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<\/a>I see a small, clammy hand,
\nGrasping after the world.
\nMy country, pounded in sand:
\nAs the oligarchs are thrilled.<\/p>\n
My ancestors died,
\nTo give us liberty,
\nThe pilgrims\u2019s pride,
\nNow undermined bitterly.<\/p>\n
Every mountainside,
\nFree to be demolished.
\nAs we see the rising tide,
\nWhich should be admonished.<\/p>\n
Once I could love,
\nThe rocks and rills,
\nWith birds soaring above,
\nThy woods and hills.<\/p>\n
Let us all awake,
\nLet the silence break!
\nDirty air we will partake,
\nClean water, we will forsake.<\/p>\n
God, it is to thee,
\nWe must go and pray.
\nWhere is the liberty,
\nThat we had just yesterday?<\/p>\n
It is done. Whether or not Trump<\/a> has indicated Musk<\/a> helped him steal the election, it is done. He has once again been given power, and this time he plans to let nothing and nobody stop him and his nihilistic<\/a> agenda. His cold, clammy hand reaches across the country, taking in all that it can in the last moments of his life.<\/p>\n Christians have helped put him in place. Christians who have long said they stand for Christian principles, that the country they live in should reflect upon and embrace those principles, now stand for a man who promotes policies contrary to them<\/a>. They show what their real principles are, and how much they use Christ for their own goals instead of following him for their own. For, no matter how often Trump<\/a> reveals himself to live a life as far from Christ as fire is from water, the same Christians demanding the United States to once again be known as a Christian country stand with Trump instead of Christ. Trump, who once boasted of his appearance in Playboy<\/a>, who has had multiple wives<\/a> (and mistresses<\/a>), is the man who has made it clear he should do whatever he wants, and that no one, especially the law, should have no ability to stop him. Haw lawless does he have to be for Christians not to see him for what he stands for? He thinks he is great, and that everyone, including God, should look up to him. He has made it clear that he believes he has never done anything wrong, \u00a0at least anything which needs forgiveness and grace<\/a>. Indeed, he thinks Christ, and therefore Christians, need him and whatever he graciously offers them. If they don\u2019t keep in his good graces, they will be punished. Surely, there must be something which Trump does which makes so many Christians look up to him? Is it that he promises to fulfill their deepest, darkest desires, to let their hate against others have the power it needs to be an active force in the world? Surely, Christians should be able to see through this? Shouldn\u2019t they see the Satanic bargain Trump is making to them and their country?<\/p>\n What\u2019s that I hear? Is that the threat of churches being raided<\/a> because they have given food and shelter to immigrants and the homeless? Is that Trump going boldly into a church, clearing it out of the Christians<\/a>, so that he can be elevated on top of everyone else?<\/p>\n While I have been seeing the rise of the spirit of the anti-Christ coming from within Christian communities for\u00a0 many years, I still am perplexed at how many have bent their knee to Trump and all that he intends to do. How can Cardinal Dolan<\/a> promote and support him, after all that Trump has said he plans to do? How can so many churches, Catholic and otherwise, be so quiet when their very liberty is put at threat by Trump, as he makes it clear, they must follow him and his agenda or else face his ire?<\/p>\n Too many have been quiet. Too many have given up.\u00a0 It is not time to give up. It is never time to give up. Vladimir Solovyov, in his own short story of the anti-Christ<\/a>, warns us that the spirit of the anti-Christ can truly divide Christians, but he also suggested, those who stand against that spirit can find themselves, in their ecumenical<\/a> action, drawing together, realizing the unity and love which they should have. There is, therefore, the potential for something good to come out of this, but it is a good which Christians should have pursued, without the need at coming at such a great price.<\/p>\n In talking about the spirit of the anti-Christ<\/a>, hopefully, I am making it clear we do not have to believe that Trump is the eschatological anti-Christ expected to appear at the end of time. Rather, he and his agenda can be seen to foreshadow the eschatological crisis to come. \u00a0Trump, with his sadistic, power-mad, desire to dominate and control the world<\/a>, has let his inner demons free, and those who have not given in or seduced with the delusion which lies before us can see the terrible struggle we face in the present moment. However, we must do so carefully. \u00a0It is important to remember that spiritual masters constantly have told us not to directly engage demonic<\/a> powers and attitudes, that we must not listen to or believe anything they have to say. For those powers will try to say and do anything to deceive us, hoping to find a way to put us under their power. It is imperative, therefore, that we must stand strong and firm in the truth<\/a>, the truth found in the midst of love<\/a> \u2013 and use it as our defense against the lie which is spread by Trump and his followers. If we misunderstand the situation we are in and try to constantly argue with those who have been taken in by Trump and his diabolic agenda, it is like listening to demons, acting as if their point of view has something valid to it.<\/p>\n We can\u2019t treat our current situation as normal, for, if we are watching, we can see that Trump and his followers are not. How many executive orders<\/a> does he have to make before we realize this? For the sake of our country and our world, we must never give up, never give in. We must form communities which can and will help those threatened by Trump and his policies. We must work to free the country we live in from the delusion which has taken over. We must not give up hope. For, as long as we live, so long as we resist, as long we do not give in to the lie, we can hope and believe that the truth will have the final victory, and we shall share in the joy which that victory \u00a0will bring.<\/p>\n * This Is Part XXXVII Of My Personal Reflections And Speculations Series<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n