One of the stark divides in American culture is how we frame problems and assign blame: to individuals, their character and choices? Or to systemic issues within institutions, movements, and communities? In Christian contexts this comes up in our language around sin, in the distinction between personal brokenness and collective or structural evil.
It’s a potent dichotomy but also a false one. Both the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19) and the powers and principalities (Eph. 6:12) are readily observable in the wild. They are mutually reinforcing; they constitute each other. A collective is formed of individuals, and those individuals are formed by the collective.
Donald Trump’s ruinous presidency is the result of harmful systems he didn’t create: White supremacy, American hegemony, economic inequality, cultural resentment, political tribalism, and more. It is also an expression of Trump’s own vicious impulses. While there are structural forces behind his rise and resilience, much of his wake of destruction is directly attributable to the ungoverned id of this deeply broken man.
