Retraction; Apology

I recently published an article titled “Orange Man and the Juice.” Some of you may have read it here or maybe got an email in your inbox and read it there. Or maybe I decided to take it down before you even seen it.

A thoughtful reader reached out to me a few hours after I posted it, and they had a lot to say. Through a conversation, they made it clear that what I wrote seemed “backhanded” and condescending. They did not feel that I was being fair or charitable in what I had written. They said I was attacking and stirring dissention and hate. I appreciated the feedback, hard as it was to hear.

It’s probably fair to assume others read it and felt similarly. This is not what I had hoped for, and I’m disappointed that I caused this to happen. I am sorry I was uncharitable, and I regret that failed to achieve my intended purpose for writing it. I want to be someone who is willing to not only think out loud but to do so in a way that is respectful and invites the reader in. It seems like what I wrote felt disrespectful and pushed the reader away. I am sorry for that.

I have some big concerns around the church and church folks locking arms with Trump. I feel confused why there aren’t local voices speaking out – the silence is deafening. So I am not aiming to make those who have hidden Trump in their hearts feel warm and fuzzy – I am aiming for some conviction where there is political idolatry. It doesn’t seem like I achieved that though. It seems like my work in that post didn’t serve anyone (or very few), and it didn’t convey what I hoped it would. So again, if you read it and felt I was being insulting or condescending, please hear me say I apologize.

Peace.