Except what you're referring to is neither Christian nor love.
It's vital to distinguish between self-styled "Christian" fundamentalist cults and true traditional Christian religion.
Preachers in the cults answer to none except themselves. Their teachings proceed from defective revelation. Hence the perversions into naked lust for power and money, and deviant sex with gullible adherents.
There's goodies and baddies in all fields of human endeavour. But to confuse and conflate the real Christ Love with literalistic fundamentalist pentecostalism is to play right into the Big Lie.
(Apologies for being confessional. Delete if this is inappropriate.)
I was protesting in Portland in 2017-2020 (with breaks for Covid pre-Brianna Taylor) and I went to Ukraine in 2023 because that was, and for now is, the leading edge of resistance to fascism. But if trump wins I'm not sure I've got it in me for another campaign.
We barely won against the Federal Police, and ultimately that was because they couldn't get a judge to sign off on a full assault, and because trump didn't have the guts to invoke the Riot Act* by himself.
But if he's in power again it's gonna be so much worse. I'm not sure I can do it again. It's going to be so hard to find allies as well. Mistrust and suspicion is already omnipresent and we haven't even got a culture of denunciation yet.
Fingers crossed for Madam President.
*not the exact name, but I can't remember which exactly the militia-types are drooling to see reactivated so they commence their purge. Not Alien and Sedition, though that's on their list too.
I think Kamala will win, but I do worry there will be “shenanigans” between Nov 5 & Jan 6. I pray 🙏 you stay with us. The tide is turning. You are appreciated. After that, I hear you & id leave the country too.
Zac, your confession to us may strengthen other readers as it did me. Thank you. I don't think that you will quit. An anti-fascist such as you, doesn't give up on Democracy for the people.
We are the majority. If Trump wins this election it will be an unstable situation. This is not like last time. They have told us so and we believe it this time. Whether or not you can be active, your presence is necessary as ours is.
I will vote for a President who is open to opposing viewpoints, eg.I am against sending US bombs & money for the bombing of Gaza and Lebanon by ultra-nationalist politicians like Netanyahu for "ethnic cleansing" and "deportation of Palestinians" from Israel. Still I will vote for a sane, person who patiently listens to reason and sees consequences and not a madmen with christian-nationalist dreams of dictatorship
Trying to sort the quotes is senseless - which I take it is the point.
There will always be people who hate and are willing to act on it. The survival of democracy and civil society depends upon the rest of us being informed and active in defense of our civil institutions.
A quaint term, and - concept as well, I agree. In Germany, after WW2, it more or less sprang up, in the West, anyway, once the prominent Nazis were suitably punished and the general population educated about what had actually been done in their names. I have my doubts about something like that happening here. So far, anyway, the DoJ seems hell bent on punishing small fry and letting the big fish go.
There is definitely a sense of civility here in Germany. When driving, the roads are beautifully paved and drivers are courteous. People pass and move to the right, pass and move to the right. If lanes are narrowed and cars have to merge, the use the "zipper" system, each taking their turn. I was in traffic this morning and you did not hear one horn, one vulgar word, yelling, none of it. I think Germany has learned a lot. They had to and with shame, still.
I can’t bear to see Trump’s face, hear his voice, or read any articles about him. While I knew his MSG stint was awful, I was startled by some of the things Prof. Snyder quoted. Startled by the vulgarity, startled by the antisemitism, startled even by the extent of his racism. This is someone whose life has been a complete failure. Squandered the fortune he inherited, failed at all his businesses, failed most of all in his presidency, none of which he earned. And because he is a colossal failure on every level, he’s angry at the whole world. And he’s punitive. He doesn’t care one bit about the Magas, only that they contributed money to him. I’d love for him to be caught on a hot mic saying what he really thinks about the Magas. There’s no love lost there.
Shared on my FB. The Time is now to decide if we want to keep this free, democratic republic in spirit and in word. Please vote to teach history and civics and kindness in our schools. How can that not be important? Essential to a free nation of laws!
The next three months is when we'll find out whether there really exist any somewhat-organized, competent extreme right domestic US terrorist or paramilitary forces of substance (such as existed in Weimer) as could be deputized to assist in large-scale deportation raids, etc. as Prof Snyder suggested in his 10/24 video he emailed yesterday. I doubt they do exist in any effective numbers, and that worst prospects are for isolated, stochastic incidents here & there. Hope I'm right!
I suggest "Bring The War Home" and "Proud Boys and The White Ethnostate" if you want to find the depths of the topic.
Short version: they are legion, organized, prepared and desperate to act. I've faced the Proud Boys and Boogaloo Boys before and though they are despicable they are not a joke.
