No, Trump's verdict is not the same as Jesus Christ's trial. Stop undermining the truth.

When I saw the news that a former president of the United States had been convicted of a felony in New York, I was stunned.

The prosecution was undeniably political, but a struck jury indeed rendered a guilty verdict. Every side of the proceeding claimed the moral high ground. Nothing changed. Everyone has already dug their preferred trench deeper. Amidst the yelling, posting, and virtuous pronouncements, America’s political class has become the single greatest threat to the future of our republic.

When Jesus Christ stood accused before Pontius Pilate prior to Roman governor washing his hands of accusations of blasphemy against him, he explained, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Pilate responded quickly. “What is truth?”

As a child, I never understood the weight of the exchange. Jesus presented truth as morally objective. Pilate, ever the politician, quickly moved to erode it.

Nothing is objective anymore. How did we get here?

The dialogue between people who know the truth and politicians has repeated itself over the millennia. The politicians appear to be winning. Objective truth, right and wrong, character and its absence have long plagued the political class.

The snake in the garden of Eden asked Eve, “Did God really say that?” about not eating the apple from the forbidden tree. Pilate questioned the truth. Now, our politicians tell us that they alone can be trusted. We’ve always known better, but it’s so much easier to just go along than fight political momentum on principle.

The practice only makes us crazy.

Republicans are circulating a popular meme right now: “Jesus went through a sham trial too, and I still follow Him.”

We’ve lost our minds and morals to the point where we’re now comparing a politician to the son of God without batting an eye.

Nothing is objective anymore. We can’t even be sure something is real. So much of what we’re seeing and hearing is now complete fabrication by artificial intelligence designed to generate clicks, likes, and shares. The “real” content is fueled by dollars, interests, and agendas we never see. We learn nothing on the treadmill of emotional reactivity. The impotent chaos energizes the political class and leaves us depleted.

This isn’t how human beings are supposed to live, let alone build a flourishing society.

American people are the punchline in elected officials' sick jokes

Republican elected officials are proudly declaring, “I’m voting for a convicted felon in November.” In their minds, the guilty verdict merely affirms that Democrats are as evil and vile as the political echo chamber said they were.

Donald Trump raked in more than $50 million in campaign cash in the 24 hours following the verdict. The fact that 12 people agreed that Trump broke the law is merely a legal footnote.

Democrats, giddy from finally “getting” Trump, should be embarrassed at their shocking duplicity. On the one hand, Democrats claim that Trump is disqualified for office because he will use the legal process to punish his political opponents. On the other hand, they praise District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s clearly political prosecution of Democrats’ prime opponent, which somehow demonstrates to them the integrity of the legal process.

It’s all a craven joke, and the American people are the punchline.

Relying on politicians as a source of truth hasn’t worked for thousands of years. They’re not going to save us. They’re not even really doing much at all. Americans have succeeded in spite of our political class for generations. Yet somehow politicians have convinced us that the future of American democracy hinges on a choice between a convicted felon or a man who can’t be criminally prosecuted because he’s a doddering octogenarian.

This strategy is about not keeping us calm, rational, and unified

The outrage peddlers make money off us being upset, so they want to keep us outraged. Their answer to the “Stalinist show trial” in New York is for Republicans to launch similar kangaroo courts in Republican dominated states. Americans shouldn’t embrace insanity in response to lunacy. If Republicans do, Democrats will feel compelled to respond. How exactly does that cycle end with anything short of civil war?

In Florida’s 11th Congressional District, Anthony Sabatini, a Republican candidate, is literally running for Congress to “imprison as many Democrats as possible.” Don’t tell me about your love for the American Constitution when your approach to the rule of law would make Vladimir Putin proud.

Reality is complex and nuanced, but it isn’t usually confusing. The chaos and obfuscation is the intentional product of the political class and partisan-aligned media. We can’t let the constant flood of political garbage take our eyes off the real issues. We’re putting way too many eggs in the basket of controlling the political narrative and far too few into competently running governments.

Make politics irrelevant again.

For weeks, cable news networks and major media outlets kept us focused on even the minute details of a particularly confusing trial. Meanwhile, our federal government racks up roughly $1 trillion in debt every 100 days. Blame whomever you want. We need some combination of taxes and spending cuts to stem the bleeding before even greater economic calamity hits. That’s reality. My perspective on a New York judge’s charging instructions is a distraction.

The catastrophe on our southwest border is another example. Democrats can’t coherently explain why President Joe Biden won’t simply undo his own executive orders which opened the immigration floodgates. Republicans keep pointing out the situation is terrible. None of them can work together long enough to meaningfully address anything. Only politicians can point without lifting a finger.

Even though Biden on Tuesday signed a new executive order to restrict asylum, it’s too little, too late.

Recently we’ve been told to be more worried about Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s choice of residential flags than developing a coherent foreign policy that defines success in Ukraine, creates stability for Israel, and keeps China in check.

None of this is accidental. We’re being led by those with a professional and economic interest in preventing us from being calm, rational, and unified. We can’t stake our future on such individuals.

Trump will appeal the New York conviction. It may be overturned. We’ll have an election. Our American republic will be simultaneously doomed according to half the country regardless of the outcome. This can’t and shouldn’t be our new American normal. I refuse to accept that this is my generation’s legacy to my children. Jesus had the right idea. We need to know the truth. The truth will set us free. The political class never will.

USA TODAY Network Tennessee Columnist Cameron Smith is a Memphis-born, Brentwood-raised recovering political attorney who worked for conservative Republicans. He and his wife Justine are raising three boys in Nolensville, Tenn. Direct outrage or agreement to smith.david.cameron@gmail.com or @DCameronSmith on X, formerly known as Twitter. Agree or disagree? Send a letter to the editor to letters@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trump verdict isn't like Jesus' trial. Politicians, stop the hyperbole