I did see the [some] signs. I lived in a "purple" town in Southern Indiana that became more and more aggressively red. The city council went from a balanced purple to all-but red. Mayoral contests went from occasional blue to radical red.
2nd Amendment advocates wanted the county to declare itself "sovereign" (meaning they would not enforce any state or federal limitations on guns), and our state reps and senator stopped holding public forums for any citizen to attend in favor of private events for registered Republicans.
Our local group of about 6 KKK types started holding annual "public information" rallies - the first year, the opposition outnumbered them something like 50 to one; the second year, the numbers were roughly equal; the 3rd year some kids calling themselves antifa arrived early and set up a picnic in the place the KKK types were planning to use.
Trump divided the vestry (board) at our church, while the mask requirements during covid caused some very active members to walk out.
Did I know how bad it would get? No. I still trusted the Supreme Court. Silly me. I wept on January 6.
I still live in trepidation. Rural life, even in Connecticut, is still "conservative," and vulnerable to all the divisive and hostile rhetoric coming from the radicalized GOP. We don't know how to talk with one another.
So I'm keeping up with developments as well as I can, and in my supply clergy role I am preaching love of God and neighbor every time I get in the pulpit, speaking of the oppression and injustice from Rome and from religious leaders that abandoned people in need.
This is one of the best analysis I have read of the nightmare we've been living through. To understand a problem and make serious changes you have to know its history and John has done a great job doing just that - explaining the details of how we got to this mess we now find ourselves in.
Excellent. What we are facing now has been in the works for over a decade. We must stand together and fight, as we’ve never fought before, to save our Democracy! We can’t think someone else will do it. We all need to be involved. It’s time to donate, join a phone or text bank, write postcards, talk to your family, friends and neighbors, help register voters and be sure to check and make sure you or still registered yourself.
A good site is VOTE.org. You can check your status, sign up for absentee ballot, register online to vote, see what’s on your ballot, and they will even send you reminder if you opt to do that. So buckle up and stay on course. It is sure to be a winding road. Pedal to the metal and let’s leave felonious don and his MAGA 🐑 🐑 🐑 in the dust!
A pastor friend passed a church whose sign said: “This is a MAGA church.” The leaders of this congregation need to re-think the life of Jesus who was no friend of the empire of his time.
Great wake-up call, John. There are several principles that underlie this call to action - 1) the fight is never over, it just has temporary lapses in temperature and pace; 2) when an objective is achieved, whether it is a hill taken in a military conflict, a market share obtained, or a set of social justices realized, one must continue to work to "consolidate the objective" by shoring up the practices and tactics that led to the win and preparing defenses against the counteroffensive sure to come (i.e., enemy counterattack, competitive adjustments and innovation, or reactionary, divisive fear-based, lie-infested propaganda intended to sink us back down into the authoritarian swamp; and 3) the basic ingredients of civilization must be taught and reinforced constantly with ourselves, our neighbors, and especially our children - and not just by our words but by our actions, the most effective teaching tools existing for the transmission of social grace (civility, compassion, consideration, concerted action, and mutual respect, to name a few).
It is important to rest when we can, to enjoy the progress made but also to recharge and reinvigorate ourselves for the next round of the contest to remain civilized and to consolidate/improve it where and when possible. Our forebears, in body and in spirit, fought for and consolidated these goals in their generation, pledging their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in the effort. No truer words were ever spoken than that the trees of ordered liberty and communitarian (not "communist") life must be refreshed periodically with the "blood" (hard, dedicated efforts) of patriots (believers in the principles and values of democracy, equality, and freedom in the pursuit of happiness).
So, yes - it is time to awaken fully and ready ourselves for this latest round of the fight that is endemic (unfortunately) to the human condition - resistance to the efforts of a minority among us to dominate and eviscerate, if not extinguish the hopes, dreams and efforts of the rest of us in our work to build meaningful, compassionate lives of community and beauty in all of the ways that those goals are made manifest in our lives.
The will to power can be an ugly thing, but especially when its motives are control, avarice, exclusivity of access to resources, disregard for the common good, generally, but especially a selfish willingness to leverage for use in the present the resources that should/must be preserved for future generations.
