Becoming the Counter Flood (Not a Reference to Hurricane Helene)

The current President is not well. And his administration is making me physically ill. My body is tight all the time. My mind overwhelmed by concern.

I don’t expect anyone to care that much about my personal feelings, of course. And I’m no longer terribly concerned about how anyone else feels about me. However, for those who are feeling similar things, know that you are not alone. And we need each other.

What do we do with this anger, angst, and grief, though? One place to start is to remember that we feel that way by design—by a design that is as targeted and premeditated as the Oval Office mugging of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Back in 2016 Steve Bannon clearly stated that he would help Trump rise to power by “flooding the zone.” That’s his term for throwing as much wild, incomprehensible aggression as possible at the public so that we are either stunned into a bewildered and paralyzed silence, or we jump on board a train that seems to be moving toward some inevitable “victory.”

“That’s the Bannon business model,” writes CNN’s Brian Stelter. “Flood the zone. Stink up the joint. As Jonathan Rauch once said…‘This is not about persuasion: This is about disorientation.’” (https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/16/media/steve-bannon-reliable-sources/index.html)

Since January 20^th, we’ve seen nothing but disorienting flooding from the White House. So far, the administration has been getting significant—and much-deserved—blowback. And if We the People don’t continue to oppose this corrupt and anti-American administration, if we don’t band together to continue pressuring our democratically-elected senators and representatives to stand up for democracy, and to support each other in our efforts, we may no longer be a constitutional republic, because this administration will not relent in its deconstruction of the United States of America. And yes, if the flood goes unchecked, we certainly could become an autocracy run by the wealthiest members of our society. And this collapse can happen far more quickly than one might think. The opening act, already well underway, is to gut our institutions.

One early target is our schools. The far-right touts the voucher system for its “fairness,” which is anything but fair. Vouchers only give the wealthy greater advantage, leaving the masses of children to be fed propaganda rather than given an education. (https://www.understood.org/en/articles/school-vouchers-what-you-need-to-know) The purpose is to keep us from thinking for ourselves so that we accept their “leadership” as some sort of magnanimous gift. Indeed, the Vice President calls it the development of a new “ruling class” to replace the current ruling class. (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/unless-we-overthrow-them-j-d-vance-says-we-are-going-to-keep-losing/ar-BB1qJYOX) I’m not entirely sure what current ruling class he’s talking about, since the very wealthy already seem to control so much in our culture. (Isn’t the presence of Elon Musk in the White House an obvious indication of that reality?) Once a “never Trumper,” the Vice President has completely conceded himself to his new master. And one way for him to manipulate others into the MAGA scheme is to help ensure poor and tightly-controlled education for all of us peons.

If that sounds like hyperbole, read again the current President’s post from March 4. In that little screed he threatened to cut federal funding from colleges and universities that allowed “illegal protests.” The threat included warnings of arrests, imprisonments, and deportations. (https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5174865-trump-college-university-funding-student-protests/) While he can always say he was talking about “illegal” protests only, this is a very thinly-veiled threat against the constitutional freedoms of speech and assembly, because for Trump, “illegal” simply means in opposition to him. That is textbook authoritarianism. And the authoritarian is grasping for control of the textbooks.

Friends, MAGA is going to keep flooding the zone as long as it can. It’s all-or-nothing for them. And anyone who disagrees with them is the enemy. It’s funny. In MAGA’s myopic vision, even I (a former small-town pastor who is unemployed and apparently unemployable) am a greater threat to the United States than Russia!

I’m flattered.

Let’s be realistic. Guided by its Project 2025 playbook, and by every little victory it can claim (whether legitimate or not), this administration is going to keep the pressure coming. So:

-Let’s stick together and become the counter flood.

-Let’s keep applying our own constitutionally-guaranteed pressure to our senators and representatives.

-Let’s take really good care of ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.

-Let’s take good care of our neighbors, too. Especially those who are still committed to Trump. When all comes to the light, they’ll need us to help them find safe space for a hard landing. One wouldn’t know it by the actions of the current administration, but true Americans don’t abandon other Americans—not even when they passionately disagree.

-Above all, let’s don’t lose hope. To lose hope is to surrender and allow the floodwaters sweep us away. We simply can’t do that. For better or worse, it is now our responsibility to do our very best for the generations coming after us. Everything we do today is for their tomorrow.