Xingguo Zhang

2024-09-10

Some people on the Internet say "If you supported the Democratic Party, then you could not be a true Christian."

Such people equate the conflict between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party in the United States with the conflict between Christianity and its oppositions. Such a conclusion is ridiculous.

Kamala Harris is a member of the Baptist Church. Joe Biden is a Catholic. They are both Christians. On the principle of freedom and democracy, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party have highly consistent views. We can see many evidence of this because the US government's foreign policy was largely consistent when there were a transition from one party to another in the U.S. government.

I’d say the conflict between the two parties is not a conflict between good and evil. It is not a conflict between Christianity and its oppositiion. It is not even a conflict between right and wrong. I’d say the conflict between the two parties is a conflict of different emphases. It is a conflict of different priorities.

Take a look at the tax rate. One side says that the highest tax rate should be 37%, and the other side says that the highest tax rate should be 39.6%. Can one say which tax rate is right and which is wrong? This is obviously because the two sides have different emphasis, or different priorities.

In early June this year, after Biden announced a suspension of asylum applications, the number of illegal immigrants arrested at the US-Mexico border plummeted by 33% in July, reaching a new low since September 2020. According to the Associated Press, the US-Mexico border suspended asylum applications from June 5 because the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States on that day exceeded the daily limit of 2,500. After the establishment of maximum limit at the border, the number of illegal immigrants arrested has dropped by 55%, and before that, the Mexican government strengthened border enforcement, which greatly reduced the number of immigrants entering the United States illegally earlier this year.

Not only on the issue of illegal immigration, but also on abortion, LGBTQ, and other thorny issues, the differences between the two parties are also differences in emphasis.

Trump recently said that the issue of abortion should be decided by each state. Trump obviously does not regard the issue of abortion as a question of right and wrong. He will disappoint many conservatives.

Kamala Harris is quite focused on the issue of abortion. The most extreme thing she did was to participate in the drafting of a California bill in 2016, requiring that a notice about the government's services for pregnant women be posted in the Crisis Pregnancy Center run by churches. The bill she drafted was struck down by the court two years later. Since then, Harris has only been paying lip service on abortion issue.

Now we can see that both sides are moving towards the middle on the issues of abortion and border management. In fact, other policies of the two sides are not far apart.

I oppose those who elevates the differences between the two American parties to the religious level. I think today we need to work hard to get American politics back on the track of mutual respect and civilized dialogue.
 

Trump is a narcissist. However, with the US Constitution, it is unlikely that he would cause a big mess as president. And he would definitely step down in four years. I support Harris not because I agree with Harris' policies, but because I think Trump is not suitable.

Harris is not particularly smart. I hope she knows that she is not very capable and does things the Biden's way, following the rules and political traditions and not making trouble.

Obama followed the rules and U.S. political traditions in his first four years. Because he very much wanted to be re-elected. He did well. In the next four years, there was no need for re-election. He acted a little recklessly. In 2012, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Florida. Obama said, "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon." He turned a criminal case into a political event which suppressed the police force and incited racial dissatisfaction. Obama's words and actions on the Trayvon Martin incident were completely wrong.

If Kamala Harris became president, it would be her first four years, and she would generally not cause trouble. If Trump were president, it would be his last four years. I don't know what damage he, as a convicted felon and a narcissist, would cause for the country.

I am not very pessimistic about the 2024 election. I believe that no matter what the result of the election is, the American democratic system will successfully cope with new challenges and prevail. I believe that in a few years, American politics will return to the tradition of mutual respect and civilized dialogue.

=== below is the Chinese version ===

美国两党之间差别的性质是什么？
章兴国
2024-09-10
网上有人说 “如果你支持民主党，那么你不可能是真的基督徒。”
这样的人把美国共和党与民主党的冲突，等同于基督徒与其对立面的冲突。这样的结论是很荒谬的。
贺锦丽是浸信会 成员。 拜登是天主教徒。他们都是基督徒。 在自由，民主的原则问题上，民主党与共和党有高度一致的理念。这一点，从美国政府外交政策上的连贯性，我们看到很明显的证据。
我认为 两个党的冲突不是 正义与邪恶之间的冲突。不是基督徒与其对立面的冲突。 甚至不是对与错的冲突。我认为两个党的冲突是侧重点不同的冲突。是不同 priority 的冲突。
看一看税率。 一方说最高税率应该是 37%，另外一方说最高税率应该是 39.6%。 这两者之间是对与错的问题吗？ 这明显的是侧重点不一致的问题。
今年六月初，拜登宣布庇护申请暂停受理之后，美墨边界的非法入境者被捕的人数七月份暴跌33%，达到2020年9月以来的新低。据美联社报道，美墨边界从六月五日暂停受理庇护申请，暂停的因为是当日非法进入美国的人数已经超过每日2500人的上限。在边界设立庇护熔断机制之后，非法入境者被捕的人数已经减少55%，而且在这之前，墨西哥政府加强了边境执法力度，从而在今年稍早大大减少了非法进入美国的移民人数。

不仅在非法移民问题上，在堕胎，同性恋，等等棘手的问题上，两个党的差别也是侧重点不同的差别。
川普最近说堕胎问题应该由各个州自己决定。川普显然不把堕胎问题看成是 对于错 的问题。他会让很多保守派人士失望。
贺锦丽在堕胎问题上很用心。她做的最极端的事情，也就是2016年参与了起草加州的一个法案，要求在教会办的孕妇协助中心 (Crisis Pregnancy Center) 里，贴一个关于政府有给孕妇提供服务的告示。她搞的法案两年后被法庭取缔了。从那之后，贺锦丽在堕胎问题上，也就是动动嘴皮子而已。
现在可以看到，两边在堕胎，管理边界的问题上，都在向中间移动。其实，两边的其它政策也相差不远。
我反对把两个美国党派之间的差别 提高到宗教层面的言论。我认为 今天我们需要为美国政治 重新回到 互相尊重，文明对话的轨道 而努力。

川普是自恋者。但是，有美国宪法在，他作为总统折腾出大乱子的可能性不是很大。而且他四年以后一定下台。我支持贺锦丽，不是因为我赞成贺锦丽的政策，而是因为我觉得川普这个人不合适。
贺锦丽不是特别聪明。但愿她自知能力不强，做事情按照拜登的路子，循规蹈矩，不折腾就好。
奥巴马的头四年是循规蹈矩的。因为他非常想连任。所以做的还行。 后面的四年，没有连任的需求了。他有些胡来。2012 年 Trayvon Martin 被 George Zimmerman 枪杀。奥巴马说“如果我有儿子，他可能长得与 Trayvon 一样”。他把一件刑事案件，变成了打压警察，煽动种族之间不满情绪 的政治事件。奥巴马在 Trayvon Martin 事件上的言行完全错了。
如果贺锦丽做总统的话，那将是她的头四年，一般不会胡来。川普做的话，那将是他的后四年。不知道作为罪犯和自恋者的他会怎么折腾。
我对 2024 年的大选没有很悲观。我相信无论大选的结果如何，美国的民主体制都会成功地应付新的挑战，接受新的检验。我相信 几年之后，美国政治会回到互相尊重，文明对话的轨道上来。