The unceasing message of Donald Trump was based on nativism, authoritarianism,
misogyny, and racism. It was designed to strike fear into the hearts of the vulnerable, the weak, and,
above all, the many varieties of Other whom he has so deeply insulted: The
African-American Other; The Hispanic Other; The female Other; The Jewish and
Muslim Other. This repeated mantra of fear, anger, hatred, separateness,
and nativism, as well as the concerted effort to focus those dark energies on
Obama then Clinton and all Democrats has worked.
There were – surprising to all of us (Republicans as well as
Democrats) – half the voting population that were receptive to that message.
Donald Trump was not surprising, when I look back on it. He was simply the
media-savvy face of this repeated intolerant, angry mantra of the Conservative
Right and the Alt-Right media. Christian ministers preached not from the words
of Jesus, nor from the New Testament, but from the severe, pedantic legalities
of the Old Testament priesthood. [I
discuss this in my book, How the Bible became the Bible, Infinity Publishing,
ISBN: 978-0-7414-2993-3 ] In doing so these ministers complemented the tone
of the Alt-Right.
During the campaign, while Hillary and her many messengers
spoke TO that fear and spoke ABOUT that fear, Trump and his
minions spoke the language OF that fear, anger and hatred. That
resonated in a visceral way with the “left-behind” that none of us
comprehended. It solidified the promise of votes for him, regardless of his
vitriolic campaign and message.
I am reminded of the words of European theologians in the
1930s that the way to allow dark, hateful energy to get a stranglehold on a
nation is for men and women of good will to say and do nothing. That has seemed
to be the position of moderate and responsible conservative politicians and
leaders. It was also stated that the national longing and rise in authoritarian
leadership was not because fascism was so strong, but because concepts of and
participation in equality, dignity, civility and democracy were so weak.
I must remember, without glossing over the seriousness of
the Republican rhetoric – epitomized by Trump – that I must strive for control
over my response to my experience of the events that have happened – not for
control over the events, themselves.
Yes, the election is over – and those of us who were
appalled by Mr. Trump’s rhetoric, are saddened, frustrated, disheartened and
feeling hopeless,
But now our job is to allow our light to shine. We
must accept what has happened, understanding the real meaning of acceptance: Awareness without fear. We will not
condone what Donald Trump has nurtured and unleashed for votes. We will not
condone the silence of what Republican leadership has (or has not) done for the
sake of winning. We are aware, but not from a position of fear and anger. For
example, you can go to the Southern Poverty Law Center and sign the petition
they are circulating, asking Mr. Trump to disavow all hate groups and promising
not to assign any of his Alt-Right campaign advisors to positions in his
administration: [Tell Donald Trump to honor his pledge to America by
signing our petition today.
However, the danger we must all guard against
is the truism that nothing will cover up and engulf our spiritual light more
quickly and easily than flooding our Spirit with our own egoic anger and
fear.
As I’ve
stated before, “I have to understand, on a visceral level, who the “Me” or “I”
really is when I am speaking or thinking. The “I” that says to myself, “I
really need a newer, more reliable car” is a different “I” than the one that
says to Spirit, “I can’t do this anymore; help me perceive things the way You
see them.”
Although these messages are mostly for me,
thanks for listening to me and getting to know me – warts and all. As always,
feel free to forward this message to your friends, family, and those
accompanying you on your spiritual journey.
Don
#2 Nov 2016
Copyright 2016
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