I Dreamed I Was Dreaming

I dreamed I was dreaming when an unscrupulous, misogynistic, billionaire reality tv star announced his candidacy for the presidency. That couldn’t possibly be true.

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump selected Mike Pence as his running mate after I had just watched Mr. Pence severely damage Indiana’s public education and bring a cloud of shame over the Hoosier state with his bigoted anti-LGBTQ agenda. I cringed as I saw so many conservative Christians from my state hold Pence up as a shining example of a Christian, even as he was attempting to stomp on the rights of so many of our brothers and sisters.

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump became the GOP frontrunner. How could so many people not see through the fraud?

I dreamed I was dreaming as the votes were coming in. Hillary was mounting a big lead, but not on the electoral map. How could so much empty space hold so much power? It simply made no sense.

I dreamed I was dreaming when the map kept turning red. This could not possibly be happening.

I dreamed I was dreaming when it became abundantly clear that millions of Christian voters will vote for absolutely anyone so long as they claim to be anti-abortion…even a man who’s more than likely been personally responsible for multiple abortions.

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump took the oath of office. This is bizarro world.

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump boasted of the largest inauguration crowds ever when anyone with eyes could see that wasn’t true.

I dreamed I was dreaming when I watched Trump and his legion of Christian supporters belittling some football players for their peaceful and respectful protests against inequitable treatment by the legal system in minority communities across America. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I saw so many Christians supporting Trump’s callous calls to fire those entitled “sons of bitches.”

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump came to the defense of white supremacists in Charlottesville. How could the leader of the free world be so blatantly shallow and insensitive in the face of pure evil?

I dreamed I was dreaming each time I saw the president take to Twitter to belittle and attack so many of the very citizens he was sworn to serve.

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump continued to push for an exorbitantly expensive yet worthless border wall.

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump began separating asylum-seeking families and holding small children in detention camps where reports began pouring out about the awful conditions, treatment, even abuse and rape occurring in them. All the while, I was aghast to scan social media looking for the Christian Right to stand up against these atrocities, but discovering only more blind allegiance.

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump boasted of big tax cuts which turned out only to help the mega-wealthy, thus exacerbating the already enormous problem of income inequality. I racked my brain trying to find any way such policies could be justified from the perspective of the teachings of Jesus, finding nothing, yet I continued to see the Christian Right singing Trump’s praises for a “robust economy.”

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump selected Betsy DeVos as his Education Secretary. DeVos had no qualifications for the position other than the fact that she was a huge donor to Trump’s campaign and she was on board with the Christian Right’s agenda to destroy public education in favor of private; a plan that is tantamount to a return to the days of segregated schools.

I dreamed I was dreaming when, time and again, Trump refused to address common sense gun control measures even as more and more bodies piled up after each new mass shooting. I watched in horror as the Christian Right refused to get out of bed with the NRA, seemingly without a single thought as to whether a true Christian should actually support the right to own military style rapid-fire-death-spraying-machines.

I dreamed I was dreaming as Trump began to systematically dismantle many of the environmental protections signed into law by his predecessors, thumbing his nose at the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community that human activities are speeding up the process of climate change exponentially. And I am saddened as I watch the Christian Right’s complicity in these shameful practices as they continue to endorse the president and shirk their calling to be good stewards of God’s creation.

I dreamed I was dreaming when the list of lies coming from President Trump grew day by day–each and every day–and my conservative Christian friends were either silent or wrote it off under the time-tested mantra that “all politicians lie.”

I dreamed I was dreaming when Trump’s obvious attempts to use foreign governments to undermine his political enemies finally led to the current House impeachment inquiry. I continue to watch with hope as I have noticed a slight shift with some on the Christian Right who seem to be growing tired of Trump’s act, but I am still greatly concerned that there are still so many Christians who seem hell-bent on going down with this shameful ship.

I dreamed I was dreaming all of this, but I never woke up in relief.

Regretfully, this is all too real.

Now I dream that with the coming fall of the worst regime America has ever seen, healing can begin.

After all, a guy can dream.