Selective Grace: What If We Gave Each Other the Benefit of the Doubt?
“If MAGA supporters gave their neighbors and fellow citizens the same benefit of the doubt they give Trump, we wouldn’t be in this divided mess.”
It’s a statement that may sound blunt — even confrontational — but beneath it is a deeper question about trust, grace, and the human need for belonging.
In today’s polarized climate, loyalty is treated like a sacred virtue. But more often than not, it’s extended only within the tribe. For many in the MAGA movement, Donald Trump receives nearly infinite grace: his mistakes are explained away, his intentions presumed to be pure, and his critics dismissed as dishonest or evil.
Meanwhile, neighbors, teachers, scientists, immigrants, activists, or even lifelong friends are met with suspicion — not curiosity. Their intentions are doubted, their actions scrutinized, and their differences treated as threats.
This isn’t unique to the MAGA movement. Every political and religious tribe is susceptible to selective empathy. But when one figure becomes the sole recipient of trust, compassion, and forgiveness, something sacred breaks in the broader community.
When Empathy Becomes Exclusive
Empathy is meant to be a bridge — a force that softens conflict and opens space for dialogue. But when it’s reserved only for “our side,” it becomes a weapon. Grace becomes gatekept. Forgiveness becomes political. And entire populations get written off as “enemies of the people.”
It’s not loyalty that poisons us. It’s loyalty without conscience.
It’s compassion without consistency.
A Simple but Radical Shift
What if we extended the same benefit of the doubt to:
- A struggling immigrant family as we do to a wealthy politician?
- A transgender teen trying to find peace as we do to a pastor defending their church?
- A climate scientist warning of catastrophe as we do to a pundit promising comfort?
This isn’t about abandoning critical thinking. It’s about starting with good faith, not bad intentions. It’s about giving people the same grace we give our heroes — or better yet, dropping the idea of heroes altogether and learning to listen to one another like human beings again.
Toward a More Harmonious Cosmos
A healthy society can’t function when trust is a one-way street. Democracy, community, and even basic relationships depend on a shared willingness to believe that maybe the other person isn’t trying to ruin everything. Maybe they just see something differently. Maybe they’re just human.
Let’s stop saving all our grace for the powerful and start sharing it with each other.
Not because we agree — but because we believe in something bigger than our side:
shared dignity.
mutual survival.
a future worth healing for.