Finding Our Cultural Roots

"WHITE NATIONALISM" and "White Supremacy" are two terms which, owing to regrettable social trends, are being thrown around often and loosely these days. There is also, perhaps confusingly, something called "Christian nationalism" - whole books have been written about it - and lest we leave it to others to elucidate, let us acknowledge an even broader category: "white Christian nationalism". If one wanted to wax especially, verbosely descriptive, one might add the term "conservative Republican" to the mix, and still be describing a rather large segment of American society. For it is from within the generally conservative community that all the above derive. When you see the gangs of swastika swaggering skin heads on TV, you might wonder whether they can possibly call themselves "Christians", but rest assured many if not most of them if not nearly all of them do, whether or not they can. Warriors for Christ, KKK style, ready to fight and die for race, God and country. You just don't see very many right wing extremist para military atheist or Zen groups in America. The way it works now, when we talk about extreme right wing folks, we are talking about them politically and religiously. Extreme conservatism in those areas are "joined at the hip" in America, among those who venerate tradition, and fear and resist change. Many seem to assume that evangelical Christianity and right wing political beliefs go together inherently, naturally, which of course is sheer nonsense. In point of fact, modern political and economic conservatism is directly opposed to the teaching of the Christian faith, or at least that part of it attrituble to Jesus. It is from within this community that support for Trump almost exclusively emerges. The fiercely patriotic, fiercely religious ilk, who feel fervently that America was once great, no longer is, but can and must be made great again, and, in point of fact, already has been, simply because Trump has been in office for over two years, and now the task is to "keep" America great. Christers for country, race, and Trump. Bear in mind that on a pleasant evening in 1843, about half of the American population, having sold everything, stood atop hills all across the fruited plain, Millerites, awaiting the rapture. it never happened, they tried it again a year later, and again, nothing. Same old mysterious God. Nor that in 1938, Orson Welles had us all convinced that Martians had invaded. That is the cultural context within which we operate, for lack of any alternative. One can begin to understand American politics and culture a bit by bearing in mind that in the United States of Amazement, the same people who still support Trump tend to believe, for the most part, that the world needs to end soon, because its supposed to, and that the MAGA movement is the perfect vehicle with which to usher in our prophesied thus necessary end.