Do You Know Them - Trump And Harris

What do we know about Donald Trump and Kamala Harris? What you know must proceed how you know.

Well, the title of my article again this month has Trump's name. This time it was not just a ploy to get you to click here. In this article, I will briefly analyze each candidate according to the metric I will present in the beginning paragraphs. You see another sentence finishing off the tile— a proper understanding of what you know must proceed how you know it.

Ideas have consequences, and this starts with our two-step method of knowing one, what you know, and two, how you know it. I am not talking about some philosophical thought experiment. I am talking about the God-given reality that we all live in. 

What do we know about America right now? We see evil in our streets, the government, and our families—the ones still together. In this previous sentence, I have spoken of ethics, law, and the most basic social structure: the family, the initial place for education. How do we know evil exists in our streets, government, and homes?  

The God of the Bible has given us two gifts: rationality and logic. We use rationality (the ability to think) to perceive what we know and logic(the ability to think in cogent categories) to perceive how we know it. This is our method of knowing that allows us to see reality rightly. Let me give you an example of how God’s gift of rationality and logic works.

Mr. Henry owns a local hardware store downtown. During the day, some thieves steal some of his items, getting away with $600 worth of items. As we rationally process this, what do we know about this event? Stealing is wrong. This is what we know. The criminals would admit they would want justice if it were their store and Mr. Henry stole their items.

Now, we must ask, how do we know stealing is wrong? God's law tells us it is wrong. So, right now, we know the what—stealing is wrong—and the how—because God's law tells us not to. We know right from wrong, and the system we use to determine that logically is God's law. This is the only consistent standard we have.    

Now, let me introduce Proposition 47 in the state of California. I don’t claim to know all the details of the law, but if you steal under $950 worth of items, it is classified as a misdemeanor. In all fairness, they could be charged with six months in jail, but are they?

Most of the time, the criminal will not get probation, much less jail time.  What do we know about stealing with these specific parameters? It is not strictly punished until it reaches a particular dollar amount.  How do we know that? C.A. political leaders passed laws to say so.

Logically, we know someone being robbed of their possessions is wrong and not good. Rationally and logically, if this is allowed to continue - people not being punished—robbery will not cease. We instinctively know, at minimum, the what and the how, but they are not grounded in God’s absolute truth but in the subjective opinion of the California lawmakers and voters.

People robbing a store owner of his possessions is wrong and not right, and if this continues with no punishment, it will get worse. The how (the law) should not come first, but in this case, it does. The law puts the criminal first, not the shop owner, who deserves the right to run his shop in an environment free from thieves. Stealing is being redefined because (the how) the law protects (the what), which, in this case, is the criminal rights over the universal law not to steal. Specifically, in this case, it is the shop owner. 

We must know what something is—rationality stealing is universally wrong no matter the amount, according to God's nature—then we know how it is wrong. Logically, the laws of God tell us, and this should be reflected in our states and country.

Two truths are evident from this story: personal possessions should be protected from thieves, and local laws should punish thieves. What we know about those previous two statements are the truths embedded in them. We know they are right because God has given moral laws, and governments should exemplify God’s laws by having them as a foundation for our local laws.

Here is another example to teach that what we know has to proceed how we know it. A farmer harvesting apples from his orchard explains the difference between what we know and how we know it in practice. The farmer must know what a good apple is and what a rotten apple is. He can then create a machine to sort the good apples from the bad ones. The machine now reflects what the farmer knows about good and bad apples. What he knows is reflected in how he knows—each crate of rotten and good apples. Knowing what good apples and bad apples are is the first fundamental step to knowing how to separate them into good and bad apple crates.

We call metaphysics what we know (bad and good apples) and Epistemology how we know what we know (sorting them into proper crates). You must proceed in this order. You can't make the apple sorter until you know what good and bad apples are. However, what is taking place in America and the U.K. is that they are trying to govern (the how) without the foundation of good and evil (the what).  

What do good and bad apples and stealing $600 in items have to do with our streets, government, and families? Everything. I just communicated what was wrong with all three in these two examples. We must process what we know rationally before how we know it logically. Let's look at the following passage of scripture to get clarification.    

Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval.”(Romans 13:2-3) 

When a government functions correctly, it properly defines evil and good, punishes evil, and allows good citizens to live without fear. Paul wrote this while living in a corrupt government. Remember, all is not lost as long as we have breath in our lungs and the eternal word of God to guide us.

God’s laws and good government help us determine how to hold a people's morals accountable to reality—God and His revelation to us.

If what we know is corrupted (how we view the nature of reality, and God and His revelation to us), then how we know will be compromised (our ability to think rightly about a circumstance and logically think through the implications). This spiral away from essential sound thinking and logic continues its descent. Most of the governing elite are trying to banish God’s laws from our laws and political system altogether. What they believe about the nature of reality is flawed; therefore, how they know things is corrupted.

