Stranger in a strange land: the pandemic, Trumpism

Crystal ball, to see future

Imagine telling people two years ago what lay ahead for them as we'd enter 2021. The pandemic by itself is enough of a shocker. People associated this sort of thing with long-ago times: the Spanish flu of WWI. In other words, that was then. 

Just as a pandemic can surely rise up again, so can another phenomenon. This one started in politics and grew into religion. I have a hard time getting that out: the part about religion. Christianity has always had an element more rigid, more steadfast in the face of societal change. The more mainstream element has been able to co-exist without courting turbulent waters. But turbulent waters we have now. 

It's so unnecessary. We had an election and a certain person won, a certain person lost for president. This has gone on all my life. What has happened to us in the year 2020 and now 2021? Is it exaggeration to call it sickness, a parallel to what is happening with the virus? We had better be careful, or widespread chaos and suffering will break out. 

We live under rules as Americans. Wasn't this instilled in you in high school civics class? This man named Donald Trump did not have the election "stolen." It wasn't even that close. But there is a mania out and about. We see it on the north end of our Morris MN: a Trump-Pence sign is between the highway and service road, close to Greeley Plumbing. Not to suggest that Greeley has anything to do with it. So who does? Has our local commercial media asked the question? I haven't seen the Morris newspaper since March.

It is not obvious who is putting this sign forward. Whoever it is, should they assume that Mike Pence would even want anything to do with Trump now? We could have cut some slack for this sign being up until Jan. 6. After Jan. 6 it's a whole different question. Do the sponsors of this sign support what happened on behalf of Trump at the nation's capitol? Isn't that a place we are supposed to hold in reverence? Didn't you learn that in civics class? 

I have some difficulty classifying the evangelical Christians as "conservative." The word can get vague connotations. I was always taught that conservatives were temperate people who liked stability in our society, even if they didn't get their way on every question. Heaven help any political faction that feels it must get its way all the time. Are these people numb to what they saw on Jan. 6? Isn't the outrageousness plain as the nose on your face? 

And isn't it equally plain that Trump stood before this mob and stirred their passions, clearly giving a signal to go and raise heck? He knew the inclinations there in front of him. This was an insurgency. He gave his presidential imprimatur to an insurgency, and proceeded to just observe after that, not even checking to make sure Pence was OK. Isn't all of this simply against civilized standards? 

And now Trump's side is readying for impeachment as if there's a credible defense. You can be sure a group of sharp lawyers can weave a carefully orchestrated defense. 

 

Such an obvious offense

Once dusk arrived on Jan. 6, we had all the info we needed to deal with the crisis. A swift impeachment should have been carried out. Trump ended up leaving his office on schedule. Strange how quiet he is now. But his cult most certainly lives. No doubt it has adherents out here in West Central Minnesota. 

This church is in Alexandria

Let's consider Pastor Darryl Knappen. He presides at Cornerstone Church in Alexandria. He does what he does in the name of Christianity? 

Rev. Knappen published a video on Jan. 9 urging President Trump to implement martial law. He also wanted citizens to organize militias. He pointed fingers at communists, globalists and former president Obama. The church's elders canceled services for Jan. 17 "for reasons that are prudent and wise." I cannot quite fathom what gets into the heads of some of these people. 

Trump is most certainly a mortal person. Does he attend church often? Is he a gentle and empathetic person in the spirit of Christ? Well I would say not. So why the fanaticism which springs from the "evangelicals?" Christianity already had an issue with the extent to which it fed into the Trump momentum. The capitol riot exacerbated everything. It was so essential for action to be taken swiftly: impeachment and repudiation. 

But as with everything concerning Trump, the line seems never to get crossed. He is still taken most seriously. 

 

A precedent with Rodney King

It was said of the Rodney King case that as time passed - as the infamous video was shown endlessly - people got numb to it. That, and the lawyers went to work. When given time, lawyers can most assuredly muddy the waters, so that when looking at the video which clearly showed a supine black man having the crap beaten out of him, well, look for shades of gray or nuances. We get desensitized. 