Every generation faces this challenge. We must not waiver from the difficulties associated with meeting it head-on. If we fail now, it will take a long time to manufacture an opportunity and marshall the energy sufficient to recover what we will lose. Learn, organize, vote, and protect all elements of the voting process itself. As we have learned many times in our history and recently as well - we are the saviors for whom we are waiting. Responsible, organized actions, not wishes, are the indispensable ingredients of success. May we all find and marshall together the energy necessary to meet this threat.
When Thomas Jefferson proclaimed as a “self evident” truth that “all men are created equal”, he uttered the statement of secular faith. Thus the statement takes on a religious connotation of absolutism and in the minds and hearts of believers unquestioned. This becomes a form of mental sleep similar to John’s analogy.
But, history demonstrates that belief in equality is not “self evident”. Neither is belief in “truth”, “justice”, “freedom”, “religious freedom “, or any other of the civic virtues for which we strive.
Civil religion has the same characteristics as commonly understood religion. We have to evangelize not by the sword, but “by their fruits you shall know them.” We must walk the walk if we want our talk to be taken seriously and worthy of following. Faith of any kind without the works to manifest the truth of the faith is mere sleep walking.
Congratulations on articulating the sad truth. I have thought many times that we were wanting more to “pretend” than to actually “be” who we say we are. I told friends that Polly Anna’s number was:222-222-2late.
And the extreme danger of being drugged into apathy by social media is a plan the vile greedy cancers understand. Of course many of those are rich because of our need to be pacified.
I am impressed with your call to wake up! I am also really really scared……that we are hooked on sleeping pills.
Every front page news that claims to be good journalism should pound the facts FACTS into the open screen of social media. We are terrified!😱
I’d like to thank you John. I’m an Atheist, musician, self absolved from the fire and brimstone, guilt ridden corridors of contrived religious tenets. I hear your notes, your artistry of the written word makes me happy, optimistic and joyous. For the love of humanity, let’s win this! 🙏❤️
I did see the [some] signs. I lived in a "purple" town in Southern Indiana that became more and more aggressively red. The city council went from a balanced purple to all-but red. Mayoral contests went from occasional blue to radical red.
2nd Amendment advocates wanted the county to declare itself "sovereign" (meaning they would not enforce any state or federal limitations on guns), and our state reps and senator stopped holding public forums for any citizen to attend in favor of private events for registered Republicans.
Our local group of about 6 KKK types started holding annual "public information" rallies - the first year, the opposition outnumbered them something like 50 to one; the second year, the numbers were roughly equal; the 3rd year some kids calling themselves antifa arrived early and set up a picnic in the place the KKK types were planning to use.
Trump divided the vestry (board) at our church, while the mask requirements during covid caused some very active members to walk out.
Did I know how bad it would get? No. I still trusted the Supreme Court. Silly me. I wept on January 6.
I still live in trepidation. Rural life, even in Connecticut, is still "conservative," and vulnerable to all the divisive and hostile rhetoric coming from the radicalized GOP. We don't know how to talk with one another.
So I'm keeping up with developments as well as I can, and in my supply clergy role I am preaching love of God and neighbor every time I get in the pulpit, speaking of the oppression and injustice from Rome and from religious leaders that abandoned people in need.
May God Bless - and Keep - you :)
All of us!
This is one of the best analysis I have read of the nightmare we've been living through. To understand a problem and make serious changes you have to know its history and John has done a great job doing just that - explaining the details of how we got to this mess we now find ourselves in.
Excellent. What we are facing now has been in the works for over a decade. We must stand together and fight, as we’ve never fought before, to save our Democracy! We can’t think someone else will do it. We all need to be involved. It’s time to donate, join a phone or text bank, write postcards, talk to your family, friends and neighbors, help register voters and be sure to check and make sure you or still registered yourself.
A good site is VOTE.org. You can check your status, sign up for absentee ballot, register online to vote, see what’s on your ballot, and they will even send you reminder if you opt to do that. So buckle up and stay on course. It is sure to be a winding road. Pedal to the metal and let’s leave felonious don and his MAGA 🐑 🐑 🐑 in the dust!
A pastor friend passed a church whose sign said: “This is a MAGA church.” The leaders of this congregation need to re-think the life of Jesus who was no friend of the empire of his time.
