vacuum between victory and fate is when the rot sneaks in.

"This "tough guy" sickness" you speak of has been the primary shaper of self-destructive western social philosophies for at least 500 years. Every war and most pestilence since the Rennaissance send their roots into it. I think it's about the misconception that women are fragile vessels of purity which men must "protect". I believe that idea comes from the fact that childbirth in the times after the loss of herbal medicine knowledge and before pro-science times was so life threatening. Those were the days when religiously radicalized men shot themselves in the foot, so to speak, tossing the baby out with the bathwater and leading with their chin for about a thousand years.

At least that was the duration among the generally educated classes. It's still a "cherished" aspect for some today, though in a uniquely perverse "smart phone-y" version. For instance, MAGA, a movement currently afloat to rally the most backward thinkers to a bad cause by obscenely horrible folks based on primitive hygiene and fantasy worship. What could go wrong?

[MLAA]

14. Please hug your sister for us!

[Coventina]

16. I'm leaving now to take her a Harris yard sign (prearranged before this happened)

So I will!!!

[Demovictory9]

15. Awesome letter

[Devilsun]

17. You go girl!

Such an elegantly written response. 🤗

[ProudMNDemocrat]

18. She cited Matthew 25:31-46

Last edited Thu Oct 17, 2024, 09:41 AM - Edit history (1)

One of the pieces of Scripture where Jesus Christ tells the Goats to His left that the least they did unto his people they did unto Him. Therefore they would not be enjoying eternity in Heaven. Jesus explains that clearly.

I was in tears as well when reading this letter. Wow.

Before my late mother died in Nevada, her news source was FOX. I had to leave the room when she had it on. She turned from Liberal to FOX. Were she alive now, the relationship would surely be strained.

[erronis]

23. That sounds like a possible culprit. A constant fire-hose of misinformation can warp peoples' minds.

[Trueblue Texan]

32. I didn't think you could turn from liberal to MAGA...

Liberals, by definition think more carefully. What happened to your mom?

[COL Mustard]

40. I feel your pain on that one.

My 99 year old mother has Fox on from morning to night. I started leaving the room when it's on, and she asked me why. I said, If you get your news from Fox it's like getting your lunch from the toilet.

Of course she still has it on, but I tried.

[erronis]

48. Oh, dear. It's hard to reason with a 99 year old. They know what they know and that is all.

[calimary]

64. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened with your mom.

Sheesh - the cable network that tears families apart.

They must be so proud…

[ProudMNDemocrat]

67. That was January of 2013, the day after New Years.

It was in February of 2012, I visited her in Reno where she lived. FOX was on much of the day after 5pm.

We had a discussion about the upcoming election, what she said about Obama sent me over the edge. She had said, "The country will have a black man as President! Just not THAT black man!" My once Liberal-minded mother said that.

The rest of that year, unbeknown to me, she was slowly dying of Cancer. All of my phone calls to her avoided politics. But one of my last before she died did mention the re-election of Barack Obama and what he had done to make life better for Americans. Thank God she did not have to live through the disastrous 4 years of tRump. If Cancer did not kill her, COVID would have. She also had COPD.

[progressoid]

71. I once used that passage in a "debate" with a rabid Trumper

who also pretends to be a Xian. His response was a snarky, "nice Bible quote." He then quoted Isaiah 38:1
"Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover"

The problem with quoting the Bible to shame them is that they have no shame!

[TheGreatConspiracy]

20. Yeah. My 82-year-old dad and his wife are Trump votes in Michigan

It's frustrating, even though my long-time Republican sister is voting for Harris (she hates Trump and thinks he's an embarrassment).

But my dad lives in a remote area in the woods and spends a LOT of time watching right-wing news channels. There's no changing his mind. We've tried.

Good luck to your sister, though. Not everyone is as far gone as my dad.

[maxsolomon]

25. It's brainwashing.

Last edited Thu Oct 17, 2024, 12:43 PM - Edit history (1)

The only way to undo it is to replace it with an alternate media source, like NPR.

There's a whole movie about it, but the rub is: the family couldn't get him off RW Hate Radio and onto NPR until he was too senile to figure out they'd changed the station.

https://www.thebrainwashingofmydad.com/

[maxsolomon]

24. Will your Dad read it?

Mine wouldn't.

You have to directly say it to them.

[pat_k]

26. Perhaps send him this sermon

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219462263#post3

[consider_this]

27. That is a perfectly crafted message!

it cuts to the quick - I'd be shocked if the man does not consider what someone who loves and respects him has offered so thoughtfully.

