The Righteous, Violently Revolting

I AWAKENED THIS MORNING determined to turn every living moment into a moment of pure joy, even before I realized that in order to do that, that first cup of coffee would have to manifest. But the thought remained, which is why it becomes rather dificult to broach the topic weighing of me, for it is not joyful. For years the phenomenon of Donald Trump's political popularity has engaged and perplexed me, particularly so now that he appears to be on his way to either being once again elected president, or to once again losing a close presidential election, and then doing..who knows what? Claiming it was stolen, and inciting a violent insurrection, again? I call everyone's attention to the following fact, which is of paramount importance: the insurrection of January 6, 2021, the one Trump and his cult would either rather pretend did not happen or distort, was, to a large degree, an evangelical Christian led event. Just as Trump's support community is largely evangelical Christian, so was his insurrection. Indeed, so was his entire scheme to steal the presidency from Biden. Spearheaded, promulgated, arranged and orchestrated and perpetrated by...a violent mob of conservative evangelical Christians. At the United States Capitol building on that fateful day, the parking lots, the corridors, were filled with Christian flags, and American flags with crosses superimposed on them. Flags, proclaiming patriotism, love, and loyalty, to America, and to Jesus. They had their flags, Bibles, and assault rifles. Prayer groups broke out all over the parking lot that day. Groups of kneeling, praying, evangelical, violent, well armed revolutionaries, determined to overthrow the United States government. Not only should this salient, relevant fact be included in the eventual history books, but it should be widely acknowledged and discussed now, as we approach another presidential election. Especially since the Trump base of support for the 2024 election is, by all accounts, essentially the same people who have supported him and tried to overthrow the government with him since his entry into politics in 2015. Trump hasn't changed and neither have his supporters. If anything, they are more zealous in their support, and more angry about the fictional stolen election which clouds their thinking and behavior. And if Trump does indeed lose again, and once again tries his violent insurrection strategy, we can be sure that the evangelicals will once again serve as his storm troopers. It has been documented that extreme right wing evangelical Christianity, the bulwark of Trump support, is declining in membership, perhaps partly because of Trump. It may be, indeed it seems as if there is a certain segment of the evangelical ommunity which, at long last, got fed up with Trump's unrepentant sinning and criminality, and have flown the coop, leaving the church, and, to some extent, Trump. Trump does not have to attend church, or behave like anyting remotely resembling a decent person to retain the political support of most devout American Christians, tragically. He need merely give lip service to their greatest concerns, and they will stay on board with his racist anti-immigrant, white Christian nationalism, values which they share. I fully intend to persist in my determination to make every moment in life joyful, no matter who gets elected president, even if Trump wins. It'll be a challenge, but I think I'm up to it.