Sadly FB has gone to the dark side a long time ago. Every post that isn’t pro Trump doesn’t get posted or it gets changed into something pro Trump. We’re down the rabbit hole already 😡😱
He is foul. He brings that character out in some people and yet others admire it. Suckled on hatred. I will go with Peace-Love-Understanding and let’s finally level the playing field so that all Americans new and old old can participate in the promise of our wonderful country. I feel like this is an essay from school which has been written in a variety of forms as long as I can remember. You may say I’m a dreamer but I am not the only one.
Here is the description Bitecofer gives of the podcast:
“Today’s pod is with Rachel Maddow producer and editor of Maddow Blog Steve Benen and his important new book Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republican’’ War on the Recent Reality.
Benen’s important book documents how Republicans managed how to rewrite the history of recent events like January 6th and COVID to make millions of people believe in a false reality for something they saw with their very own eyes.”
In the podcast, Benen says, “Democracy rests on a foundation of shared knowledge – when that knowledge is corrupted by Republicans on purpose as part of this effort to grab power and to bully our memories into submission, it weakens democracy at a fundamental level. The system is not designed to work that way. In the not too distant past, there was some shared information….we saw the same headlines, the same evening reports on TV, and had the same understanding of current events….And now, that shared understanding has been corrupted thanks to a variety of factors that have unfolded in record time, and the result is a fundamentally weakened democracy….And so, if we want to fix that, if we want to strengthen our democracy, we have to reject those who believe that they have to target our understanding of reality and our understanding of the recent past. The more they succeed, the weaker the system becomes.”
There’s no hate like Christian love.
…"There’s no hate like Christian love."…
Except what you're referring to is neither Christian nor love.
It's vital to distinguish between self-styled "Christian" fundamentalist cults and true traditional Christian religion.
Preachers in the cults answer to none except themselves. Their teachings proceed from defective revelation. Hence the perversions into naked lust for power and money, and deviant sex with gullible adherents.
There's goodies and baddies in all fields of human endeavour. But to confuse and conflate the real Christ Love with literalistic fundamentalist pentecostalism is to play right into the Big Lie.
Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.
To be fair the nazis were vastly more articulate then Trump. There's no way Trump would ever say thwart.
Steven Miller might though. And he'll be important. JFC, what a thought.
He’s a Jewish Nazi.
"America is for Americans only." "Germany is for Germans only." Trump/Hitler,
Hitler/Trump. There is no
difference.
(Apologies for being confessional. Delete if this is inappropriate.)
I was protesting in Portland in 2017-2020 (with breaks for Covid pre-Brianna Taylor) and I went to Ukraine in 2023 because that was, and for now is, the leading edge of resistance to fascism. But if trump wins I'm not sure I've got it in me for another campaign.
We barely won against the Federal Police, and ultimately that was because they couldn't get a judge to sign off on a full assault, and because trump didn't have the guts to invoke the Riot Act* by himself.
But if he's in power again it's gonna be so much worse. I'm not sure I can do it again. It's going to be so hard to find allies as well. Mistrust and suspicion is already omnipresent and we haven't even got a culture of denunciation yet.
Fingers crossed for Madam President.
*not the exact name, but I can't remember which exactly the militia-types are drooling to see reactivated so they commence their purge. Not Alien and Sedition, though that's on their list too.
Thank you for your efforts!!!!!!!!!
I think Kamala will win, but I do worry there will be “shenanigans” between Nov 5 & Jan 6. I pray 🙏 you stay with us. The tide is turning. You are appreciated. After that, I hear you & id leave the country too.
Zac, your confession to us may strengthen other readers as it did me. Thank you. I don't think that you will quit. An anti-fascist such as you, doesn't give up on Democracy for the people.
We are the majority. If Trump wins this election it will be an unstable situation. This is not like last time. They have told us so and we believe it this time. Whether or not you can be active, your presence is necessary as ours is.
I will vote for a President who is open to opposing viewpoints, eg.I am against sending US bombs & money for the bombing of Gaza and Lebanon by ultra-nationalist politicians like Netanyahu for "ethnic cleansing" and "deportation of Palestinians" from Israel. Still I will vote for a sane, person who patiently listens to reason and sees consequences and not a madmen with christian-nationalist dreams of dictatorship
I have a suspicion that Kamala will put her foot down with Bibi.
Trying to sort the quotes is senseless - which I take it is the point.
There will always be people who hate and are willing to act on it. The survival of democracy and civil society depends upon the rest of us being informed and active in defense of our civil institutions.
“Civil society”. I haven’t heard that term in awhile. Nor have I experienced it in some years.
A quaint term, and - concept as well, I agree. In Germany, after WW2, it more or less sprang up, in the West, anyway, once the prominent Nazis were suitably punished and the general population educated about what had actually been done in their names. I have my doubts about something like that happening here. So far, anyway, the DoJ seems hell bent on punishing small fry and letting the big fish go.
