Hopefully I’ve established a model of clarity and acuity for things of this world. It’s not a question of objective truth; it’s a question of avoiding the trap of sloppy thinking that makes propaganda work to manipulate behavior. I’m trying to cut you loose from the mental chains so you can decide who you are and what your narrative will be in the Lord. You need to know your own story as told by your heart to your mind.
Let me assure you: If you can seize upon the heart-led way of living, your prayers for divine wisdom about the world around you will be granted. You will know your story and what it demands of you. You will find a way to tell that story and God will use it to reveal His glory to others. Believe it.
My head is exploding these past few weeks. Not in the sense of encountering things that seem impossible and intolerable, but in the sense that my brain is making huge leaps of understanding about my mission and what I have to know to engage that calling. The paradox is that, the more I grasp, the more I realize what I don’t grasp. If the truth does not make you fall on your face, then you didn’t get much truth. Divine revelation always fills you with humility and self-cynicism. On the one hand you are bursting with a message; on the other hand you are hesitant to say much because you don’t want to mislead anyone.
I have to tell my story; take it with a grain of salt. See it as just my narrative, a model for your consideration. You have to know your own story; notice the paradox of faith and assurance woven in with self-doubt.
Observe the current US political scene. Has anyone noticed how those who accuse their opponents of being like Nazis are themselves acting like violent storm troopers? Who is being hateful and destroying property? I said we would have fascism under Trump’s presidency, but I didn’t realize it would be embraced by his opponents. The pattern has been set and we should expect more of it, to the point we would call it “terrorism.”
But it’s not as if Trump’s constituency is all goody-two-shoes. Rather, they are better organized and trained. Not trained by Trump and his staff, but they bring the training with them. They are out for vengeance, but they generally refuse to ape the violence and destruction of their opponents. Nor do they act at Trump’s command; they were ready to act a long time ago. Trump’s ascension gives them permission and the hope of succeeding at what they always wanted to do. Some of it will be very ugly.
For example, this is the first time the Washington DC police and prosecutors have used felony charges on rioters. Some 200 protesters were kettled into a small area and arrested en masse. And instead of being charged as a nuisance, they are looking at ten years confinement and $25K fines. Some are clearly innocent, but even the standard lefty lawyers stepping up to defend them are shocked. Trump didn’t tell anyone to do that; he created an atmosphere that leads to such things by uncorking the long simmering anger of folks who got rubbed raw by political correctness.
There are plenty of things Trump will do himself, but I’d suggest that you won’t really understand what’s happening if that’s all you notice. Look at what his constituency, the majority-in-effect are doing. He’ll try to defund various government institutions that have traditionally been run by and for leftist causes. His followers will sneak around by the “back doors” and cripple the leftist activists in other ways. I suspect you won’t see storm trooper violence from the Trumpites, but you’ll see a very determined and organized shredding of leftist institutions. Think of all the things these institutions rest on, what makes them go. On the front side, there will be the propaganda war that discredits the mainstream media support for the left. The Trumpites are using social media and independent news sources and making sure their fortunes rise. But behind the scenes, you’ll hear about hacking of lefty organizations, doxing their leaders, exposing the funding sources, and provoking local governments to basically make leftist activism illegal.
Look for incumbent Democratic leaders in Congress to start losing elections back home. Look for counter-boycotts, where the Trumpites start buying lots of stuff from targets of lefty boycotts. Look for counter-demonstrations using surprise techniques to basically make demonstrations pointless. For example, try to picture a large formation of unmuffled Harley Davidson motorcycles revving their engines in unison right next to a noisy crowd of chanting SJWs. And Trump’s constant lavish courtship of law enforcement will provoke them the same as we saw with the DC metro PD recently. Do you remember when the IRS was used to persecute and hinder the Tea Party movement? Donors are also very vulnerable. The IRS has shown themselves willing to obey the will of whomever is President.
Look for vengeance. Not just the revenge of those who might be somewhat justified in crushing past abusers, but this right-wing backlash will bring out all kinds of old scores to settle, some from way out on the fringes. It’s not pretty no matter who the victims are. As I said before, a lot of decent folks get hurt in political games like this, regardless what side of the street they stand on.
What will I do? I’ll give you an example: In times past, my computer ministry saw me helping a lot of right-wingers who felt oppressed. That’s who called on me. If now the oppressed lefties start asking for help, I’ll be there for them. We all gain from better computer security because computers and the Network are politically agnostic. We are called to render aid to the oppressed, and there’s an awful lot of decent people on both sides.
