Darrell Trigg, author of Developing a More Effective Prayer Life:A Practical Approach, has declared his intentions to run for President of the United States of America.  He will run as an independent, but in the future will create the Christian Political Party.  If you haven’t heard of him or his intentions, don’t feel bad.  In terms of his real objective and vision, he is not actually running for President.

He really wants to be our King.

The monarchs of old saw their leadership ordained by God, their authority blessed and their decrees sacrosanct and immediately actionable.  Mr. Trigg’s view of himself coincides, as he states, “He has revealed Himself to me spiritually, and in physical ways such as I have no doubt  that this is his calling for me,”  and “I have no doubt that Christ has revealed Himself to me, to be the next President of the United States of America…  I know that it is His will for me to be the next President of the United States of America.”  (We will ignore the fact that numerous of the Republican candidates for President in the 2012 election declared themselves similarly divinely pre-destined.  None of them, of course, won.)

The intriguing question about Mr. Trigg being President is not whether or not he would win (OK, that is a little bit of a question), it is whether he could actually do any of the things he intends within the role of President.  Unfortunately, for those who believe in all he stands for, he could not.  In order to succeed in his agenda, he would have to nullify state rights, disband Congress’s legislative ability, close down the judicial system, build a million more prisons, take over all school curriculums, and confiscate the media and all telecom providers.  Oh yeah, and throw out the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Those are not in the President’s job description.  Mr. Tripp would, therefore, need to be King.  As he lays out his vision, he seems well aware that it is totalitarianism monarchy that he is after, and not a presidency.  He does not call upon presidential strategies, but instead, states, “If you study the history of the nation of Israel, when they had a king that honored God, and followed His commandments, He blessed them tremendously, however, if they had a king that dishonored God,  and ignored his commandments,  they were often defeated and taken as slaves.”

His intent is to therefore to enact three main goals which “are to bring honor and glory to God, to turn this nation back toward the Christian Principles upon which it was founded (except, that it wasn’t), and to help lead millions to a closer relationship with God.”   

In a nutshell (pardon the expression), here are the decrees we have been promised with a King Darrell in power:

• In Public Schools, the Bible will be a required subject for all grades, the same as math and English.   
• Homosexuality will not be recognized legally or in any other manner by the United States government , or any state, city or county government. 
• The income of coaches of sports teams at universities will be limited to $300,000 per year .
• The legal age for marriage will be 22, and a couple wishing to get married must first attend Christian marriage counseling classes.
• Divorce will only be allowed in cases of abuse, infidelity, or incarceration.
• The penalties for abuse and infidelity will include large fines and jail time.
• Married couples who become pregnant must attend Christian parenting classes.
• Abortion will only be legal in situations where the child has a small probability of living and the pregnancy is placing the life of the mother in extreme risk.
• The legal drinking age will be increased to 25. 
• Alcohol will not be allowed on university campuses. 
• Marijuana is a drug and will not be legal.  A drug is something used to stupefy or dull the senses.  (Gay Dad editors note:  Apparently being drunk over the age of 25 does not count as being stupefied or dull.)
• Marriage will be defined as the union of one woman with one man
• The legal age for marriage will be 22 . 
• A couple wishing to get married must first attend Christian marriage counseling classes. 
• Divorce will only be allowed in the case of abuse, infidelity or incarceration. 
• The penalties for infidelity and frequent abuse will include large fines and jail time. 
• Married couples who become pregnant must attend Christian parenting classes. 
• The rating system for movies and TV shows will be drastically overhauled. 
• Any material, show or movie, will not be allowed on TV systems or computer systems accessible by homes that contain nudity, strong sexual content, excessive foul language, blasphemy or any form of homosexuality.
• Also addressed will be several laws regarding the statute of limitations, arbitration, and the use of false allegations to get orders or protections,  and using them as a tool of coercion .    

The last item may seem a bit of an anomaly.  With it, Mr. Trigg may be resolving unfinished business, per an arbitration he lost and is appealing.  If he was to do this as President, it would be seen as a misuse of power.  As King, it would not be so much an issue.  Regarding these troubles, Trigg remarks, “It is amazing what Satan has done in my life to deter this campaign.  I’ve been in the unemployment line, I’ve been in jail.  I’ve talked with the FBI and the US Attorney’s office.  All over false accusations.  Satan is the father of all lies and deceit .  I am not ashamed to say that I have a wrongful termination suit against my previous employer.  Information on it is public information in the Hawkins County clerk’s office.  And in my personal life, it’s amazing, how Satan has attacked me and my family.  Again, with false accusations.  I am doing all I can to save my marriage, my family and my home.”

Here is my letter to Mr. Trigg.

