For about the 20th time over the last 6 years, I was again contacted about my political and theological shifts in private messages. Most of this has been in the spirit of “Christian correction” by other Christians who still identify as conservative Trump/GOP supporters. I certainly am not severing my relationships with all conservatives since my husband is still a true conservative. But he, like millions of other conservatives, can no longer give full-throated unconditional support to Donald Trump and the far right wing of the Republican party. He is a Republican, but he is not a MAGA Republican who supports fascism at all costs. This shows one of the many traits of his outstanding integrity and character. He had enough insight to say he was wrong about Trump. The far right wing has ushered in fascism and has been planning this for at least 50 years. This isn’t even most Republicans but MAGA Republicans who refuse to see the evil of pending fascism.
Here is my most recent reply minus the intro to the last correction. You are very correct in that I was a conservative 30 years until the 2015. Being a disability practitioner, I went through a 7-year spontaneous deconstruction starting with the moment Trump mocked the disabled reporter. This has happened to millions of Christians, not just me, and prominent Christian leaders such as Rev. Robert Schenk, Dr. David Gushee, and Bishop John Stowe. From then on, the deconstruction may have started at different points for other conservative Christians, such as the day Trump held up the Bible in front of the Church. Overt unadulterated racism was the first social issue I painfully observed, soon after Trump mocked the disabled reporter. This jolted and shook me like nothing in my life. After reading the Articles of State Succession, better understanding our nation’s history with racism, and even studying my family’s history with the Abolitionist Movement, I realized how wrong I had been to discount and dismiss so many injustices which have been done to people who are not largely (not all) part of the white Christian American church and are still being done today. This goes for a large percentage of White Catholics too (40%), not just Evangelicals. When I say Religious Right, I have been very specific both in my posts and in private messages that this is not just white Christian conservatives only. It’s this group with a complete and total loyalty, strong affiliation with the Republican party and Donald Trump, and trying to elect them at all costs by any unethical means possible, like denying the insurrection as only one of many examples. This has been done even at the cost of oppressing and even discarding other marginalized groups in the name of fruitlessly trying to end abortion. Overturning Roe did not end abortion; it has further endangered lives outside the womb, like the mothers who carry their unborn babies. All of this prepared me for attempted suicides by youth within the disability community as many also identify as LGBTQ+, statistically much more than the general population. As I have always done, I heavily researched the matter and published over 70 articles on the LGBTQIA+ issue in regards to the Sanctity of Life. I then discovered the high correlation between the LGBTQ+ issue and the Autism spectrum, something that I should have been much more aware of much sooner as a disability practitioner. All of this has been very hard on my faith, not because I don’t love the Lord but because I once based my faith too much on my stances regarding abortion and sexuality when there is much much more to being a Christian than this. I will always hold and encourage a life-long monogamous sexual ethic even though I cannot force this on others. There are 2000 Bible verses/Catholic Social Teaching which speak of the poor, the disenfranchised, and the marginalized. If I had not had my eyes opened to social injustices a good five years prior to attempted suicides I encountered in the disability community I dealt with first-hand, I believe catastrophic consequences would have incurred. Every major medical association in the world says acceptance for LGBTQ+ youth is life and death, especially after a suicide attempts are made. I am one of millions of former conservative Christians who has gone through deconstruction. Many authors who are now former conservatives published books, articles, podcasts, and other materials. I have always been a disability advocate. This advocacy has expanded to LGBTQ+ youth and their families because human worth, dignity, and life are more important than secondary matters. I actually know trans youth and their families from good Christian families who are fleeing Texas for their lives because of anti-LGBTQ laws.
If you want to read more about my political and theological shifts, please refer to an early publication of mine here. https://www.faithonview.com/catholic-republican-to-catholic-democrat-which-is-more-pro-life/
I will also refer back to my favorite video from Rev. Jim Wallis. I listed the traits of fascism again below this video.
I believe that the current legislative actions of some far-right Republican politicians (not all) are now falling in alignment with fascism, especially in Texas. According to Encyclopedia Britannica and The Washington Monthly, I close with these primary traits of fascism once again. We are just steps away if not already in a fascist state.
1. sources and capitalizes on economic woes and anxieties
2. shifts political blame on to scapegoat groups like minority groups, the Democrats,
immigrants, and other groups while taking away blame from where it belongs, on the leadership
3. propagates extreme nationalism going hand-in-hand with racism and militarism
4. a melding of church and state when there should be a separation
5. subjugation of women and sexism
6. a disdain for human rights except those of the elite, especially a disdain for those who identify as LGBTQIA+
7. obsession with crime and punishment
8. identification of enemies as a unifying cause for political action
9. disdain for intellectualism, science, history, and the arts
10. control of different types of media, including books
11. rampant cronyism and government corruption
12. attempt to control elections, like through voter suppression
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