[madamesilverspurs]

28. Wow. Here's hoping your dad reads it with his heart.

My siblings and I were raised by staunch republicans, but that was back when the GOP was pretty much the complete reverse of what it is today. Dad became increasingly disgruntled with the party when W was in office, and passed during the second term of that administration. Mom, who was the boots-on-the-ground GOPer, became so disgusted that she left the party after more than 70 very active years. She voted twice for Obama, and cast her final ballot for Hillary. My older brother and my sister have been very active Democratic door knockers. Suffice it to say that we were stunned and sickened when our younger brother announced his firm support of Trump, and did so with a swaggering attitude that we'd never seen from him. He's made it clear that his veteran status along with his ordination to the ministry gives his opinion greater weight, and he welcomes no discussion accordingly. He still sends somewhat terse emails to mark holidays, but that's about it. We miss him.

On that note, I hope to read that your dad receives the letter in the spirit in which it was sent. Hugs to you and your sister.

[BluRay76]

29. Well stated!

I have extended family members who will vote for him… I don’t honestly even know what they think about him as a “human,” since they never actually say anything about what policies they support or what they want our country to be. All they do is share the GQP conspiracy fake social media posts and talk about how angry they are that Biden and Harris are giving FEMA funds to immigrants. I confess I am not strong enough to respond to them because I can’t do it without getting angry… but also because I have some fear about retribution. Not from my family members themselves, but from people who are their “friends.” They’re so angry and hateful and vitriolic, and they aren’t actually *for* anything except hurting people and taking away basic human rights.

It’s truly impressive that your sister communicated this message in such a respectful yet heartfelt way. I hope that she has managed to make him think about who he is and what message he is sending.

[Dan]

51. Their "friends"

Hopefully you will disappear when you of age or are able.... with friends like that.

[mgardener]

30. What a wonderful letter

Your sister is a gem!

[slightlv]

31. That was a brave letter for her to write to her own father.

I salute her courage and persistence in her own beliefs. Kudos to your sister. Let her know how much she is appreciated!

[wolfie001]

34. I picture him laughing about it

That's just how "those people" are

[Katcat]

37. I guess your dad is independently wealthy and doesn't need his SS or Medicare.

But the rest of us aren’t and we don’t need a fake as President. I support his right to vote how he wants but any man who votes for Trump will get my scorn for enabling a man who went to epsteins rape island numerous times. And I don’t think he was checking on his buddy.

[Evolve Dammit]

38. So well said. wonder if it will reach him.

[Joinfortmill]

39. Very powerful and soulful. Must have been very difficult to write, Brave woman, your sister.

[mdbl]

41. Great response

[LoisB]

42. Excellent.

[Beartracks]

43. "Your vote is your own and I believe in your right to have it, but now I wonder if you believe in mine?"

Wow.

=================

[kwolf68]

49. Good letter

Props to sis

[NoMoreRepugs]

52. When they support a convicted felon/rapist/Insurrectionist not too sure any

written message is going to reach them.

[Fla Dem]

53. Your sister deseserves a big high five !

But I feel sorry for both for you to be in that position with your father.

[Persondem]

56. You should be proud of her. That is one of ...

.... the best letters or article on how to push back against trumpism i have ever seen.

[berksdem]

58. Your sister is awesome!!!

As a girl Dad I love this!!!

[babylonsister]

59. Honest and heartfelt. I hope it's received in that way. nt

[electric_blue68]

60. Woah...fiercely beautiful, or beautifully fierce. She wrote amazing prose.

I hope he will have a change of heart.

But importantly, too, your sister poured her heart out instead keeping inside on something this both wide, and deeply personal that could be detrimental emotionally.

I'm very lucky. In our extended family we have ?3 or 4 Republicans who as of a couple oh years ago hated drumphf.

A different one's been kind of cynical decades back; "they're all the same".

The rest (well, the ones I know) will probably, to definitely vote for Kamala.

My sis will (we've always been Dems), and my friends, and long time acquaintences run Liberal Dems, Center Dems, and probably a progressive or two.

Me? I'm a super staunch liberal. But I might have a bit of progressive streak, I think. l came to respect the Nordic Democratic Socialist countries. But I'm a pragmatism, too.
If we can get bug jumps - great. Otherwise bit by bit.
Ugh, right now we have hold the bulwark!

[RussBLib]

61. That's beautiful

...that could apply to quite a few families. It's so well-written and succinct. I'd be proud to have her as a sister, or friend

https://russblib.blogspot.com/?m=1

[Abolishinist]

63. Family dynamics aside, Matthew 25:31-45

says that God would one day judge the world and cast those who broke His law into hell for all eternity. This is not a message I care to hear, but this is the Jesus we find in Scripture.

Perhaps the greater take-away is that those who are believers create their own world, not of logic but of cult. Given that, how can one 'judge' another?

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was ahungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was ahungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

In other words, if you are not a true believer, you will spend eternity in HELL! And given that, who are you to say how this is determined?

[Major Nikon]

68. Reason and religion are incompatible

The whole concept of religious belief requires one to suspend reason.

[AllaN01Bear]

69. ding.

[Orrex]

72. Trump's KKKultists love him more than their own families

I've lost friends and family over this, and I'm better off without them.

I'm sorry that your father has chosen to support the rapist and felon. I hope that your family is able to achieve some peace and healing.