Over the years, I’ve known quite a few Democrats within the faith community. In fact, on several occasions, it was my Democrat friends who opened their arms and provided the help I very much needed at the time. My disdain for Marxist ideology – the Democratic Party’s preferred doctrine — has never been directed toward them. They are good people. I’m grateful for what they have done for me.

However, I often feel puzzled and frustrated, wondering why good and otherwise sane people would side with the party that promotes Marxist agendas which, if not stopped, will inevitably destroy our republic and freedom, and will certainly generate hardship and devastation to society. Having grown up in a Marxist society, I know this firsthand.

I realize that my friends who were raised in this country – unlike the Founders, who lived under the shadow of their oppressive motherland — do not understand the nature of government. They are unaware that a government will invariably abuse its power when it is not restrained and becomes powerful.

Very Unique

 In some way, their ignorance is the side effect of our unique political structure. The three branches of our government, independent of each other, provide checks and balances, preventing political power from being centralized. Each state is given the authority to make certain decisions, which acts as a limitation on the federal government. Also, our electoral college allocates equal rights to small states, deterring states with large populations from having more representative power, and thus, discouraging the accumulation of governmental power. Consequently, our political system has largely restricted government from amassing its power, and curbing the opportunity for politicians to misuse it.

The situation in the other parts of the world differs drastically. Take China, for example, where corruption is inextricably connected with the Marxist government that holds unchecked power. In China, all politicians abuse power. Everyone knows this, but since – unlike the U.S. political system — no remedy within the structure is available to fix the problem, ordinary Chinese can only appeal to virtue signaling, holding government and politicians in utmost contempt.

Chinese Flag and barbed wire. Immigration concept. Border security.

Many of my American friends, especially those in the Democratic Party, hold a different view of government. They generally have a positive attitude toward it. This was among the first things I noticed after immigrating to the U.S. In my opinion, it is an unintended adverse effect of our exceptional political system, which has not afforded the citizen an experiential framework within which to grasp the true nature of a government.

An exception does not teach what the norm is. On the contrary, it creates a blind spot and prevents us from recognizing the potential danger of a government. Like children growing up in a sheltered environment who are clueless about the vulnerabilities they face from the outside world, many Americans are unaware that government is a necessary evil whose ambition must be checked and curtailed.

Abdicating Our Freedoms

Sadly, some even romanticize the notion of a big government they believe can manage our lives better than we can because it has unlimited resources and expertise. In their guileless minds, they cannot conceive of a scenario in which the government would commit outrageous acts against its citizens, just as one cannot imagine that doctors would do harm. Though countless books dedicated to exposing the atrocities committed by unrestricted powers have been written, many Americans treat them as tall tales from a faraway land with no relevance to our life here in the U.S.

This understanding has kept many from seeing the hidden danger of our government. We saw this clearly after 9/11, when the government used security as an excuse to take away some of our constitutional rights. We also witnessed this during the pandemic, when the government restricted the First Amendment rights to assembly and the free exercise of religion. Recently, we watched in horror as the current administration recklessly prosecuted its political opponents, completely bypassing the Constitution in their efforts to eliminate them.

Things could easily escalate if we do not get off this trajectory. Listen to what former Secretary of State John Kerry said during the World Economic Forum’s Impact 2024 meeting: “Our First Amendment stands as a major block to the ability to be able to hammer [disinformation] out of existence. What we need is to win … the right to govern by hopefully winning enough votes that you’re free to be able to implement change.”

His words should send a chill down our spines.

Like the Lands We Left

I’ve been in America for more than three decades. I was told that America is an idea centered around liberty and Judeo-Christian values, with which I concur wholeheartedly. I always thought I was an American just like my friends who grew up here — but during the pandemic, the difference between me and many of my American friends began to surface, separating and distancing us on the issue of government.

This incongruence was both astonishing and painful. One day during the COVID crisis, I met a stranger outside a grocery store who was complaining about the government’s draconian policies and how appalled she felt about Americans’ willingness to comply with them. It turned out her family had immigrated from communist Poland. Like me, they were distressed about how readily Americans were handing over their liberty to the government and how fast our society was beginning to look like the places we had come from.

I love my American friends. As I said before, they are good people, and I try to reason from their perspective. Perhaps, in that the Scripture commands us to love our neighbors, it follows that we should extend this responsibility to our government that has supposedly unlimited resources and expertise, and thus can serve our underprivileged neighbors so much better than we. However, this good intention is based on a defective understanding.

By nature, a government only cares about how to maintain and expand its power, albeit displaying the false impression of charitable compassion. Take the welfare system, for instance. It has only helped a small number of people who have legitimate reasons to receive this help. Otherwise, it has produced a mighty army of people who are dependent on government by weakening their will to live with their own hands, destroying their self-respect, and rendering them permanent obedient subjects.

Recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a life-long Democrat, summarized the danger of trusting government:

“I want you all to remember three rules. First, when you give a government a power, it will never voluntarily relinquish it. Second rule, if you give a government a power, it will ultimately abuse that power to the maximum extent possible. Third rule, nobody ever complied their way out of totalitarianism.”

It is remarkably telling for Democrats like him to come to this sobering realization. A government, at best, is just a necessary evil with an unsatiable desire for power that must be restrained. If we extend our responsibility to  love our neighbors to the government, we do a disservice to our neighbors.

A Higher Allegiance

I think perhaps the ultimate incentive for many Christians to remain loyal to the Democratic Party lies in the concept of identity. Having a heart for the others, many joined “the people’s party” because they believed it represents their hearts and values. Often, when one attaches one’s belief to an entity, secular or religious, the entity can take on symbolic significance. For many Democrat Christians, the Democratic Party has become their identity, just as speaking in tongues has to Pentecostals, “TULIP” to the Reformed, and the necessity of good works to Catholics. How can they deny the party that symbolizes who they are?

Yet, today’s Democratic Party does not remotely resemble the party of John F. Kennedy. It has abandoned the framework the Founders built, promoting Marxist ideology and increasingly becoming totalitarian in nature. It has taken sides with the devil, promoting state-sponsored mutilation of minors, unrestricted abortions, and the removal of parental rights, just to name a few.

The Bible clearly teaches us that truth preempts one’s identity. The Apostle Paul understands the importance of circumcision, an indispensable identity marker of God’s chosen people. However, he also knows that Jesus’s death and resurrection outweighs all earthly symbols. Thus, he fiercely opposes the idea that Gentile Christians must take on this Jewish identity marker.

In this crucial historical moment, my Democrat friends are confronted with a tough choice. The truth is the party that promotes unlimited power without accountability will abuse its authority, doing evil with no bounds; while imperfect, the other party that advocates a limited government is, in comparison, a lesser evil.

As RFK Jr. and many others have chosen truth over their party identity, you must demonstrate the same courage and integrity. Truth must preempt party identity.

Chenyuan Snider was raised in Communist China and majored in Chinese language and literature in college. After immigrating to the U.S. and studying at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and Duke Divinity School, she became a professor at Christian colleges and seminary. She and her husband live in northern California and have two grown children.