From a political perspective, it has been immensely satisfying to see Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) come into his own since becoming Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee back in July.
Throughout the campaign, Vance unapologetically made the case to the American people for why Kamala Harris didn’t deserve to lead our nation and for why Trump had earned another term in office, and never backed down when the mainstream media/Democrats tag-teamed for smear campaigns against them both or Republicans in general.
There was also his exceptional beast mode October debate performance against Democrat vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, where Vance appropriately handled the biased moderators and the befuddled Minnesota governor without even breaking a sweat.
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Vance is now the Vice President-Elect, just a few weeks away from being sworn into office, and is in a prime position to do his part in making America great again as Trump’s second in command. One way he can do that is by helping return faith-based leadership from public officials to a place of prominence in the White House.
Undoubtedly, Vance is aware of this important responsibility, something that was evident in his response to a section from the New York Times on Wednesday in which a reader asked for advice on how to handle an elderly neighbor who was making them uncomfortable by repeatedly praying for them.
First, here’s what the reader wrote to the Times’ ethicist columnist, Kwame Anthony Appiah:
I have an 85-year-old neighbor who is a sweet friend and caring person. My issue is that she is very religious and I’m not at all. She prays for me and says it in person, texts and emails for even the most minor of situations. I’ve told her my view of religion and that she doesn’t need to pray for me. She said she has to, otherwise she’s not following the Bible. I’m trying to ignore this but it’s really bothering me that she can’t respect my wishes. — Name Withheld
Before we get to what Vance said, I’d like to point out that Appiah himself surprisingly had a pretty good response to the question, noting that while it was good the person had communicated their feelings to their sweet neighbor that they were not “entitled” to try and make someone not pray for them:
So you’re not entitled to insist that she stop including you in her prayers. What you can fairly ask is simply that she refrain from informing you about them. Still, instead of requiring that your octogenarian neighbor change her ways, I wonder whether you might change yours — and learn to accept this woman for who she is, hearing her prayers as a sincere expression of her loving feelings toward you.
Vance’s response was a little more short, sweet, and to the point:
Amen to that! The only thing I’d add is that if the woman praying for the neighbor makes them that uncomfortable, perhaps they should cut ties with the elderly lady altogether. And if they don’t, it suggests that maybe deep down the person is appreciative of the kindness even though they’re reluctant to admit it.
Just my .02.
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