Five Problems with Liberal and Conservative Media

     You know exactly what I'm talking about. Liberals say, "Fox News paints (insert minority/religion here) as terrible!" And then you have Conservatives who say, "What about your very own CNN? You guys are not even giving Trump a chance!"

     Both sides do good things and bad things. In this article, I am going to explain what the five worst things about media on both sides of the aisle are, and then I will give you the solution.

1. They are all biased.

     By far, this is the most obvious problem. Breitbart, Fox News, and Drudge all suck up to the Donald, while CNN, ABC, and NBC all bow down to Bernie Sanders. This is probably the root of all the other problems I list in this article.

2. They all point the opposite side of the aisle as the enemies.

     When will you hear a biased media source say, "Maybe, we should recognize that the other side is trying to make things better, but in a different way,"? 
Never. You will never hear any biased media source say that. They always point their fingers at the opposite side and blame them for all the problems.

3. They all paint a grim view of the future.

     Conservatives say that because the younger generation is being raised to be liberal, they will inevitably vote in liberal people and ruin this country. Liberals, looking at Donald Trump, will moan and groan about how his policies will be the downfall of America. I have yet to see either side express optimism about the future of America.

4. Their language is absolutely brutal.

     Neither side is diplomatic or uplifting. From calling one side a basket of deplorables to calling the other side's presidential candidate a nasty woman, they are filling their speech with some horrible words. Why can we not go back to the days when everyone was urbane and limited the deprecating language to their homes or local bars? 

5. They are dishonest.

     Why do we have to have fact checkers in presidential debates? Why news sites fact check other news sites' material? It is because they are all dishonest. Even the fact checkers are dishonest. It has gotten to the place where we do not know what is real news and what is "fake news", as our President would call it.

Lucky for us, there is a solution - Switch the news you watch or read.

     You do not have to watch Fox News or CNN. Did you know that? There are a plethora of other news sites out there that you can read or watch. Here is a list of a few I personally love:

Business Insider

Forbes

L.A. Times

... and of course Edgecombe News Outlet!

A Christian Defense of Donald Trump against Christian Attacks

Introduction:

     Many of Donald Trump's most vehement opponents have been Christians who have been dissuaded from supporting Trump because of his questionable ethics; but many of Trump's most fervent supporters have been evangelical Christians who firmly believe that Donald Trump will revive the old America in which "kids will pledge allegiance to the flag every day at school" and "every respectable citizen with have the old fashioned Protestant work ethic". I am not writing this article to defend Donald Trump; I am writing this so that fellow believers who oppose Trump can see Donald Trump through our eyes. 

     

     I will outline four common arguments against Donald Trump and subsequently outline defenses against those arguments.

1. Donald Trump lacks the diversity in his administration that Obama had in his.

     This is completely untrue. Donald Trump has Christians, atheists, Mexican-Americans, Asian-Americans, men, women, Republicans, and Democrats in his administration. Some members of his administration even opposed his nomination for President during the Republican primaries.

     

     His administration is not designed to please the media, social activists, or even his support base as Obama's was. Trump's administration is designed to get things done efficiently, quickly, and effectively.

     It is true to a limited extent that Trump's administration is not as well educated as Obama's was, but he did not pick people with a strong degree. He picked people who have the necessary experience in their field to get their job done well.

2. Donald Trump's Muslim ban does not reflect Christ's love for everyone.

   Firstly, this is not a Muslim ban. If he wanted to implement a full Muslim ban, he would have banned immigrants and refugees from Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world; the United Arab Emirates, which has some of the richest Muslims in the world; and Saudi Arabia, which has some of the most powerful Muslims in the world.

     Secondly, the refugees are banned temporarily. He supports refugees, as seen by the statement the White House released after implementing it. He will allow them to enter the country after reviewing the vetting process thoroughly. He is doing this for America's national security. He is prioritizing American citizens' security, but is not deaf to the cries of the refugees in the Middle East.

     All of the countries named in the executive order are either state sponsors of terrorism or do not have a stable central government.

3. He wanted the Presidency to increase his wealth or power.

     He turned down the Presidential salary, and divested his stocks in various companies. He gave his company to his kids and self-funded his campaign. If anything, he lost money during the past two years.

     

     He left his skyscraper and luxury in New York City to live in the White House and clean our country up, and he is determined to get our country back together whether that means facing the corruption and politics by himself or not. He also gave up his position of being able to lobby Congress for special favors. 

4. He is not born again; therefore he cannot truly represent or implement Christian values.

     As Christians, we cannot possibly say this without realizing what we are doing. We are doubting God's sovereignty over a man that He created. We are essentially saying that any hold Satan has over a man's heart cannot be broken by God. We do not know what God has been doing in Donald Trump's heart. However, we do know, from what Trump has done in the White House, that he is sympathetic with Christians.

     He has re-implemented the Mexico City Policy which, in short, means that federal funds can no longer go overseas to fund abortions. He has taken a pro-life stance, a Christian stance which he said he would take during the campaign.

     Surrounded by Christians, Donald Trump is in a place to be heavily influenced by believers. Rex Tillerson, Ben Carson, and Mike Pence are evangelical Christians (or at least their life shows it). They will no doubt support strong morals and advise Trump to pass pro-Christian measures through Congress.

     Donald Trump is attending the National Prayer Breakfast, where he will see believers talking to God. I strongly believe that this will have a positive effect on Trump.

Conclusion:

     As Christians, we know that God's plan will be accomplished whether it is through a fallible man or not. Trump's rise was all a part of God's plan. We can all take comfort in knowing that God holds the whole world in his hands, including the refugees in the Middle East. There is no use in criticizing the man that God put in government. Just as we prayed for Obama during his eight years, we should also pray for Trump during his presidency.