There is definitely a sense of civility here in Germany. When driving, the roads are beautifully paved and drivers are courteous. People pass and move to the right, pass and move to the right. If lanes are narrowed and cars have to merge, the use the "zipper" system, each taking their turn. I was in traffic this morning and you did not hear one horn, one vulgar word, yelling, none of it. I think Germany has learned a lot. They had to and with shame, still.
What goes around comes around? Trump is an old man who lives in the past. He is very out of date and someone should check his expiration date?
TURN the page! Better times lie ahead if you VOTE! Let’s save our nation and ourselves.
I can’t bear to see Trump’s face, hear his voice, or read any articles about him. While I knew his MSG stint was awful, I was startled by some of the things Prof. Snyder quoted. Startled by the vulgarity, startled by the antisemitism, startled even by the extent of his racism. This is someone whose life has been a complete failure. Squandered the fortune he inherited, failed at all his businesses, failed most of all in his presidency, none of which he earned. And because he is a colossal failure on every level, he’s angry at the whole world. And he’s punitive. He doesn’t care one bit about the Magas, only that they contributed money to him. I’d love for him to be caught on a hot mic saying what he really thinks about the Magas. There’s no love lost there.
Shared on my FB. The Time is now to decide if we want to keep this free, democratic republic in spirit and in word. Please vote to teach history and civics and kindness in our schools. How can that not be important? Essential to a free nation of laws!
These comments turn my stomach. What kind of national are we turning into?
The old 😸 grabber is showing his true colors, whether he likes it or not! 👻 #Fascist
The next three months is when we'll find out whether there really exist any somewhat-organized, competent extreme right domestic US terrorist or paramilitary forces of substance (such as existed in Weimer) as could be deputized to assist in large-scale deportation raids, etc. as Prof Snyder suggested in his 10/24 video he emailed yesterday. I doubt they do exist in any effective numbers, and that worst prospects are for isolated, stochastic incidents here & there. Hope I'm right!
I suggest "Bring The War Home" and "Proud Boys and The White Ethnostate" if you want to find the depths of the topic.
Short version: they are legion, organized, prepared and desperate to act. I've faced the Proud Boys and Boogaloo Boys before and though they are despicable they are not a joke.
I don't doubt whatever personal experiences you've had but I'm not convinced that there's a present, substantial, organised, competent threat in connection with this election, except of course from Russia, whose concrete plans are mostly hidden as always; do you have anything up to date? https://www.voanews.com/a/report-even-as-militias-disbanded-anti-government-groups-surged-in-us-/7126248.html
Shared in full on Facebook.
I don’t find that to be true. I don’t get many responses on FB, but enough to assure me that things I’ve posted don’t just disappear.
People on FB are saying “avoid Twitter, it’s gross”, which is true; but it’s easy to sieve out the mud on Twitter and find gold nuggets.
Sadly FB has gone to the dark side a long time ago. Every post that isn’t pro Trump doesn’t get posted or it gets changed into something pro Trump. We’re down the rabbit hole already 😡😱
There are many anti-trump, Pro-Democracy posts on FB.
He is foul. He brings that character out in some people and yet others admire it. Suckled on hatred. I will go with Peace-Love-Understanding and let’s finally level the playing field so that all Americans new and old old can participate in the promise of our wonderful country. I feel like this is an essay from school which has been written in a variety of forms as long as I can remember. You may say I’m a dreamer but I am not the only one.
A lot of work will need to be done after the election to fix the long-term problem of how did millions of Americans come to believe Trump’s lies? Political strategist Rachel Bitecofer in her Substack newsletter On the Cycle, interviews Richard Benen about that problem and I feel that listening to that interview will be the best half hour you and your readers can spend. https://thecycle.substack.com/p/the-ministry-of-truth?utm_campaign=reaction&utm_medium=email&utm_source=substack&utm_content=post
Here is the description Bitecofer gives of the podcast:
“Today’s pod is with Rachel Maddow producer and editor of Maddow Blog Steve Benen and his important new book Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republican’’ War on the Recent Reality.
Benen’s important book documents how Republicans managed how to rewrite the history of recent events like January 6th and COVID to make millions of people believe in a false reality for something they saw with their very own eyes.”
In the podcast, Benen says, “Democracy rests on a foundation of shared knowledge – when that knowledge is corrupted by Republicans on purpose as part of this effort to grab power and to bully our memories into submission, it weakens democracy at a fundamental level. The system is not designed to work that way. In the not too distant past, there was some shared information….we saw the same headlines, the same evening reports on TV, and had the same understanding of current events….And now, that shared understanding has been corrupted thanks to a variety of factors that have unfolded in record time, and the result is a fundamentally weakened democracy….And so, if we want to fix that, if we want to strengthen our democracy, we have to reject those who believe that they have to target our understanding of reality and our understanding of the recent past. The more they succeed, the weaker the system becomes.”
Listing it all out like this is truly astounding. The plan is crystal clear isn’t it?