A dish best not served

Seeking revenge is nothing new. It’s existed in every human culture since ancient times. It has also appeared quite conspicuously on the political landscape of our time. I, for one, never imagined fantasies of retribution being displayed so aggressively by public officials and political influencers bearing grievance and resentment. The general public’s growing tolerance for people who see themselves as wronged, and who delight in seeing others suffer at their hands, is astounding. Where does this tolerance for revenge, which Francis Bacon once called “a kind of wild justice,” come from?

I remember being taught, even from my earliest Children’s Illustrated Bible, that inflicting intentional harm on someone whom we perceive to have wronged us is not our human business. It’s definitely not our right or privilege, and it ought to be outside the bounds of what we’re even willing to contemplate. Vengeance belongs to God alone (Rom. 12:19). And of particular interest to Christians, one would think, is the resurrected Lord returning to his communities not to make his killers pay but to offer them yet more love. Evidently, many find this magnanimity uncompelling, right alongside Jesus’ admonition to resist an eye-for-an-eye approach to life.

“I am your justice,” Donald Trump promised during a 2024 campaign event. “For those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” Here was a candidate for the presidency promising revenge on behalf of his supporters, mostly for personal grievances he was harboring. His campaign began issuing flags and collector coins with the words Trump 2024 Revenge Tour. The viciousness of his social posts escalated in complementary fashion.