Dear Mr. Trigg,

I just watched the video in which you declared your intention to be the next leader of our country.  I know you stated that you are running for President, but frankly, you seem to want to dictate far more than a mere President would have within his means.  I think you mean to take over in a far grander scale.

In your speech, you stated, “As individuals, we need to take time every day to get along with God and develop a personal relationship with him.  When we do that, we honor God and his presence.   And I can testify in my own life, when you do that, He will reveal Himself to you.”  I happen to also believe in my daily personal relationship with God, and practice the principles you describe in my life as a Christian and gay dad.  During a dark time in my life and asked for death since it was obvious to me that I had been created homosexual, and did not believe based on homophobic dogma I had heard, that I was worthy of living.  I did get my message from God, and with conviction as deep as yours, I was told that I was to live my life to the best of my abilities, that I had been created gay, and my only sin was in questioning His wisdom in knowing what He had made. 

My life today includes a wonderful family with my partner Jim, and our sons, whom I adopted through foster care.  Their Christian birthparents were drug addicts and would have endangered my sons’ lives.

I am distressed that a family such as mine would not be allowed at the societal table should you become the leader of the country.  You have stated that we would not be “recognized legally or any other way.”  I am unclear exactly how gay people would be treated under your regime, but suspect you have something like Russia’s oppression of LGBT people in mind.  Franklin Graham has signaled support of such treatment, and you spoke very kindly of him in your speech. 

It is for that reason, that I do not want you to lead my country.  I do not believe my God would want you to run my life or the lives of my children, or of other families like ours.  I do not doubt that you have been lead on the path of running, but I do not that is because God intends for you to win.  I would suggest that his intentions for you, as they appear to be for most of the rest of us, are to learn something.

One thing God may intend for you to learn more about is the issue of suicide.  You declared it as our fourth largest killer in the country and used it as your rationale and call to action to end our collective misery.  I have good news for you.  It is not the fourth largest killer after all, it is tenth and makes up only 1.3% of all deaths. 

You bring up an interesting point, however.  Do you know who is susceptible for suicide more than any other group?  Bullied LGBT teens.  Do you know what would make them even more maligned and bullied than they are already?  The draconian horrific homophobic shunning that you propose. 

One such suicide attempt was a few months ago.  An eleven year old boy named Michael had been taunted incessantly over his affection for My Little Pony.  Michael also had great affection for the Bible which he also carried.  Because he was carrying a pink pony people, inflicted with the same homophobia you have integrated into your campaign plank, decided he was “gay”.  Seeing his love for Jesus, I also fear they likely tried to convince him that God did not love him anymore, again, as you are attempting to communicate to all LGBT Americans.

Michael tried to hang himself.  While he did not succeed, his road to normalcy is long and difficult.  His parents have stepped up, not to shun everything perceived to be gay, but to fight against the bullying culture, one that would flourish with you as leader of our country.

My son Jesse, who is also eleven, caught a glimpse of Michael on my computer screen.  He immediately needed to hear Michael’s story and understand.  We talked and I put him to bed.  A while later, he was up again, very disturbed and worried about Michael.  Like you, the worry of suicide harming the innocent concerned him.  His solution went in a different direction than yours however.

“I want to send him my Butterfly,” Jesse declared.  Butterfly is the stuffed animal that Jesse has slept since infancy.  It is the toy that he loves over all others.  “I want him to know it is OK to love something and he should not be bullied over it.  The love I put into Butterfly will protect him.”

I hugged Jesse and told him that we would pray out that love and strength to Michael instead.  We sat quietly and prayed for Michael, then I kissed my young man goodnight, and he went to bed again.

Mr. Trigg, you have wished for peace, joy, happiness, contentment, and courage for Americans.  You feel that only by believing in the dogma of God as you understand it, is it possible for people you do not know to attain those benefits.  That dogma is not truth, however.  It hurts people, robs them of the freedom this country was based on, inhibits them from seeking spiritual solace and contributes to the drive for the vulnerable to choose to kill themselves.  In short, Mr. Trigg, you are part of the problem, not the solution.

While Jesse also believes in God, he understands something that you do not.  It is not the belief in God that affects all those things.  It is the full essence of what God is that creates those things.  The Bible declares that “God is love.”  Love, not God, is the point.

Atheists know love.  People of other religions know love.  LGBT families across our country know love.  They do not need the graven image of the Bible to be told how to love, and what is moral.

My son Jesse knows how to love a friend he has never met.  You only seem to know how to loathe families of whom you are ignorant.

Right now, as it is, regarding a choice on who was more qualified to run our country, you, or the sovereign ruler of my personal world, my eleven year old son, I would have to go with … him.

But, I’m not going to let him run for President.   It is past his bedtime.  You should not run either.  God will understand.

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