I seem to be something of an exception. According to my demographic, I should have twice voted for Trump, and not given it a second thought.  After all, about 80% of white  evangelicals did so.

However, my interaction with the Charlotte, NC Hispanic community has seasoned my politics. I have learned to speak Spanish, and I specialize in teaching English to Spanish-speakers.

For me Latino folk, documented or not, have names, faces, families and value, along with many interesting personal stories of courage and faith.

So while respecting the right of each citizen to vote their conscience, I cannot help but to be reflective…

In 2014 I chronicled the  migration of young people from Central America through Mexico to the United States. I did not realize that later I would actually have  the opportunity to help some of these students to learn English.  A high school nearby had unexpectedly received over thirty Hispanic adolescents who spoke Spanish only.  I dedicated one afternoon a week to these students, who were desperate to get an education and stay out of Central American drug gangs.

I recall a writing exercise which included the question:  “What do you like best about the United States?”

The young lady to my left at the table inquired in Spanish, “¿Cómo se dice segura?  Her words brought chills.

Segura.  Safe.  “How in English do you say safe?”

In his first campaign, Candidate Trump promised to roll back all Obama executive actions within days of taking office.  This would leave vulnerable the 700,000 Dreamers — nearly life-long residents of the United States who came out of the shadows in order to register under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).  With mass deportations are clearly in view, Trump was even more determined in his 2024 campaign.

Donald Trump’s anti-Hispanic rants are now legendary — yet twice were deliberately ignored by almost half of the country, but by 80+percent of white Christian Evangelicals.  So how do we explain our “selective ignorance”?

For the rust-belt people, it was a choice to accept vague promises to bring manufacturing jobs back and to ignore a clear attack upon Hispanic and other residents.  And of course, don’t forget about the price of eggs!

For those concerned about socialism  came the promise to destroy the Affordable Care Act.  So, we apparently choose to hate ObamaCare and kick out the immigrant.

For those determined to pack the Supreme Court with “conservative justices” leading to the repeal of Roe v Wade, we speak of protecting the unborn, and then destroy productive American families with their young born US citizens?

For those who couldn’t forget the indiscretions of Bill Clinton, how have we just twice elected a known racist who also openly bragged of “grabbing” women?  And one who, by the way, built a campaign attacking the character of decent Hispanic (and other) immigrant families who just want to raise their children to be loyal and productive US citizens.

We once were so concerned about  Hillary’s technological incompetence regarding  her emails.  But now we will we gleefully kick at any US citizens or residents that an authoritarian President  Trump might identify as “other”, and in doing so actually violate the US Constitution and our own history.

So for now, the deed is done. And done again. And more often than not, we have done it in the name of the Lord.

¿Cómo se dice segura?  No sé, mi joven amiga, no sé.

How do you say safe?   I don’t know , my young friend.  I don’t know.

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This article was originally written in 2016 and has been updated in 2025.