In his second inaugural address in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln encouraged the U.S. people with these words: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”

Lincoln’s troops were on the verge of winning and ending the war. He knew that both sides thought they were morally right and believed that God was on their side. Nevertheless, Lincoln knew enough about God’s justice and he understood that both the North and the South had committed atrocities before and during the war (ex. massive killings, the horrors of slavery, Sherman’s devastating and decimating march to the sea, etc.). A righteous God had judged both sides and found them to be morally deficient. A multitude of women on both sides had become widows.  Thousands and thousands of young men would never come home. Orphans abounded and starvation was rampant. For those who had eyes to see, the nation’s wounds were all too apparent. A few weeks after he delivered his speech, an assassin’s bullet cut the president’s life short.  Lincoln was denied the opportunity to heal our country’s wounds.

Lincoln’s remarks are very relevant for us today in the wake of our divisive presidential election. Trump won a clear victory, taking all of the seven battleground states. Nevertheless, we are a deeply divided country with roughly 50% on both sides. As in Lincoln’s day, we should strive to bind up the nation’s wounds. To heal a wound, you must first understand it and clean it out. During the passion and heat of the campaign, I didn’t see much willingness on either side to listen to and feel the various painful wounds on the other side. If we are sufficiently mature and with “malice toward none”, we might be able to have courageous conversations and begin to understand each other… an essential first step towards bind up the wounds.

We might not agree that all the painful wounds are equally justifiable, but we should be able to walk in the shoes of those we disagree with and strive to feel their pain. What were our political rivals fighting for and what were they fighting against? I encourage my readers to strive first to understand the pain before you automatically respond.

1. Millions of our fellow citizens feel they have been economically falling further and further behind.
2. Our neighbors have seen food and other prices dramatically rise (eggs by over 200%) due to inflation and not fall back.
3. Many believe that undocumented immigrants are taking away their jobs and/or depressing their wages.
4. After five decades of living under Roe, millions of women have seen their right to an abortion taken away.
5. During the same period, millions of tiny lives in the womb have been destroyed not to save the life of their mother, but for the sake of convenience.
6. Many of our citizens feel that the other side is lying (a lot!) and distorting the truth.
7. Many feel that people on the other side are arrogant and talking down to voters.
8. Most people believe that big money has corrupted our political process.

Trump has won the election and will occupy the White House as of January 20. I do not believe in the validity of the maxim “to the victor belong the spoils” as if the winners can do anything they want. God (and “we the people”) demands that those in authority be responsible public servants (Romans 13:4a,6) and to act justly. Therefore, I urge Trump, his supporters, and government officials generally, to seek justice and bind up our nation’s wounds. The following are some of the painful wounds that I see (mostly wounds of those who cannot speak up for themselves, or for society at large). They are principally based upon my belief that all people are created in God’s image and, therefore, deserve to be treated with respect.

1. Bullying is wrong. To demean others by making fun of their handicaps, deliberately mispronouncing their names, or dismissing them with offensive nicknames (“little Marco” or “your wife is ugly”) instead of reasonably debating the issues, is not acceptable. Everyone should acknowledge that Trump is a bully. I urge him to turn from his bullying ways and set a more positive example for the younger generations.
2. All women are created in God’s image. Therefore, treating them as having less value than men is wrong. Trump has been found legally liable of sexual assault. The Access Hollywood tape where Trump boasted of grabbing women by their genitalia should be denounced by all people as morally abhorrent. Trump’s unrepentant womanizing is a painful wound.
3. It pains me to see immigrants vilified for attempting to provide a better life for their families. Of course, undocumented immigrants who have committed felonies should be in prison or deported back to their home countries. The overwhelming majority of immigrants are hardworking contributors to our society.
4. Trump’s plan to deport 8-15 million immigrants is painful and anti-family, because many of them have children born in the U.S. who are American citizens. As a result, families would be separated. In addition, because undocumented immigrants work hard jobs for low wages, employers will have to pay higher wages to attract new workers. If Trump follows through on his deportation plan, inflation will skyrocket…another painful wound.
5. Thousands of innocent Gazan civilians have died in the Israel-Hamas war. If Trump gives unconditional support to Israel, many more civilians in Gaza will pay the price with their lives. This is an open, festering wound.
6. Trump has affirmed that he will “solve” Russia’s war against Ukraine even before he takes office. This probably means forcing Ukraine to give up some of their territory to appease Russia. This will not stop Russia’s imperialistic goals of taking control of other neighbors. This is not an acceptable “cleaning” of the wound.,
7. Our national founders put “checks and balances” into our Constitution to protect our country from one branch of government amassing too much power over the other branches. The Supreme Court, including the three justices previously appointed by Trump, have given presidents “immunity” for all their presidential actions. Not having any guardrails is a dangerous wound.
8. Republicans used to be the “law and order” party, and they proudly proclaimed that “nobody is above the law”. That is no longer true. Trump is a convicted felon. The federal court cases against him for insurrection and mishandling of secret documents will just “disappear”. A society that permits the powerful to be above the law has a cancerous wound that needs cleaning.
9. The planet itself is agonizing with ever more destructive “natural” disasters like massive floods, “once in a century” hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires. Many of these are related to global warming. “Drill, baby drill” for more oil is not an acceptable cure for our planet’s illness.

The list could go on and on. I urge people of all political persuasions to acknowledge the wounds that exist, to empathize and identify with the wounded, and bind up their wounds.