Great wake-up call, John. There are several principles that underlie this call to action - 1) the fight is never over, it just has temporary lapses in temperature and pace; 2) when an objective is achieved, whether it is a hill taken in a military conflict, a market share obtained, or a set of social justices realized, one must continue to work to "consolidate the objective" by shoring up the practices and tactics that led to the win and preparing defenses against the counteroffensive sure to come (i.e., enemy counterattack, competitive adjustments and innovation, or reactionary, divisive fear-based, lie-infested propaganda intended to sink us back down into the authoritarian swamp; and 3) the basic ingredients of civilization must be taught and reinforced constantly with ourselves, our neighbors, and especially our children - and not just by our words but by our actions, the most effective teaching tools existing for the transmission of social grace (civility, compassion, consideration, concerted action, and mutual respect, to name a few).
It is important to rest when we can, to enjoy the progress made but also to recharge and reinvigorate ourselves for the next round of the contest to remain civilized and to consolidate/improve it where and when possible. Our forebears, in body and in spirit, fought for and consolidated these goals in their generation, pledging their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in the effort. No truer words were ever spoken than that the trees of ordered liberty and communitarian (not "communist") life must be refreshed periodically with the "blood" (hard, dedicated efforts) of patriots (believers in the principles and values of democracy, equality, and freedom in the pursuit of happiness).
So, yes - it is time to awaken fully and ready ourselves for this latest round of the fight that is endemic (unfortunately) to the human condition - resistance to the efforts of a minority among us to dominate and eviscerate, if not extinguish the hopes, dreams and efforts of the rest of us in our work to build meaningful, compassionate lives of community and beauty in all of the ways that those goals are made manifest in our lives.
The will to power can be an ugly thing, but especially when its motives are control, avarice, exclusivity of access to resources, disregard for the common good, generally, but especially a selfish willingness to leverage for use in the present the resources that should/must be preserved for future generations.
Every generation faces this challenge. We must not waiver from the difficulties associated with meeting it head-on. If we fail now, it will take a long time to manufacture an opportunity and marshall the energy sufficient to recover what we will lose. Learn, organize, vote, and protect all elements of the voting process itself. As we have learned many times in our history and recently as well - we are the saviors for whom we are waiting. Responsible, organized actions, not wishes, are the indispensable ingredients of success. May we all find and marshall together the energy necessary to meet this threat.
When Thomas Jefferson proclaimed as a “self evident” truth that “all men are created equal”, he uttered the statement of secular faith. Thus the statement takes on a religious connotation of absolutism and in the minds and hearts of believers unquestioned. This becomes a form of mental sleep similar to John’s analogy.
But, history demonstrates that belief in equality is not “self evident”. Neither is belief in “truth”, “justice”, “freedom”, “religious freedom “, or any other of the civic virtues for which we strive.
Civil religion has the same characteristics as commonly understood religion. We have to evangelize not by the sword, but “by their fruits you shall know them.” We must walk the walk if we want our talk to be taken seriously and worthy of following. Faith of any kind without the works to manifest the truth of the faith is mere sleep walking.
“Civil religion”? I find that an oxymoron, but I dig it. Touché’, now I’m woke. 👍
John,
Congratulations on articulating the sad truth. I have thought many times that we were wanting more to “pretend” than to actually “be” who we say we are. I told friends that Polly Anna’s number was:222-222-2late.
And the extreme danger of being drugged into apathy by social media is a plan the vile greedy cancers understand. Of course many of those are rich because of our need to be pacified.
I am impressed with your call to wake up! I am also really really scared……that we are hooked on sleeping pills.
Every front page news that claims to be good journalism should pound the facts FACTS into the open screen of social media. We are terrified!😱
As usual, perfectly said and it makes me want to be better. You’re the angel on my shoulder. I’m awake.
“Sideshow carnival barker”. Best description to date.
Great piece John!!
I’d like to thank you John. I’m an Atheist, musician, self absolved from the fire and brimstone, guilt ridden corridors of contrived religious tenets. I hear your notes, your artistry of the written word makes me happy, optimistic and joyous. For the love of humanity, let’s win this! 🙏❤️