What Next?

I’m writing this, when it looks as if Trump is going to be the next president of the United States. I am going to let this remain a very raw piece. It’s not going to be highly edited or polished. I am not going to include all the normal links I usually add, because, at this point, why? If people dispute what I have to say, they can read many of my other posts, which has the links, if they need to do so, or they can do their own research. It seems to me, those who doubt what I say, and what I fear will happen next, will not be persuaded. Call it confirmation bias, willful ignorance, or outright diabolical intent, it seems so many people want to ignore what Trump and his allies have promised.

So, what exactly can I say? What can anyone say? 2016 was bad, but I fear, if even half of the plans which Trump and his allies have proposed are put into effect, the United States as I knew it is gone. People need to prepare for what is to come, and they need to do it before January. If they have not already done so, they need to find out what Trump plans to do and how that can and will affect them, from seniors who are living on Social Security and Medicare, to new college graduates with loans they cannot pay off:  they need to realize, when Trump’s plans are put into effect, no one is going to come to their aid. The people Trump said he will give power and authority to, such as Robert F Kennedy Jr and Elon Musk, are going to do everything they can to dismantle the system, from health care (and vaccinations) to worker’s rights and even free speech. Putin, as well as Netanyahu, will get what they want from the United States, that is, the freedom to expand and destroy any and all who resist their expansions. It’s not going to be pretty.

It feels like there has been a great delusion upon the land to allow this to happen. A delusion helped by the media, and certainly, aided by big-tech oligarchs, but also helped by many Christians, Christians who have shown little to no care for what Christ taught in the Gospels. Instead, they care about culture wars and the assumption of power (giving in to the temptation which Jesus rejected).

What’s next? There will be many more Christians joining in with the Christian nationalists. Christians who follow the social justice promoted by Scripture and the Christian tradition are going to experience betrayal after betrayal by their fellow Christians, and, if things get as bad as it has in other countries, such betrayal will lead many to their own death and destruction. We certainly see  how many so-called pro-life Christians who said that once abortion was no longer an issue that they would engage social justice and help the families in need do nothing for such families, do nothing for the poor, but rather, the reverse. They have helped promote attacks on the poor and needy, those who cannot afford to have children or who cannot find jobs which promote a living wage. As such, the so-called pro-life Christians are not going to come to the rescue of those in need, as the promised, but they are going to get worse, as they will continue to promote and accept the anti-Christian ideologies which lie behind Christian nationalism (talk about identity politics!). Women, certainly, are going to suffer a great deal, but like in right-wing Islamic countries, they are going to be told the rules are for their own good, their own protection (and yes, this will including many women losing lives due to improper medical care, but that is just the start; it will likely include changes in their role in society and what they are allowed to do, as many Christian nationalists want women out of the work force, and no longer having any political power or authority).

What’s next? What’s really next? All we have now are what those who backed Trump have told us the plan to do. Will they get all their wishes? Probably not.  They are sell-outs of the Christian faith. They will go along way for wealth and power.  But they will get much of what they want. We must prepare for the worst, and if that means, when those of us, Christians and otherwise, who support and promote social justice see the erosion of basic rights in the United States, we can’t stand idle and do nothing. We must get out and publicly defend those rights. We must let go of fear and do what is right.

Many things seem to be  done deal. We have seen the start of anti-vaccine policies (with a few places already banning people from receiving COVID vaccination!); we have seen the start of the attack on the poor and needy (remember work requirements for health care? in the end, it might just be work requirements for staying out of prison, if, again, some get their wish). Yes, I know, some readers will say I am being an alarmist. They think nothing bad will happen. But what we saw under Trump the last time he was in office should show us that bad things happen due to his policies, as can be seen, not only in the way he handled COVID, but also in the way he demolished supply chains even before COVID arose.  If I am wrong, and I am being foolish, it is not because the backers behind Trump won’t come out trying to do all they planned, all they have told us they want to do; it will be because they are stopped one way or another.

Are we, Christians, ready for what is coming? Are we ready for the possibility Trump will round up millions, as he promised to do? Are we ready to speak up against that kind of cruelty? I fear we are not. We have seen, once again, the comparative silence, or worse, the outright support such a plan by many Christians. We cannot expect Christians to do the right thing. We can expect some will, but those of us who will, should not expect their fellow Christians to come to their aid if they become targets from the government or those who support such inhumane measures. After all, how many are helping those who have been arrested merely because they have fed the homeless, or given aid to migrants? But, thankfully, our hope is not in them, it is in Christ, and it is that hope which we must pick up and engage. It means we must follow the example of Christians in the first few centuries of the church, just as we must follow the example of those few who actively resisted Hitler in Germany. We must be willing to fight with our last breathe for what is just and right. We must be prepared. We must be willing to help those who need help. We must speak up on those who will be dehumanized. We must do what we can to resist the evil which lies ahead of us. There is a great delusion upon the land. We must do what we can to dispel it. But until it is, we must expect much pain, much sorrow, much grief, much hatred, knowing that we must push on through it all, not only for our own sake, but for the sake of the future of the world.

This Is XXV Of My Personal Reflections And Speculations Series

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N.B.:  While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.