Trying to gauge what is happening in our country right now is dicey stuff. \u00a0In cyberspace,\u00a0what I\u2019m seeing from the winners is an idea-free \u201cF\u2014 you. Now you sons are bitches are going to pay\u201d. It\u2019s all about revenge, payback, and evening the score with whoever the culture war enemy is. There is a curious inability to grasp that they are the winners and a tendency to whipsaw between the narrative of past perceived slights and oppression and glee over a newfound sense of power (all, of course, channeled through the hands of the Dear Leader, since the voters have no more power now than they did before.) General tenor: He will set things right. He will destroy the Sons of Darkness.<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m seeing from the losers in cyberspace is a mixture of fear, shock, amazement, contempt, defiance and a sort of \u201cWe are trapped in room with these people and they have knives and are muttering about revenge, so let\u2019s try to speak in an even voice and not do anything to set them off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two Americas woke up in the same bed on November 9 and are trying to figure out if they can make it work for the sake of the children and if hubby will sober up and not start beating the wife. The wife is already taking to the streets to burn her bra and tell the world that her husband is a louse. \u00a0We\u2019ll see if that cools down into intelligent resistance to the various terrible ideas Trump has proposed or if it snowballs into stupid counter-productive violence. \u00a0I\u2019m all for peaceful protest, which is as American as apple pie. \u00a0But if the anti-Trumpers start shooting or looting, they are no different in my eyes than the goons who were threatening to open fire if Trump lost.<\/p>\n
On the bright side, Trump and Clinton (and Obama) have all given genuinely conciliatory speeches and are trying to get people to work toward some kind of common good. \u00a0The standard Trump sets for his followers, in particular, will mean a lot and I\u2019m grateful that he seems to be off to a good start in that regard.<\/p>\n
My own approach is, as near as I can do it, modeled on St. Paul\u2019s advice: \u201d<\/p>\n
If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, \u201cVengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.\u201d .No, \u201cif your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.\u201d Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.\u00a0(Ro 12:18\u201321).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This means, among other things, meeting the gloaters and the hate-filled winners with \u201cCongratulations! \u00a0You won! \u00a0Be happy! \u00a0Why are you still so angry?\u201d \u00a0This I\u2019ve already had opportunity to do on a few occasions from people calling from expulsion from the Church and America as they feel their oats.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, it means saying to protesters, \u201cKnock yourself out objecting to Trump, but keep it peaceful.\u201d \u00a0Above all, it means, \u201cOvercome evil with good.\u201d \u00a0Bless those who curse you. \u00a0Do good to those who do evil to you. \u00a0If they are horrible, be better than them.<\/p>\n
One of the contretemps now facing those of us on the losing side of this contest is what we should wish for Trump. \u00a0It\u2019s rather like what confronted conservatives in 2008 and turned their blood to gall for eight years. \u00a0The wrong approach was taken\u00a0by Rush Limbaugh (and almost the entirety of the rest of the Right) when he said of Obama, \u201cI hope he fails.\u201d \u00a0I think that wish is the cardinal mistake the madhouse of conservatism made. \u00a0It led to a revanchist, obstructionist hatred of Obama that \u00a0it has still not overcome. \u00a0If Obama says it or does it, Good Conservatives and Christians hate it and him and always look for some way to put the darkest construction on it. \u00a0The itching, thirsty need to hate Obama with all one\u2019s heart, soul, mind and strength and to hate those who do not hate Obama as one hates Obama has led to the curious situation where any attempt to extend Christian charity to the man place you under suspicion that you are not really a Christian. That will .poison our politics even more if the Left embraces it too. \u00a0Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n
Scripture warns that one of the works of the flesh is \u201cparty spirit\u201d (Galatians 5:20). \u00a0In the Church, that spirit is the engine of heresy and schism. \u00a0In the life of nations, it is, when swollen and inflamed as it is now, a disease that can cause fools to cease caring that the ship is sinking just so long as they can bury their sword in one more crewmate\u2019s guts before they all drown. \u00a0Vengeance becomes more important than the common good.<\/p>\n
Now it is perfectly true that, in the words of Lydia McGrew, \u201cTrump doesn\u2019t cease to be a despicable buffoon and scoundrel just because he won, and I don\u2019t believe Christians are obligated to stop saying so.\u201d Indeed, if Trump performs as badly as prudence shouts he is going to, it will often be our Christian duty to protest the evils he means to do.<\/p>\n
But that cannot be where we start. \u00a0You don\u2019t begin a quest for the common good by putting up your dukes and pledging to deny that we have anything in common. \u00a0Do we have every reason to think Trump will make a complete dog\u2019s breakfast of the common good? \u00a0Of course. \u00a0But the command is to wise as serpents and innocent as doves. \u00a0Be prepared for the worst, but hope for something better. \u00a0And when some good is done\u2013like f\u2019rinstance his concilatory acceptance speech\u2013be glad about it. \u00a0Don\u2019t eager look for ways to see evil in it. \u00a0This is great evil to our civic culture that the Right\u2019s obsession with Obama hatred has done. \u00a0It has borne out the truth of what C.S. Lewis warned of when he wrote during WWII:<\/p>\n