Here is what this currently looks like in our culture:

Good is evil, and evil is good. People don’t need to come into America through a vetting process. Let them all come in. A woman can be a man, and a man can be a woman. Men can have sex with men and women the same. A woman can murder a baby until she decides to keep it. Racism can be disguised as equity. Liars are seen as righteous, and thieves are seen as victims. A loving home for children to be raised can exist without a father and mother. And the list can go on.

When what we know is corrupted, then how we know it will be so flawed that societies will inevitably collapse. The three circumstances I have given are Mr. Henry's store, what are good and bad apples, and pulling away from God’s laws destroys what we know and how we know it.

These three circumstances are not just confined to the writing of this article. They are taking place worldwide in Western societies like America and the U.K.  These circumstances, and others like them, are causing chaos in the streets, corrupt governments, and the destruction of the family.

I want to use the next section of this article to compare, as best I can, what each candidate believes about reality (the what) and how they are applying that definition (the how) in real life.

We will look at Donald Trump and Kamla Harris in a few categories: religion, immigration, homosexuality/gender, and abortion. The person who reflects what we know in reality will have the best policies on how we should exist as a people. The more (the what) is flawed, the worse (the how) is going to be.

Kamala Harris

What Kamal Harris Knows: Man is the center of all things, and the governing need to control the governed.

How does she know it? The laws and knowledge that man has put in place should rule our lives. Look at her track record below.

Religion

She has a mix of beliefs about the nature of reality. Hinduism influences her and, supposedly, Christianity. These two beliefs oppose each other regarding the nature of reality. Therefore, how she views what we know is fatally flawed.

This is an article explaining her religious beliefs. Here is the article.  

Immigration

BBC reported on March 24th, 2021, that President Joe Biden tasked Kamala Harris with tackling the influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border. Here is the article. According to a Snopes article dated February 22nd, 2024, 7.2 million illegal immigrants have come into America since that date. Here is the article.

Homosexuality and Gender

This is a quote directly from the article: “When she was an attorney general, she refused to defend Prop 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California, and once it was overturned, she officiated the first same-sex wedding in the state.” Read the article here.

This is a quote directly from the article: “During her tenure as vice president, Harris has spoken out against conservative states that have banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and the Advocates for Trans Equality recently endorsed her run for president.” Read the article here.

Kamala Harris's view of reality is flawed; therefore, how she works for specific policies and ideas will reflect the degradation in the cities and states that they are passed in. I am trying to be honest about how metaphysics and epistemology work. So, we can see how getting them out of order leads to confusion and chaos.  

Abortion  

We don’t have to look very far at where she stands on this issue, which is not hidden away in obscurity. The DNC had mobile abortion and vasectomy buses near their convention in Chicago.  Here is the article.

In her religion, she is confused: she stands for lawlessness at the border. She encourages people to continue in their unnatural relationships, and she affirms the mutilation of human sexual organs. She gives freedom to women to abort their children on demand. In other words, what she knows is guided by humans, not God; therefore, how she knows it will be deeply flawed.  

Trump

What does Trump know? A creator gave us certain rights. We must put laws in place to protect those rights. Even if he is not a believer, his track record aligns more with God’s word. 

How does he know it? He claims that the God of the Bible has revealed it.

Religion

He claims to be a Christian. However, he could be a false convert—he must examine his life. What he knows is that God gave mankind certain rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Immigration

He claims he will keep building the wall as a barrier between Mexico and the U.S. Here is an article discussing it.

Homosexuality and Gender

Here is an article about where Donald Trump stands. Donald Trump does not want transgender in the military. Nor does he want same-sex unions to be legal.  

Abortion

He believes that each local state should determine for itself to end abortion. As an abolitionist, I have thought that abortion has to be stopped at the state level for it really to end. Here is the article.

After looking at both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, a picture emerges. Trump’s what (understanding of reality) is closer to what God has revealed. This is going to affect his how. He wants safe streets and laws protecting good people so they can flourish, and he stands for what makes families- a mother and father. In other words, he understands what reality is and how we should function as a people to reflect that reality.

I am not saying Donald Trump is a Christian or a great political candidate. He aligns more with what God has revealed and how we should hold people morally accountable to reality. He is not great; his moral failings are evident from his past, and his pride is dismal. However, he is closer than Kamala.

One thing is clear: Whether it is Mr. Henry's property that needs protection or knowing the difference between a good and bad apple, what we know is innately given by God. This provides the ability to ask how we know it and the sufficient answer given by absolute morals.

Apart from that, all you have is lies concealed as truth—thieves concealed as the righteous ones. Racism is concealed in equity. Murder is concealed as a woman’s choice. If we genuinely want our city streets, governments, and families to improve, we must point the people to the best one: Jesus.

He gave the what and the how because He is the creator, judge, and Savior. Until next month, go out and share and proclaim the Gospel to see a life transformed because the truth worth sharing and proclaiming is the truth that transforms.