Catharine I’m trying very hard not to.
I’m trying to focus on this current moment.
Trying to focus on the joys and challenges of the here and now.
But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’m kind of dreading 2024.
š .š
I often remember something that John Oliver said in his show, directly following Trump’s 2016 election. He said to put a post-it on your fridge that says “This is not normal.” To remind you that the way governmental officials were acting was not normal. That the kind of things that Trump was saying from his position of power were NOT NORMAL things for someone to say in the office of President of the United States. That his racist, sexist, mud-slinging and often completely irrational and illogical sentences were not things we normally hear coming from the White House, and we SHOULDN’T let our guard down and get used to it.
I think I actually did put a post-it on my fridge for a while. If I can find a picture of it, I’ll post it.
And then came a horrific pandemic. We’d gone through the trauma of election season, the trauma of several years (that felt like decades) of a Trump presidency where every day felt like walking through land mines: would be at war with North Korea today? Are our science organizations like NASA and the CDC independent and trustworthy anymore? Will efforts to censor a free and independent press triumph? Will our democracy survive this? Where will the next shooting be? And then we were actually fighting something worse than misinformation and Russian hacking schemes- a virus that has taken many of the lives of our friends, family, and loved ones. When we really needed a competent leader, we didn’t have one.
And now we have a vaccine. Some hope. A president and administration that are are bravely trying to reattach the broken pieces, heal some of the wounds in our broken safety net, and baby step us forward out of the many messes we’re in as a country. We’ve come a long way, and there’s still a long way to go. The pandemic still isn’t over.
I’m just kind of scared. Like… it feels like we’ve been through a shipwreck, and have managed to, by some grace, end up on the edge of the sand. Gasping for air, we’ve survived.
A few weeks ago, I read about Trump starting his own social media company, which apparently he intends to call “Truth Social.”
š .
At least he isn’t full of himself, or purporting to sell a “real” version of reality, right?? LOL
š .
Maybe it won’t change anything. Maybe people who are determined to believe that main stream news sources are “fake news” probably won’t be influenced differently no matter what happens. It’s just scary to think that the SMALL checks and balances that currently exist on social media might be circumvented.
Christians are in a unique position of influence
I have hope that if he runs again for President, the amount of force that can be raised to prevent that from happening will be giant. And there is a lot that can be done: donating to blue organizations, getting involved with campaigns when the time comes, etc.
But those of us who are Christians have an even greater power, because we can speak to those who were largely responsible for Trump being elected before.
Christians, and especially evangelical Christians, are the reason Trump was elected in 2016. If he is reelected in 2024, they will probably be the reason, again.
They are “my people.” They are my family and friends. If they are “your people” too, you have a unique position of influence.
We need to unlink the connection between the ‘Cult of Trump’ and Jesus
The work that I want to do, and that I want those of us who are in Christian communities to do, is this: unlink the connection between the ‘Cult of Trump’ and Jesus. I don’t use that phrase lightly. For many Christians, allegiance to Trump has become convoluted with claiming faith in Jesus.
Misplaced faith makes people do anything- vote for anyone- if they think it’s “God’s will.” And especially if “everyone else is doing it.”
We can dismantle the power of group-think
If that’s your community too, I want to encourage you to be vocal about your opinions. Though faith, and the idea that something is “God’s will” are things that are held so closely to the heart, that it’s basically impossible convince someone to change, we can dismantle the power of group-think.
We can make it clear that Christians are NOT unified behind Trump.
Just placing that seed of doubt in peoples’ minds- breaking the notion that “everyone and their mother are thinking of this the same way”- can make a difference.
Don’t be afraid. We’re in this together.
And while we wait, while we’re being open and bold, let’s take some time for baking chocolate chip cookies and planning Thanksgiving. Because life is friggin short. And I think I need some cookies now.
Sending you love.
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