Suppose one reads a story of filthy atrocities in the paper. Then suppose that something turns up suggesting that the story might not be quite true, or not quite so bad as it was made out. Is one\u2019s first feeling, \u2018Thank God, even they aren\u2019t quite so bad as that,\u2019 or is it a feeling of disappointment, and even a determination to cling to the first story for the sheer pleasure of thinking your enemies are as bad as possible? If it is the second then it is, I am afraid, the first step in a process which, if followed to the end, will make us into devils. You see, one is beginning to wish that black was a little blacker. If we give that wish its head, later on we shall wish to see grey as black, and then to see white itself as black. Finally we shall insist on seeing everything \u2014 God and our friends and ourselves included \u2014 as bad, and not be able to stop doing it: we shall be fixed for ever in a universe of pure hatred.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If we go that route, we may well get what we want: our enemies severed head raised in triumph, followed immediately by the icy cold of the ship of state disappearing beneath the waves under our feet. Our goal is the Common Good, not the exaltation of party spirit over all. Love your enemies.<\/p>\n
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
\n\u201cMay they prosper who love you!
\nPeace be within your walls,
\nand security within your towers!\u201d
\nFor my brethren and companions\u2019 sake
\nI will say, \u201cPeace be within you!\u201d
\nFor the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
\nI will seek your good.\u00a0(Ps 122:6\u20139).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trying to gauge what is happening in our country right now is dicey stuff. \u00a0In cyberspace,\u00a0what I\u2019m seeing from the winners is an idea-free \u201cF\u2014 you. Now you sons are bitches are going to pay\u201d. It\u2019s all about revenge, payback, and evening the score with whoever the culture war enemy is. There is a curious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[848],"class_list":["post-98006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-love-your-enemies"],"yoast_head":"\n
Strange Times Ahead<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trying to gauge what is happening in our country right now is dicey stuff. \u00a0In cyberspace,\u00a0what I'm seeing from the winners is an idea-free "F--- you. Now\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Strange Times Ahead\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Trying to gauge what is happening in our country right now is dicey stuff. \u00a0In cyberspace,\u00a0what I'm seeing from the winners is an idea-free "F--- you. Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-11T07:17:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-11T02:22:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html\",\"name\":\"Strange Times Ahead\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-11T07:17:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-11T02:22:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\"},\"description\":\"Trying to gauge what is happening in our country right now is dicey stuff. \u00a0In cyberspace,\u00a0what I'm seeing from the winners is an idea-free \\\"F--- you. Now\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Strange Times Ahead\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\",\"description\":\"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\",\"name\":\"Mark Shea\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Shea\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Strange Times Ahead","description":"Trying to gauge what is happening in our country right now is dicey stuff. \u00a0In cyberspace,\u00a0what I'm seeing from the winners is an idea-free \"F--- you. Now","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Strange Times Ahead","og_description":"Trying to gauge what is happening in our country right now is dicey stuff. \u00a0In cyberspace,\u00a0what I'm seeing from the winners is an idea-free \"F--- you. Now","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html","og_site_name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","article_published_time":"2016-11-11T07:17:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-11-11T02:22:10+00:00","author":"Mark Shea","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Shea","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html","name":"Strange Times Ahead","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-11-11T07:17:10+00:00","dateModified":"2016-11-11T02:22:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5"},"description":"Trying to gauge what is happening in our country right now is dicey stuff. \u00a0In cyberspace,\u00a0what I'm seeing from the winners is an idea-free \"F--- you. Now","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2016\/11\/strange-times-ahead.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Strange Times Ahead"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/","name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","description":"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5","name":"Mark Shea","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Shea"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98006\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}