Most of you probably don’t have the time to read something like this, but I highly recommend this analysis of our current political situation. The author explains the background of political tension better than anything else I’ve seen in quite a while.
This is our revolution: Because a majority of Americans now no longer share basic sympathies and trust, because they no longer regard each other as worthy of equal consideration, the public and private practices that once had made our Republic are now beyond reasonable hope of restoration. Strife can only mount until some new equilibrium among us arises….
The logic is rooted in disdain, but not so much of any of the supposed inferiors’ features or habits. If it were, the deplored could change their status by improving. But the Progressives deplore the “deplorables” not to improve them, but to feel good about themselves. Hating people for what they are and because it feels good to hate them, is hate in its unalloyed form.
This is something built into our culture. Our American intellectual tradition of believing in objective truth is the root of this spite, and it infects both left and right. This is not like God at all; it’s contrary to the underlying assumptions of divine revelation. In our fallen state, we cannot afford to imagine that any particular agenda is morally superior. Revelation teaches us that politics is just a means to living together and making the most of our fallen condition. The mythology of objective truth yields an inevitable failure against what God had in mind.
Historically here in the US, the turning point for the current generation of citizens was the debacle of the 2008 financial crisis.
The 2008 financial crisis sparked an incipient revolution. Previously, Americans dissatisfied with their Progressive rulers had imagined that voting for Republicans might counter them. But then, as three-fourths of Americans opposed bailing out big banks with nearly a trillion dollars, the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates joined; most Republican legislators joined all Democrats; The Wall Street Journal joined The New York Times, and National Review joined The Nation; in telling Americans that doing this was essential, and that their disapproval counted for nothing. And then, just as high-handedly, all these bipartisan rulers dropped that bailout scheme, and adopted another—just as unaccountably. They showed “government by the people, for the people” to be a fable.
Notice something here: The only reason Trump has any traction is because he has managed to convinced a bare majority of voters, a mere majority-in-effect, that he is not a part of that ruling elite. His support will evaporate the minute he fails to convince his constituency that he represents their interests. Furthermore, this undercurrent of revolution against the political elite is what makes things likely to turn to bloodshed. Despite all the efforts by Trump and the Q army to create a doctrine of non-violence, it is only a thin barrier that will eventually break as the undercurrent of violence gets stronger on both sides.
Also, please note that in the linked article, the author equates “Progressive” with a particular agenda. This is wrong; it is a style of politics, not particular to a left or right agenda. It is elitism under another name. The agenda of progressivism is elitist to the core, and it characterizes both left and right in American politics. Whether the population is consciously aware of it or not, this is the reason for a violent undercurrent in our current crisis. The progressive approach breeds mutual contempt, and it was the elite who drew first blood. They started this crap.
Now we see a situation where the revolution that Trump has pushed forward may well now run off without him. If there are no arrests of globalists during November, the patriot army that Q has tried to organize will turn into a lynch mob. As I have noted in the past, it isn’t what Trump himself does that will change our future; it’s what his election has done to breathe life into a demand for relief from elitist tyranny. Whichever way the elections go in the future, that demand will only grow.
The greatest danger for you and I, Brothers and Sisters, is that we will not see these things as they are in moral terms. The spirit of what family should be, united despite differences in agenda, is simply not possible as an element in US politics because it is missing from the intellectual assumptions about reality. We have to rebuild the intellectual assumptions of a far more ancient place and time in order to move forward as a body of believers. We must understand that our world is fallen, and that political outcomes means nothing if we aren’t focused on shalom and the ultimate goal of social stability. We must understand that the priority is unity, not uniformity.
This calls for shepherds who understand that some will always demand things not in their best interest, and that to some degree, they should be allowed to choose such things. There is a whole range of leadership thinking arising from the heart-led way that counts on moral volition. Sheep are led by the shepherd’s movements and voice, not by coercion. That’s how our Lord leads us.
That article was well-written. I read a little…will do a good sit-down read with it tomorrow.