Delusional. Depraved. Incompetent. Corrupt.

It grieves me, but I unapologetically believe that these words accurately describe our current presidential administration. In my grief, I am encouraged by the fact that scales appear to be falling from the eyes of more and more folks who initially supported the Trump regime. Reality is turning them toward truth and toward justice. They are not necessarily becoming Democrats (capital “D”), nor should they feel like that’s what they’re doing. But they are, I hope, becoming democratic (lower-case “d”), again, and, therefore, fellow participants in and defenders of our constitutional republic.

And don’t we need at least two healthy political parties and constructive disagreement among them? Without that basic diversity, aren’t we susceptible to surrendering to a single person or party that we allow to control all policies, procedures, perceptions, and people under the pretext of being the only one(s) who can deliver security and salvation for the nation? And isn’t that pretty much the definition of fascism? (For the distinctions between fascism, totalitarianism, and authoritarianism, see: https://www.thoughtco.com/totalitarianism-authoritarianism-fascism-4147699)

I also think that many people who continue to support the current administration are so deeply caught up in the whirlwind of manipulative deception that they can’t extricate themselves. I don’t get it, but maybe it’s all just too exciting. I pray that these folks will find the courage to break free of the cult-like hold that Trump, Miller, Homan, Vance, Noem, Hegseth, Fox, Newsmax, OAN, and etc. have imposed on them.

Finally, I know for sure that some still honestly believe that this administration is moving in the right direction and is justified in achieving its goals by any means necessary. I can only guess they interpret the chaos around us as empowering. When confronted, though, many can give only one feeble argument: “Well, Biden and Obama were worse.” To me, that argument is not simply wrong, it is denial. And when denial becomes one’s justification for supporting violent fascism, we can expect more and more murders of American citizens on American streets by armed federal agents who are unhindered by constitutional constraint.

Heather Cox Richardson has said that there will always be about 20% of an electorate that will go along with whatever extremism du jour happens to infest a country. These folks are all neighbors and family members, and they’ll always be around. Always. We will never not have to deal with each other.

Again, in my opinion, Trump has disgraced, diminished, and endangered our nation, and continues to lead us along his destructive path. Even if we are not completely beyond repair, we will never return to what we remember. Ever. And who knows? Maybe we’ll be better off in the long run. Maybe, if we survive, we’ll have learned what can happen when a tyrannical government is given free rein to do violence and to impose its nefarious will. And maybe we’ll set up safeguards against such abuses of power in the future.

I hope you hear the irony in that statement since that’s exactly what the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution, and the Constitution of the United States of American were supposed to protest, end, and prevent. We’ve come full circle, haven’t we?

Finally, and most importantly, I completely trust that if we try to end Trump administration’s assault on our nation by meeting their violence with an equally violent force, they win, because violence survives to beget more violence. And violence doesn’t care who’s in power so long as someone uses force to control someone else. Indeed, there’s nothing more that a horde of fragile-egoed bullies wants than a perceived win. They will stop at nothing. As long as Trump occupies the White House, we cannot expect them to concede anything—nothing physical, moral, ethical, spiritual, political, or economic. For the fascist mindset, to relent, to listen, to change or to be changed—in theological terms: to repent—is to show weakness. It also seems that to confess error somehow indicates a flaw more loathsome that actual defeat. 

All that said, and here’s the catch, how a society overcomes such a force will define how it sets itself up going forward. If we employ violent means to defeat violence, we will set ourselves up for more violence. It is, therefore, my hope that we must resist by the means of fearless, even death-defying non-violence, means of peace, cooperation, collaboration, welcome, inclusion, and respect. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (whose memorial day the White House deliberately ignored) said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

The love of which King spoke is not the distorted love of those who declare their love of country by standing up for the inherently violent and idolatrous cocktail of “God, Guns, and Guts.” And it’s certainly not the saccharine love that Hollywood peddles for financial gain. King and others like him speak of God’s love for all Creation as demonstrated through Jesus of Nazareth. No one is excluded from this love. Not Renee Good, not Alex Pretti, not the ICE agents who murdered them, not the administration who unleashed them, not the protestors who continue to speak out on behalf of the neighbors being persecuted by the state. All are loved.

God’s love is hard, though. And when we try to love according to some “God, Guns, and Guts” narrative or to the low-bar selfishness of the Hallmark Channel, to love as we are loved by God will feel a lot like either irresponsibility or like way too much responsibility. Neither approach tolerates the demands of Christ-like honesty, humility, forgiveness, and reconciliation. And doesn’t that make that kind of “love” something less that loving?

We have our work cut out for us. This will be a long haul of resistance and recovery. Thank you to all who, following the call of love, are speaking out in the face of a fresh advance of tyranny to remind the world that America is still—at least for a while—the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” I stand with you in this land, a land where freedom and bravery are evidenced not by exclusion and oppression but by:

-Welcoming all voices and empowering and expecting those voices to engage in both difficult conversation and humble compromise;

-Seeking justice for all human beings and for the environment; 

-And upholding our defining truths which include the equality of all human beings, the free access of all people to the unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and the truth that a government’s legitimacy is best determined by its willingness to seek the consent of those who are governed.

Thank you to all who have taken an oath to defend our Constitution and who remain faithful to that oath in the face of pressure to confuse loyalty to country with loyalty to a person.

And thank you to folks like Renee Good (“That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you.”), Alex Pretti (“Don’t touch her…Are you okay?”) We will forget neither your non-violent witness nor your last words. May God cover your families, and all of us, with peace.

Resist in Peace,

Allen