I thought of the Rodney King video as I followed the news after the capitol invasion. An invasion of the capitol! By a mob that definitely had Trump egging it on. And if he said anything about being peaceful, it was 100 percent CYA. Criminals know all the tricks. And we know what Trump is: a criminal. How much longer can he weasel away from consequences of his shady deeds? 

He insisted the election was "stolen" from him. And instead of being rebuffed, he had people like Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, charlatans/opportunists, not even respecting the leadership of their own Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who advised the rational course. There was no stolen election. The electoral college results should have been approved in ceremonial, yes boring fashion. But look at what the TV news networks got instead: a sensational event on the scale of 9/11 almost. It created drama in the worst, most disgusting way. 

And now for sure there is a gaggle of smart lawyers trying to dim the obvious effect of all that, just like with the Rodney King videotape. They know time is their friend. 

We thought a corner might have been turned with Liz Cheney. But I had my doubts. I wanted to tell Liz, daughter of former VP Dick Cheney, that if you're going to kill the king, you had better succeed. Now there's a push by her peers to diminish her influence in the House. The forces on behalf of Trump remain strident. They are heard out and about in our Morris MN area.

Michelle Fischbach (minnpost)

So maybe it's logical we have a new congressperson who obliges such people, to an extent even greater than Tom Emmer. Greater than Tom Emmer! Welcome to our new congressional district, new in tone or reputation anyway. Michelle Fischbach and fellow Republican Jim Hagedorn actually aided the insurrection of Jan. 6. They voted to overturn the results of a free and fair election. Critics have asserted that they broke their oaths to defend the U.S. Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. What they did was lend aid and comfort to an insurrectionist mob. 

And we in Morris live within the boundaries of Fischbach's district. She defeated Collin Peterson who acted through the campaign like he was ashamed of his own party, ashamed of Nancy Pelosi. As for Emmer and Pete Stauber, they backed off at the last minute from challenging the electoral college. 

Did Fischbach and Hagedorn make a devious calculation of power over country? 

 

Some rays of hope

Whither the evangelicals now? It's hard to imagine this bloc remaining monolithic in support of Trump after the events of Jan. 6. A portion most definitely are. But another faction seems to be moderating. Maybe this happens by simple consideration of the gospel and Christ. The gospel is supposed to be foremost. 

There is a pastor named Jeremiah Johnson - you might remember the Robert Redford movie of the same name about the mountain man. Well, the pastor is no mountain man but he's helping present some pushback to the fanatical element of the evangelicals. Columnist David Brooks was piqued by this gentleman. Brooks writes about a "war" building within the Christian church in the wake of what he calls "Trumpist mayhem." 

"White evangelicals wrestle with what they've become" was the subhead for Brooks' column. And so we read about Jeremiah Johnson. He is assuredly a "conservative." But he took it upon himself to issue a public apology on Jan. 7, the "day after." He asserted, in a quote from Brooks' column, that "God removed Donald Trump from office because of his pride and arrogance, to humble those, like (himself), who had fervently supported him." 

And the response to such measured thoughts was "swift and vicious," Brooks continued. Swift and vicious because of all the souls like the Cornerstone preacher of Alexandria. Many Trump supporters are "doubling down" - perhaps this is reflected in the Trump sign out by Greeley's. I won't say "Trump-Pence" because I think Pence, even if he's hesitant to profess it, is now out of the Trump camp. Pence's own family was endangered on Jan. 6. If that can't prick your delusion, then nothing can. 

So there's hope? There must always be hope. Without that, we are truly finished. The capitol mob chanted "hang Mike Pence." He was supposed to nullify the electoral college results. He was supposed to select the new president. 

Christian pop music could be heard with the chants of "hang Mike Pence." 

Like I said, tell the people of two years ago about this, share it from a crystal ball, and what would be the reaction? And we haven't even gotten to the pandemic. 

Brooks of the NY Times quoted David French on lessons from war. How to deal with insurgency? "Separate the insurgents from the rest of the population." 

Impeaching the now-former president is an essential part. Can we do it?

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com 

More of Jim Carrey's insightful artwork, this directed at the now-former First Lady Melania Trump.